Jesus wants to establish Peter as the leader and shepherd of the church that he was called to be. Two different Greek words for love are used in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter in verses 15, 16, and 17. Jesus begins by using the word agape – which stands for the highest form of selfless, giving love – while Peter responds with fileo – which more describes a friendship relationship. These words can be used synonymously in Greek. Can the choice of words in a Greek text have any significance in a conversation that probably took place in Aramaic? What suggests that the nuances do matter is that John, who was there by the fire, also includes another difference. Peter's reply "you know everything" is changed to the more personal "you know everything" in his third answer. The Greek ginosko is used instead of oidas. The main point, however, is that Peter is allowed to confess Jesus three times, whom he had denied three times, see John 13:38; 18:25–27.]
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me [with the highest form of self-sacrificing, giving love] more than these?"
[It must have hurt Peter that Jesus now addressed him as "Simon," the name he had before he became a disciple. Even the addition of "son of John" points to his life before his calling. It was Jesus who had given him the name Peter, see Mark 3:16; Matt. 16:18.
"These" may refer to the fishermen and the fishing profession that Peter had returned to, or to the other disciples. Peter had previously compared himself to them and said that he would not betray Jesus even if the others did, see Matt. 26:33. Regardless of what "these" refers to, Simon is faced with a choice to choose Jesus over everything else. He answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I care for (have a strong bond of friendship with) you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs!"

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