There are two literal fires in John’s gospel.
The first fire was in the courtyard of the high priest. It was a cold night, so some of his servants and officials were huddled around, warming themselves. Then along came Peter, who had been brought along with the arrested Jesus, whom he denied knowing as he stood there, fearfully surrounded by the enemy.
The second fire was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter, who had grown tired of just sitting around, had announced that he was going fishing. After a long, fruitless night on the water, as dawn arrived, there was a small fire on the shore. Suddenly, realizing that it was Jesus by the fire, Peter swam to shore as fast as he could.
There, as he dried off beside the warm coals, Jesus cooked breakfast and—rather than returning the favor of denial—he offered Peter a second chance.
The symbolism was not lost on John as he wrote down the story: A fire of denial; fire of restoration. A fire of rejection; a fire of acceptance. A fire of despair; a fire of hope. A fire of regret; a fire of forgiveness.
