Bible Study series: John 21:15-19. What will his answer be? What about you, if he asked?
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Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 21:15-19
15 Then, when they finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17 He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter, grieved because he said to him a third time “Do you love me,” said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the firm truth: When you were young, you dressed yourself and walked around where you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and bring you where you do not want.” 19 He said this to signify by what sort of death he would glorify God. And after he said this, he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 21:15-19)
Comments:
15-17:
Evidently, we are intended to believe that Peter and Jesus wandered off, because in v. 20, Peter turns around and sees the beloved disciple following them (v. 20). This is a private conversation of restoration between Peter and Jesus. Jesus’s method of restoration is to challenge Peter in his commitment to love him. The way Peter shows his love for Jesus is to take the leadership role to feed and shepherd the sheep and lambs. In other words, love requires good action. The sign of love is to do the works that God has for him (and you and me).
As for the differences between sheep and lambs and feeding and shepherding, they are about the same, but I can see how an interpreter can find nuanced differences and teach them. Lambs are younger and more innocent. Feeding and shepherding may be about the same, but shepherding is much broader. Think of Psalm 23, which describes the shepherd’s role as more than just feeding sheep, but he leads them to green pastures and beside still water, as he nudges them with his shepherd’s staff. He calls them by name and they recognize his voice (John 10). Also, in Ezek. 34, in the Septuagint the word “feed” and “shepherd” are alternated in the same way as here. They refer to the same Hebrew word (HT: Bruce, p. 412, note 12).
Remember, Jesus told Simon that he is to feed “my” sheep and “my” lambs. They are not Peter’s sheep or lambs. Remember this, pastors of today! Borchert is right:
Leadership in the Christian church should not be a matter of obligation or oughtness but of a willing desire. It should likewise not be from a goal of achieving personal gain but from a sense of calling to serve others. And it should not be because one wishes to dominate others but because one is willing to model the way of Christ in serving God’s flock (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). Seeking power and personal aggrandizement should not be any part of the goals among Jesus’ disciples. (p. 336).
Speaking of nuanced differences or synonyms, the two Greek verbs for love used here may be perfect synonyms or have their fine-line distinctions. The NET study Bible, available online at netbible.org, has a great discussion, but let me simplify things.
First, let’s look at the phrase “more than these.” “These” could refer (1) to things, that is, the boat and fishing gear and his earlier fishing trade; (2) or “these” men, meaning, “Do you love me more than you love these men”; (3) or it could mean, “Do you love me more than these men love me.” I chose the third option, as do many other translations, because I believe the appearances of Jesus solidified Peter’s commitment. The first option doesn’t quite work because he went back to fishing because he had to eat. Jesus was sitting right in front of him, so had Peter really renounced his commission and go backwards to his trade? If so, then the translation would be “love me more than [you love] these things?”)The second option is weak because I can’t see Jesus being required to offer Peter a choice between Jesus himself or the other men. “It’s either them or me, Peter!” So this leaves the third option. so I translated it with the verb “do,” as in “do you love me more than these do?” In effect, Jesus is inquiring into Peter’s soul and asking him whether he loves Jesus deeply enough to commit to him and lead the church and to follow him no matter what happens at the end of Peter’s life.
But any of the three options may work—and all three at once—or at least the first and third ones combined.
I find it interesting that Jesus keeps referencing Peter’s father, John or Jonah (Matt. 16:17). He drops Peter’s nickname, which he acquired during Jesus’s ministry. Why? Jesus could be reminding Peter of who he used to be and how far he has come. Don’t back away now. Or he could be referring to him in a biblical way (so-and-so, the son of this guy) to catch his attention. Jesus is being firm with him, in effect saying: “Pay attention Peter because I am about to prophesy what will happen to you when you reach the end of your life. When this happens, you follow me, no matter what!”
Next, if you have been part of the church for a few years, you have heard this section of Scripture preached because it speaks of restoration after we ourselves fail the Lord. This is always a timely and very edifying message. No doubt you have heard that Jesus and Peter use two different verbs. Here they are:
Agapaō (pronounced ah-gah-pah-oh), which means a deeper love, a total commitment. (Yes, you can also be totally committed to darkness—love [agapaō] darkness—as John 3:19 reminds us.)
Phileō (pronounced fee-leh-oh or fih-leh-oh), which is a shallower or a friendship love. It can mean “I like you” or “I am your friend.”
