John 21:15-25

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Love Motivation

¹⁵ So when they had ^(A)finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[a](B)love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[b]love You.” He *said to him, “Tend ^(C)My lambs.” ¹⁶ He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[c]love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[d]love You.” He *said to him, “^(D)Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[e]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him ^(E)the third time, “Do you ^[f]love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, ^(F)You know all things; You know that I ^[g]love You.” Jesus *said to him, “^(G)Tend My sheep.

Our Times Are in His Hand

¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ Now this He said, ^(H)signifying by ^(I)what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “^(J)Follow Me!”

²⁰ Peter, turning around, *saw the ^(K)disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had ^(L)leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” ²¹ So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain ^(M)until I come, what is that to you? You ^(N)follow Me!” ²³ Therefore this saying went out among ^(O)the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain ^(P)until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴ This is the disciple who ^(Q)is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵ And there are also ^(R)many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.