John 21:16, commentary and pictures

After his three denials Christ asked Peter a second time whether he loved him, this time without asking if he loved more than the others, and Peter answered humbly without boasting or claiming superiority, appealing to Christ who knows the heart to judge his sincerity. By accepting that answer Christ forgave his denial and restored him to trusted work among the twelve, with the charge to care for his flock as the proof that his repentance was accepted. Love for Christ is the essential qualification for that care, without which knowledge, eloquence, kindness and zeal cannot make ministry faithful. The charge makes the minister an under-shepherd under Christ to continue his own work of seeking the lost, nurturing believers, teaching the Word and supplying spiritual food. That feeding embraces both mature believers and the young in faith who need patient tender instruction, and it is to be done with the same patience and forgiving tenderness Christ showed Peter, in personal labor beyond preaching alone.

Setting and Wording

The meeting belongs to Galilee after Passover, when the disciples went there as directed. They gathered near the Sea of Galilee in a place where they were not likely to be disturbed, surrounded by reminders of mighty works. It was the sea where, when terror filled their hearts in the fierce storm hurrying them to destruction, He had walked upon the billows to rescue them and hushed the tempest by His word, within sight of the beach where above ten thousand had been fed from a few small loaves and fishes, and not far from Capernaum the scene of many miracles, with their minds full of His words and deeds. Those present were disciples trained to lead people to a knowledge of the truth.

The verse is the second of three questions restoring Peter after his three denials, requiring a threefold assurance of love. The thrice-repeated questioning after the resurrection at the Sea of Tiberias brought his repentance and humility into view before the disciples and prepared him through humiliation and repentance to serve as shepherd of the flock. His humble answer showed a different spirit from his boastful assurances before the crucifixion.

The first question had asked whether he loved Christ more than his brethren, but the second time the comparison with the other disciples is omitted and the question is simply Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me. Peter answers Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, without vehement or extravagant assurance and without boasting or claim to greater devotion than others. He states no opinion of himself but appeals to Christ who reads all motives of the heart and knows his heart, leaving Jesus to judge his sincerity.

Repentance and Restoration

The second asking tests Peter after his denial and after his repentance and conversion, and it brings his repentance and humility into view before the other disciples. The three denials are met by a threefold drawing out of assurance of love, so that his humiliation and repentance prepare him to serve as shepherd of the flock. His answer no longer rests on boastful confidence, but entrusts the judgment of his sincerity to the One who knows all things.

At first he had loved Christ as a man and divine Teacher known after the flesh, but he had grown to love Him as God, having learned that Christ was all and in all to him. Before his fall he was dictatorial and forward, impetuous, self-confident and self-exalted, speaking unadvisedly from momentary impulse with slumbering self-love and self-assurance that overbore even his love for Christ. In that spirit he presumptuously contradicted the plain statement that Jesus must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, insisting it could not happen. After conversion his fervor remained, but grace regulated his zeal and made him calm, self-possessed, teachable, meek and lowly in heart, subdued and contrite instead of impetuous, self-confident and self-exalted. That humiliation and repentance, with awareness of his own weakness, made him better prepared than ever before to fill the office of shepherd, fitted to feed the lambs as well as the sheep and to pity the tempted, sympathize with the weak and erring, warn the presumptuous, strengthen fellow believers and help tempted disciples.

The favorable answer is accepted, his apostasy and denial are forgiven, and he is restored to a position of trust before all the disciples and to his place among the twelve. That standing regains their confidence, so his former failure will not cripple his usefulness, and he is allowed to resume his apostolic work, showing that death did not remove the assigned work. The appointment to feed the sheep and lambs restores him to service as an under-shepherd, brings him back into divine confidence and affection, and is evidence that his repentance was accepted and the greatest evidence of confidence in his restoration. His experience of sin, suffering, repentance, and learning to rely on Christ prepares him for this work of shepherding believers as well as seeking those outside the fold.

The work appointed is broader and more delicate than had been given him before. It requires not only holding forth the Word of life to others but serving as a shepherd of the flock, caring for and serving the people for whom Christ gave His life. This trust brings him honor and authority and influence in the church as one who continued in close following of Christ and followed Him in self-denial and self-sacrifice, venerated because of divine favor, yet it gives no supremacy over his brethren.

