What does John 21:16 mean?
Peter's shame at denying Jesus, three separate times (John 13:36–38) was evident in his remorse (Luke 22:61–62). Now that Jesus has been resurrected, He has asked Peter to affirm his love (John 21:15). Now, He repeats that question using essentially the exact same ideas. Peter probably understands where this is going; if not, he will certainly grasp the symbolism the third time Jesus asks (John 21:17).The terms used by Jesus and Peter here are not identical in all three instances, but they are meant to imply the same ideas. Jesus' commands use terms for "sheep" and "lambs," but He doesn't mean to draw a distinction between them. In the same way, Jesus uses the Greek term agapaō, referring to "love," in His first two questions. His third question, and all of Peter's replies, use the term phileō. This also refers to love—in separate contexts, these imply different types of love. In this instance, they're intended to mean the same thing.