The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 21:15-17, “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’ He (Peter) said to Him,

‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He (Jesus) said to him, ‘Tend My lambs.’

16 He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’

He (Peter) said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He (Jesus) said to

him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’

17 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 all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus

said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’”

Do you know why salesmen so often take their clients to dinner?

It’s because when they have eaten, they are more relaxed and

more amenable to buying their product. Jesus waited until breakfast

was over before He posed His questions to Peter. (There’s a best time

for everything.) Then, three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him.

Remember that Peter had denied the LORD three times. The most

significant about this question-answer interrogation is that Jesus used

agapao (love) and Peter answered with phileo. Agapao is the strongest

Greek word for love, and it had never been used in its verbal form by

pagans. Phileo had the meaning of “You’re a good friend of mine.”

Tending means feeding; shepherding means caring for. It took a lot

to get through to Peter, but he could never come to the place of responding

to Jesus with the same intensity of love. Surely, we will never love Jesus

as much as He loves us. But, we should love Him more than we do.

He has given us a responsibility toward others, and that responsibility

requires all that we can give it.

We love you!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas