John 21 · a question people ask
The chapter doesn't say. It gives each question and each answer (21:15-17), and one thing more: "Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?”" (21:17). It gives no reason for the three questions, and these notes don't supply one or tie them to any other part of the book.
From Favor's study of John 21
In the WEB's John, Jesus says "Follow me" to one man in the first chapter, to Philip (1:43), and not again until the last, to Peter (21:19, 21:22). And as John 20 said there were "many other signs" not written (20:30), the book's last verse says, "There are also many other things which Jesus did" (21:25).
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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions