"Do you love me?"

If you think about it that is probably one of the most heart piercing questions Jesus has ever asked.
It makes me wonder sometimes, what if I am Simon Peter - what if that question was literally directed to me to answer.

Hmmmmm... And I continue to wonder....

This particular passage is taken from John 21: 15-17.
I found myself immersed a little deeper in this passage from last Sunday service.
It's one of those passages in the Bible where you know by heart yet knew so little about it. Do you know that when Jesus asked Simon Peter that question three times in a row, he actually used two different words to express the word 'love'?
Both words originated from the Greek language.
The first being the word "Agapao" and the second being the word "Phileo".

The "Phileo" type of love speaks of friendship love. It is used to describe certain sense of affection in a relationship from one person to another. For example, Jonathan and David had a Phileo love for one another. Phileo love is very much based on emotions and therefore, it has its limitation. What I mean is this - take for instance, if you have a stranger in your midst, you can't possibly tell that person "Hey, I Phileo you". It would be odd simply because you don't have a relationship with that person and because of that, you are not emotionally attached to that person. This is where "Agapao" love comes in.

"Agapao" love is totally different from any other kind. Unlike "Phileo" love, Agapao love transcends all human understanding. It reaches out to even people we don't know, yes, even to our enemies. Agapao can be equated to such expressions like unconditional love, self-sacrificing, and divine. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son...” The actual word used was "For God so agapao the world...". So you see, God reaches out to all of us in the greatest form of love.

So, this is a re-enactment of the scene of what actually happened between Simon Peter and Jesus... Or at least how I'd imagined it to be.

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(Setting: At the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and Peter finish eating their meals. Both still sitting down while having a simple chat. Then Jesus asked Simon Peter.)

Jesus: Pete, do you Agapao me?

Simon Peter: Yes, Master... You know I... (He pause a little while and seems to be searching for the right word to complete his sentence.)... You know I Phileo you...

Jesus: Feed my lambs.

(Jesus turns around to get a bucket of water to clean his hands. After cleaning up, he turns back to Simon Peter. He stares at Peter for a moment. And then asks him again...)

Jesus: Pete, do you truly Agapao me?

Simon Peter: Yes, Lord. You know that I Phileo you.

Jesus: Take care of my sheep.

(Simon Peter stands up, a little perplexed, and proceeds to clean himself up. After a while, he comes back. Jesus is still sitting there staring out at the sea of Galilee. Simon Peter takes a bottle of water to drink.)

Jesus: Simon son of John, do you Phileo me?

Simon Peter: (Puts his bottle down and sits down on the ground. He stares at the bottle for a little while, thinking.) Lord, you know all things.... You know that I Phileo you.

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So, what is so moving about this passage?

God, who is love and who Agapao us so much, actually brings himself to our level of love to reach out to us - that is what so moving about this passage.
When Jesus asked Peter the one million dollar question three times, Peter couldn’t bring himself to use the adjective ‘Agapao’ even once because Peter knew that it was the greatest form of love and he also knew that if he used that word, it will cost him a lot.
Peter wasn’t ready to go that far. Instead, we find him using the word ‘phileo’.
Jesus asked him twice and by the third time, Jesus changed his adjective from ‘Agapao’ to ‘Phileo’ because he knew Peter wasn’t ready.
Jesus was willing to come all the way down to Peter’s level to reach out to him, just like how he reached down to us from heaven to the cross to display his Agapao love for us.

I found that profoundly refreshing. It hit me hard to know that God is willing to go to every extent to pick us up.

Do you Agapao Him or do you Phileo Him?