Jesus asks personal questions and sticks around for the answer.
Peter represents believers/leaders in this passage; do we really love Jesus? Reflect on your motives for doing what you do; is it for your own glory, is it out of duty or out of kindness for others, is it to further God's kingdom, or is love for Jesus at the centre of everything?
Peter also represents a "backslider". Jesus asks if Peter loves Him, and by doing this he is giving Peter an opportunity to show that although mistakes were made He offers a new start; the love of our saviour is rgreater than our sin.
Jesus brings up the topic of love because it's who God is. Love is at the core of our lives, especially if you're a Christian. "More than these" can refer to our work, money, possessions, people in our lives. According to scripture, our love for God is to be the most important.
"More than these" can also refer to when Peter had previously boasted that he loved Jesus more than the other disciples. Jesus could have been humbling Peter by asking these questions.
The context and timing of the question happens after Jesus' sacrifice (which was done out of love). What is your response after facing someone who has performed the ultimate display of how deep his love is for us.
We need to love Jesus before we can truly keep His commandments. If we love Jesus, we will love and care for those that He loves.
