When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" And there are layers here that I need you to catch.

First, Jesus calls him Simon. Not Peter. Simon. That's his old name, before the rock, before the keys, before the promise. And Jesus isn't being cruel, He's being honest. He's saying, I know who you were, I know who you've been acting like, now let's establish who you're becoming.

Second, the word He uses for love is agape. That's the highest word. Self-sacrificing, lay-down-your-life, God-level love. Jesus is asking Peter for everything. And Peter answers, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." But the word Peter uses isn't agape. It's phileo. Friendship love, brotherly love, real and warm and genuine... but not what Jesus asked for.

Here's what I see. The old Peter would have matched it. The old Peter would have said, "More than all of them, Lord." That's the man who said on the night of the denial, "Even if they all fall away, I never will." But this Peter doesn't inflate. He gives what he actually has. He won't claim more than he can carry. Not again.

And Jesus says, "Feed my lambs."

Second time, same question, agape. Peter answers phileo. Jesus says, "Tend my sheep."

Third time, and this is where the ground shifts. Verse 17. Jesus asks again, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" But this time He doesn't say agape. He comes down. He uses Peter's word. Phileo. Do you even phileo Me? And the text says Peter was grieved. Not because Jesus was harsh, but because the third question echoed the third denial. Three times denied, three times asked, over the charcoal fire, the smell, the number three... it all connects. Jesus is walking him through it. Not around it. Through it.

And Peter says something that proves he's a different man. "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." The first two times he said, "You know that I love you." This time he says, "You know all things." That's everything. Because the Peter of Luke 22 looked at Jesus and said, "You don't know what you're talking about. I will never deny you." That Peter was telling God what God didn't know. This Peter is saying, "You know me better than I know myself. I got it wrong last time when I measured my own love. So I'm handing the measuring to You."

The shift isn't from phileo to agape, it isn't someone who has arrived at perfect love, but someone who has stopped pretending they have.

And here's the part that should wreck every barrier you've been carrying. Every time Peter answered, no matter what word he used, the commission didn't change. Phileo? Feed my lambs. Phileo? Tend my sheep. Phileo? Feed my sheep. Jesus never once withheld the assignment because Peter couldn't reach agape. He commissioned him from exactly where he was. And if honest, imperfect, still-healing love is enough for Jesus, it ought to be enough for you. Tomorrow, we'll see what that commission actually runs on, and why it changes everything about how you think about what you have to offer.

Be honest with God today. Instead of telling Him what you think He wants to hear, tell Him where you actually are. Let your prayer sound more like Peter's third answer than his first.