Kindred: The Cost of Loving JesusSample

Jesus knew Peter loved Him. Even so, He asked Peter if he did three times. Jesus didn’t do this to gain information He didn’t have, but to cause Peter to think about the meaning of His question and the sincerity of the answer he kept giving. Jesus knew He was about to ask a lot of Peter. Before he could accept and fulfill the assignment, Peter needed to be sure his motivation was strong enough. He needed to be reminded why he would be doing what would prove to be a difficult task. Notice that Peter never verbally accepted Jesus’ assignment in this passage. Peter’s actions in the book of Acts prove he did accept the assignment at some point. In the end, he fulfilled it very well, sharing, proving, and illustrating the Gospel so effectively that many surrendered their lives to Jesus and lived in obedience to Him as a result of Peter’s efforts. However, when Peter first heard what Jesus wanted from him, he hesitated, just like many of us do until we realize we can’t love Jesus without loving and caring for others. Thank God for the opportunity to love Him by loving and serving others in obedience to Jesus.