From that time he is an entirely converted man whose heart is possessed by transforming grace, with a different spirit from his boastful assurances before the crucifixion. He stands firm as a rock, ever after boldly witnessing for Christ, courageously facing danger and preaching Christ as crucified, risen and ascended, fulfilling the word that when converted he would strengthen his brethren, even through severe trials including prison and death without again wavering from allegiance. Yet he remains deeply sorrowful and contrite over his sin, subdued before death and never forgetting his humiliation. His long course of service afterward, with intimate knowledge of Christ, instruction received, and gifts, knowledge and influence gained through preaching and teaching the Word, does not make him infallible, for at Antioch he dissembled from fear of man until Paul withstood him, proving even the best will blunder without daily grace.

His reception despite denial makes him an example of the mercy by which a sinner may cast himself wholly on Christ, and his life of service and sacrifice testifies to the power of grace. It disproves the claim that one who stumbles and falls can never be converted, accepted and restored to position and regain his place. His example therefore teaches patience toward those who are at fault.

Love Required for Ministry

Love for Christ is the essential condition, qualification and ground both of discipleship and of caring faithfully for his flock. Without Christ's love in the heart no one can be a faithful shepherd. Knowledge, eloquence, benevolence, kindness, gratitude and zeal are aids in the work, yet none of them can make ministry faithful or prevent its failure apart from an inflowing of the love of Jesus.

That love is an abiding, living principle, shown in the shepherd's character and conduct. When the shepherd lives out the truth he teaches, the Lord approves the work. Shepherd and flock are then united by their shared hope in Christ.

The love confessed in the answer to Christ is to be held and spoken as personal confession whatever others say or think. It is not mere theory of truth but studying the life of Jesus and becoming like him, hating every evil course and keeping the heart tender, sensitive, pure, clean and holy. It does not stifle the Holy Spirit to gratify sinful lust, nor yield one jot of truth for worldly advantage. When sneered at, scorned, humiliated or judged by those who do not know how much Jesus is loved, it chooses men's sneers over God's condemnation and leaves all judgment to Christ, because heaven and eternal life are worth living for. That confession, Lord Jesus, thou knowest that I love thee, is to be lived out by serving him faithfully, and with Christ abiding in the heart the believer is purified from every stain of sin and made a vessel unto honor, striving in full view of heaven for the crown of life.

Love for Jesus must be expressed in care for the people for whom he died. Those who profess his name show their love through love of others, including trustworthy conduct and willingness to deny self for their benefit. Bringing spiritual food to believers is a way of serving Christ, and talents of influence dedicated to feeding and caring for the sheep bless both the people and the church. The sheep are spiritually hungry people who need care and teaching, and their need makes the duty urgent even when the one serving is weak and ill. Trials and afflictions test whether a person truly loves God, for the difficulties surrounding the path are God's questions of love, intended to teach and strengthen his children.

Meaning of Feeding Sheep

"Feed my sheep" entrusts Peter as under-shepherd under Christ the chief Shepherd with the important work of shepherd over the Christian flock. It continues Christ's own shepherd work of watching over sheep and lambs by day and by night to seek and save the lost. It rests on the heavenly Father's great love for every soul Christ died for and His will that none of the little ones perish, and it is done in dependence on God who never slumbers nor sleeps but hears the prayer of the humble suppliant and freely grants blessing to those who seek Him with the whole heart. To feed means to care for, serve, nurture, watch over, gather and strengthen Christ's people. It means teaching them the Word, opening the Scriptures, educating them for usefulness and duty, and supplying the bread of life through grace and knowledge. It means giving fresh manna and pure wheat winnowed from chaff, unlike the scribes who offered no food, and the sheep and lambs are those who accept the message and need the Bread of Life.

The charge joins lambs with sheep, the young in faith and children and youth, who need great care, much patience, tenderness, perseverance, encouragement, religious training and steady instruction within their reach. Feeding lambs is the more difficult, humbler work of putting the crib low rather than high, while putting the crib high gives food to sheep. Peter had little experience in this work of caring for the young, yet he could not be complete in Christian life without learning it. The same work must be done in the church today, or believers will have a dwarfed experience and be exposed to temptation and deception, and its neglect leaves church members as well as ministers accountable to God. Christ-regulated zeal after suffering and repentance made Peter teachable and able to care for both young believers and the rest of the flock.

Feeding also includes ministering to those outside the fold and the straying and perishing, seeking the lost and bringing them back to the fold rather than criticizing, condemning, pushing them away, driving or repulsing them. It is to be done by winning and attracting souls for whom Christ died, with prayer and opening the Scriptures, rather than expecting ministers to serve only those already in the church. This duty belongs not to ministers alone but to church members also, who must seek and labor for the unconverted and lost. Those who so feed receive aid from heaven and angels to find the key to even the most incorrigible and unruly heart, and special grace and strength from Christ's immeasurable fullness, with results seen not only in time but through all eternity.

Feeding includes guarding the beautiful flock from dangers and temptation that could lead them astray, nourishing and preserving them and strengthening those who need spiritual nourishment. It means preserving their bodies, fearfully and wonderfully made, as holy temples where the Holy Spirit can abide, keeping the pure and innocent from evil practices and self-abuse and bringing them to everlasting life. To defile them instead of feeding them, to corrupt them and ruin souls Christ gave His life to save, is a great crime against Christ's purchased property and a terrible insult to Him, destroying the souls of others and the minister's own soul. The work is to feed the sheep, not the dogs, and here the sheep and lambs include young workers and medical students exposed to worldly influences who need faithful watching and protection.

Feeding both sheep and lambs means the cause of God is the cause of the oppressed and poor, requiring personal interest in the oppressed, feeding the hungry, and supplying real want of food and clothing by personal labor for the poor. Neglect of any known case of real need brings God's requital and no blessing, while doing this work deepens love to God, awakens thanks and praise from the needy that flows back to God, and joins angels in glorifying Him. It also means working with busy hands, sensitive hearts and ready speech to win the unconcerned and unbelieving and to inspire fellow believers with a missionary spirit, leading by example in saying come on rather than go on. In destitute, poverty-stricken, barren, hard fields it means tender compassion and cooperation with workers who labor under discouraging circumstances and with small wages, giving sympathy, granting favors when asked, and letting them place their needs directly before the people. It means money to carry forward the work must come directly to those fields to build humble churches and schoolhouses where the flock can be cared for and must not be diverted by responsible men for their own purposes, for the Lord is not partial and values just as highly the labor done in hard fields without facilities.

Shepherding in Practice

The unfaltering love borne to Peter while he was denying his Lord is the pattern for all shepherding, and remembering personal weakness and failure, every shepherd must deal with transgressors and with the tempted and erring with patience, sympathy, forgiving love and tenderness, with courtesy and kindness and a conciliatory spirit, rather than by sternness and correction alone. The second charge to feed the sheep restores Peter to pastoral service and to divine confidence and affection after his three denials, drawing out his humble assurance and repentance without boastful claim to greater devotion than his brethren, and it teaches that love for Christ is the essential qualification that must abide in the heart as a living principle shown in character and conduct. To carry out the commission the under-shepherd under Christ the chief Shepherd must treat the flock as tenderly as Christ treated him, giving the erring another opportunity as Christ had given him.

Feeding is done with pure provender and healthful spiritual food, never with poison. Poison is suspicion, evil surmising, criticism, faultfinding, dissension and strife manufactured and spread abroad even to one's wife, which wearies the brethren, destroys peace, creates church strife and unfits a man for trust. Healthful feeding is presenting the simple gospel and the truth as it is in Jesus, following Christ's example so hearers may be won to Him and convicted and converted by the Holy Spirit, in short pointed discourses on vital points that give fresh portions hearers can receive and understand, meeting people where they are with love touched by woe. This requires dwelling with God so the Spirit speaks through the teacher, drinking deeply of the water of life and partaking of the divine nature, seeking the lost and working personally with the unconverted with clear instruction. Such fruit-bearing service, not mere profession of righteousness, meets the needs of the world and fulfills God's will, with provision made for the gospel's saving power to be represented in all places.

