After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to His disciples quite a few times. However, those times were quite infrequent and the disciples were not with Him 24/7 anymore. Although we are not told this specifically, I suspect they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Jesus hadn’t given them any instructions, and it seems that they weren’t even all together anymore since He appeared to Thomas at a different time than the others. I would think that they went home, back to their families. As chapter 21 begins, they were by the Sea of Galilee and no longer in Jerusalem. Not knowing what to do, Peter decided he was going out to fish. It makes sense, really – that’s what he did before Jesus called him. The others (6 of the original 12) joined him.
They caught nothing. I wonder how that felt? Peter had walked away from his fishing nets after the miraculous catch recorded in Luke 5:4-11 to follow Jesus. I’m sure that incident ran through his mind as he let down his nets over and over, all night long, and came up with nothing. He had betrayed Jesus and I’m sure that was weighing on him as well. Jesus had called him to ‘fish for men’ but was he now disqualified? He had proved to everyone, including himself, that he didn’t love the Lord as much as he had boasted. I don’t imagine there was much about this night that was very good for Peter.
When Jesus calls to them from the shore, they don’t know it’s him. Once they have another huge miraculous catch, 153 fish, John recognizes it’s Jesus and Peter jumps right out of the boat. Did he think he would walk on the water again? I don’t know if it mattered to him. He wanted to get to Jesus ahead of the others. After they ate the breakfast Jesus was cooking for them, Jesus began His reinstatement of Peter with this question: “Do you love me more than these?” We aren’t told what He meant by ‘these’, but it’s a probing question meant to examine Peter’s heart and motives, no matter how it’s interpreted. Looking at the possible meanings can allow Jesus to probe our own hearts as well.
‘Do you love me more than these other people love me?’ That’s one way Jesus could have meant the question. Peter had asserted many times that his devotion to Jesus was superior to the other disciples. How about you? How does your love for Him compare to the love that other people have for Him? Is there room for you to grow in your love for Jesus? What’s holding you back?
‘Do you love me more than you love these other people?’ This is another way the question could be interpreted and is a bit more difficult to answer. Are there loves in your life that rival your love for Jesus? Spouse, children, grandchildren or even a very close friend? Someone you love so much that, if you had to make a choice between them and Jesus, it would not be an easy decision? I remember once a close friend telling me that it would be no problem for her to be martyred for her faith in Jesus. However, if someone held a gun to her son’s head and told her to renounce her faith or he dies, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Is Jesus asking who you love more than you love Him?
‘Do you love me more than you love these things?’ Peter was surrounded by his livelihood, and Jesus had just blessed him with a fortune in fish. He was set for a long time. Was he willing to walk away, again, out of his love for Jesus, if He asked? How about you? What are ‘these’ in your life that would be hard for you to give up if Jesus asked? Money, reputation, your job, your possessions? This may be the hardest question of all.
Take some time to put yourself in Peter’s place. Picture Jesus asking you, “do you love me more than these?” Ask Him to reveal to you what ‘these’ are, in your life. If you don’t willingly remove the things competing for you love, He may do it for you but it will be painful. Search your heart for what He is saying to you. He deserves all your devotion. He gave up His life because of His great love for us; how can we do any less?
Christian Contemplative Journey 
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