Do you love me more than these?
When Jesus told the disciples they would deny Him, Peter vehemently denied this telling Jesus he would follow Jesus even if it cost him his life. Then Jesus said something that seems almost cynical or pessimistic. It most certainly would not fall into the category most people would call “positive thinking” when He told Peter that before the cock crows Peter would deny Him three times. And that is exactly what happened.
After Jesus was resurrected, He asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” And, Peter answered something much less enthusiastic, like “Yeah, l’m convinced you’re a good guy” or “I like you”. But, that wasn’t what Jesus was asking.