by David Phelps

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

June, 2025

A devotional published a week after Easter Sunday made me think, but not in the way the author intended. Director of Faith Formation Bret Lamsma wrote about the exchange between Jesus and Peter after the resurrection (John 21:15-17). Peter had denied three times that he knew Jesus, much less that he was a disciple (John 18:17, 25-27). And now Jesus had a question for him.
When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15 Common English Bible).

Jesus asked him twice more and Peter gave the same answer (vs. 16-17). “Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’” (vs. 17b CEB). It’s noteworthy that the first two times, Jesus used the word “agape,” the “with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37b CEB) sacrificial form of love Jesus himself had just displayed on the cross (John 18:16-30). The third time (John 21:17b), Jesus used the word “phileo,” which is closer to “like you a lot.” Naturally, Peter was disappointed.

Up to that point, I was on board. But then Lamsma wrote, “The rebuilding of Peter’s relationship with Jesus was important. Jesus needed to hear that Peter still loved him. . . . And Peter needed to know he was forgiven and still welcome in Jesus’ kingdom work.” (Emphasis added.) That statement disturbed me because I find it hard to believe it happened that way.

If Jesus was God (John 1:1-3, 8:58, 10:30, 14:9-11), then, as Paul pointed out later (Acts 17:24-25), he didn’t need affirmation, didn’t need to hear “I love you,” from Peter or anyone else. God wants our worship but God doesn’t need it (Isa. 66:1-2, John 9:31, Rom. 22:1). Jesus had physical needs; his body got tired (John 4:6), thirsty (vs. 7), and hungry (Mark 11:12). He needed sleep (Mark 4:38). He could be wounded and killed (John 19:18-34). But he didn’t need affirmation from anyone except possibly God the Father (Matt. 3:17).

Since Jesus was fully human, he could be sad, as when he wept when Lazarus’ sister, Mary, accused him of not caring about his friend (John 11:32b). He could be disappointed, as when only one of ten men who had leprosy came back and thanked him for healing him (Luke 17:11-19). At times, he could be angry, as when he turned over the money changers’ tables (Matt. 21:12-13). He could become frustrated and impatient, as when some of his disciples couldn’t expel a demon from a young boy (Matt. 17:14-20). He also felt fear and dread, based on his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39-44). (See also this page from Crosswalk.com.)

Jesus may have had emotional/actualization needs at times, but not in this instance. If he already knew everything, as Peter himself acknowledged (John 21:17), then he didn’t “need” to hear Peter say anything. He knew Peter’s heart. He also knew Peter needed to say out loud that he loved him, not for Jesus’ benefit but for Peter’s. In the same way, God knows our hearts (1 Chr. 28:9). When we recite affirmations of faith in worship, we’re not saying them for God’s benefit but for our own. We’re reminding ourselves what we’re supposed to believe, what should matter to us.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome that “. . . it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Rom. 10:10b CEB). Jesus loves, restores, and affirms us, just as he did Peter (Eph. 3:17-19). It’s as important for us to love him in return and to say it out loud as it was for Peter (John 14:15). What will you say when it’s your turn?


“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.” (1 John 4:15-16a CEB.)
Copyright © 2025 by David Phelps