Feeding means more than preaching sermons; sermonizing alone is only half the work. It requires thorough shepherd work and personal labor, watching for souls as one who must give account, visiting people in homes and families to instruct, strengthen the weak, bind up the wounded and discouraged, build up churches and train workers, and helping believers become firm in the faith. This personal pastoral care must not be delegated to wives or others, replaced by preaching alone, or done by proxy, and neglecting it makes a shepherd unfaithful and brings rebuke. Ministers should therefore preserve their strength and minister wisely, with less prolonged preaching and more personal ministry, so they can give the flock sound spiritual food, explaining the Word ably, adapting teaching to the people's needs, and remaining closely connected with heaven as a channel of light and mouthpiece for God.

Following the example of Him who left honor, glory and high command to come not to unfallen worlds but to this world marred by the curse and to reach to the very depths of human woe to rescue the needy, those entrusted with His work must copy Him by feeding hungry sheep and lambs where need is greatest. They are not to remain in convenient centers but to go to localities where truth is not known, holding institutes and similar meetings elsewhere to give character to the work and spread the knowledge of the truth. People perishing for lack of spiritual food need messengers sent to them with that food, and believers should be willing to sacrifice possessions to speed those messengers on their way.

The repeated voice just before the ascension lays the responsibility on every gospel minister and undershepherd who has charge of God's flock, made overseer by the Holy Ghost over the flock and church purchased with His own blood, to take heed to themselves and to all the flock to feed them. The oversight is to be taken willingly, not by constraint, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind, neither as lords over God's heritage but as ensamples to the flock, preaching the Word, instant in season and out of season with reproof, rebuke and exhortation, rightly dividing the Word of truth and speaking not as pleasing men but God. Through them the charge extends to all servants, Sabbath-school teachers, church members, parents and leaders, to care for His people including children whom Christ loves and watches over, repeatedly telling them of Jesus' love, making room for their benefit in every sermon, giving the young education, religious training, encouragement and personal care, opening the Scriptures, educating for usefulness and duty, guiding new believers and preparing missionary workers. This trust belongs only to converted persons who walk in the Lord's plain counsel, take its sacred duties seriously, and are governed by love for Jesus and souls, free from selfishness, envy, jealousy and suspicion; ministers who live carelessly and set an unworthy example are unfit, unworthy of the trust, and need conversion.

Neglect leaves sheep and lambs to suffer spiritually without care when a faithful, interested shepherd withdraws his labor, and without this feeding believers will have dwarfed experience and be exposed to temptation and deception. Church members as well as ministers are accountable to God for indifference and failure to do this work. Men who refuse heaven's plain counsel, who profess truth yet resist the Holy Spirit and make light of heaven-sent messages given for the guidance of the church, must not be entrusted with the flock and will surely be punished for transgression. Training people to argue combatively fosters a hard critical spirit and unfits them for pastoral feeding.

Faithful feeding bears fruit when the shepherd lives out the truth taught, so the Lord approves the work and shepherd and flock are united by shared hope in Christ. It continues Christ's own shepherd work of watching over sheep and lambs by day and by night to seek and save the lost, grounded in the Father's great love for every soul Christ died for and His will that none of the little ones perish, and done in dependence on God who never slumbers nor sleeps but hears the humble suppliant and freely grants blessing to those who seek Him with the whole heart. Those who first come under Christ's control and follow Him so as to have the light of life receive aid from heaven and angels to find the key to even the most incorrigible and unruly heart, with special grace and strength from Christ's immeasurable fullness, becoming one with Christ with results seen not only in time but through all eternity. Doing this work, including showing personal interest in the oppressed and poor, feeding the hungry and supplying real want of food and clothing by personal labor with busy hands, sensitive hearts and ready speech, causes love to God to deepen, awakens thanks and praise from the needy that flows back to God, joins angels in glorifying Him, wins the unconcerned and unbelieving, and inspires fellow believers with a missionary spirit by leading with come on rather than go on.