Feed My Sheep

With the Shepherd

This exchange happens after Peter’s failure, three denials on the night Jesus was arrested, and Jesus asks him three times whether he loves him, once for each denial. But notice what Jesus does with Peter’s restoration. He does not merely forgive him privately. He immediately gives him a commission: feed my lambs, feed my sheep.

This is significant for anyone who assumes restoration after failure means being sidelined, kept safely away from responsibility until enough time has proven their reliability again. Jesus restores Peter directly into shepherding responsibility, trusting him with the very flock he had so recently, fearfully, denied even knowing.

This closes the second movement of this book by turning the picture around. You have spent these ten days as a sheep, receiving pasture, still water, restoration, guidance. This passage reminds you that every sheep who has received this kind of care is also, in some measure, called to extend it, to feed the lambs and sheep placed near you.

Whatever failure you may be carrying, like Peter’s, do not assume it disqualifies you from caring for others. Receive the restoration first, fully, and then consider who around you might need exactly the kind of feeding you yourself have received.