April 4

Introduction

John 21:15–25: Jesus speaks to Simon Peter, and three times he calls upon Peter to care for Jesus’s lambs and sheep (verses 15–17). Scholars have connected the three questions about Peter’s love for Jesus with Peter’s three earlier denials of Jesus (see John 18:17, 25–27 and also Mark 14:66–72 from the March 28 reading). It is an opportunity for restoration and a call to new work.

Today’s Key Verse: John 21:16b

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.”

Reflect

What commands did Jesus give to Peter? What did that mean for Peter? What does it mean for Jesus’s followers today? Who might the lambs be? In what ways does your community of faith care for Jesus’s lambs and sheep?

Pray

Lord Jesus, you call us to be your disciples and to care for one another. Open my eyes to the “lambs” and “sheep” I encounter today and teach me to share with them your message of love and salvation. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Reading

Jude 1–25: The writer gives warnings and instructions to believers.