John 21:15-25 (NIV)
Read by: Stacy Rafferty
Have you ever smelled something, and in that very instant you’re taken back to a specific time and place? I mean, you can see it, taste it, feel it, hear it! There are certain smells that can bring us back to some of the sweetest moments in our lives, or to some of the darkest.
John is careful to point out that the fire that Jesus and the disciples gather around is burning charcoal. This is significant because the last time that Peter was around a charcoal fire, he was denying Jesus, afraid to be recognized as one of his disciples. As Peter he sits down around this fire, Jesus intends to replace those memories of shame and guilt with restoration and redemption.
----------REFLECT----------
1. What surprised you the most about this passage?
2. Peter kind of takes offense at Jesus asking him three times if he loves him. But Jesus was seeking a full restoration, giving Peter an opportunity to answer these three questions the way he would have wanted too when he denied him. How do you do with trusting in Jesus’ ability to fully restore you from your failures?
3. The picture that Jesus paints of Peter’s future is pretty bleak. Being dressed by others and being led to a place where he won’t want to go. He’s saying this to describe the death of a man who cut another guy's ear off in defense of Jesus. It’s not the future Peter had in mind when he began following Jesus. What about you? If you knew that following Jesus would take your life to a place that was undesirable to you… would you still follow him?
----------CONNECT----------
Find an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Start an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Learn More >>
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free