See my longer word studies here:
However, in John’s Gospel, the two verbs seem to be synonyms. Both verbs are used to identify the beloved disciple (see 13:23 for agapaō). Both express the Father’s love for the Son (agapaō in 3:35; 10:17; 15:9; 17:23, 24, 26; phileō in 16:27) (HT: Novakovic, p. 326). However, Novakovic, citing another grammarian, Stanley E. Porter, warns us not to see the two verbs as true and complete synonyms without nuanced differences even in John’s Gospel. Porter writes: “One of the differing components in the meanings of these words appears to be related to levels of esteem (a vertical scale) for [agapaō] and interpersonal associations (a horizontal scale) for [phileō]. The definition of a true synonym is that the two lexemes are interchangeable in all contexts. That simply is not true for these Greek lexemes [agapaō and phileō]: there is a major identifiable pattern of usage that is different” (quoted in Novakcovic, p. 326). Porter goes on to say that the two verbs are not true synonyms because of the logic of the dialogue. “Jesus has reduced his first question to a simpler question, and he has received a similarly unsatisfactory answer” so Jesus replaces [agapaō] with [phileō] in his third question (Novakovic, p. 326).
Let me paste vv. 15-17 with the two verbs inserted, and then you can make up your mind. The verb tenses are in the present, so I’ll simply use the lexicon forms (agapō and phileō).
15 Then, when they finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love [agapaō] me more than these do?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love [phileō] you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [agapaō] me?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love [phileō] you.”
He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17 He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [phileō] me?”
Peter, grieved because he said to him a third time “do you love [phileō] me,” said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love [phileō] you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
What really leads me to believe that they are synonyms is that Peter was grieved when Jesus asked him their third time, do you love [phileō] me.” In fact, Jesus had been using the verb agapaō the first two times and phileō only the third time. Also, the NET commentator says that in Aramaic, the verb for love would be the same. However, John is writing in Greek, and he may intend nuanced differences for his original community.
Alternatively, from Peter’s perspective, he may have believed they were synonyms, but Jesus was actually asking something deeper.
So now let me offer an expansive, loose paraphrase, in the spirit of the Message Bible.
15 Then, when they finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love [agapaō] me with a total commitment for me, enough to lead my flock, more than these disciples do?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I have a close association with [phileō] you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you really love [agapaō] me with a total commitment for me, enough to lead my flock?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I have a close association with [phileō] you.”
He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17 He said to him a third time, this time with emphasis in his voice, “Simon, son of John, do you really have an intimate, close association with [phileō] me?”
Peter was grieved because from his point of view Jesus said to him a third time “do you have a close association with [phileō] me,” and Peter said to him with the same emphasis in his voice, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have really have an intimate, close association with [phileō] you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Now let me paste the same loose paraphrase, but without the two bracketed verbs.
15 Then, when they finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me with a total commitment for me, enough to lead my flock, more than these disciples do?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I have a close association with you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you really love me with a total commitment for me, enough to lead my flock?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I have a close association with you.”
He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.”
17 He said to him a third time, this time with emphasis in his voice, “Simon, son of John, do you really have an intimate, close association with me?”
Peter was grieved because from his point of view Jesus said to him a third time “do you have a close association with me,” and Peter said to him with the same emphasis in his voice, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have really have an intimate, close association with you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
We don’t know what the tone of voice Jesus used and what penetrating look he directed at his lead apostle, as Jesus was in the process of restoring him. My paraphrase adds these unspoken elements,
However, you can take or leave my paraphrase.
Finally, let’s tally up the commentators.
Bruce, Carson, Morris, Mounce, Borchert, and Beasley-Murray believe the two verbs are synonyms in John’s Gospel, so they say not to make a big thing of it. Klink seems to fudge things a little, so I’m not clear about his views. Back to Mounce: he is tempted by Temple’s suggestion that the Lord’s questions follow a descending scale, while his commissioning follows an ascending scale. I like this idea too and would like it more if I knew precisely what it meant. Maybe it means: descending from agapaō to phileō; and ascending from lambs to sheep. If that’s not what it means, so be it. You can sort it out on your own.
Morris is excellent here. Peter denied Jesus three times, and Jesus is restoring Peter with three probing questions and commissioning him three times. “This must have had the effect of a demonstration that, whatever had been the mistakes of the past, Jesus was restoring Peter to a place of trust. It is further worth noting that the one thing about which Jesus questioned Peter prior to commissioning him to tend the flock was love. This is the basic qualification for Christian service. Other qualities may be desirable, but love is completely indispensable (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3)” (comment on v. 17).
18-19:
Bruce:
By the time the Gospel was written Peter had glorified God in martyrdom. Knowing what form Peter’s martyrdom took, the Evangelist [John] could see a precise reference to it in the words of Jesus, such as could not have been seen at the time. The stretching out of his hands could have been for the fitting of handcuffs, and there might be the further picture of his being led off in chains to the place of execution. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96) speaks [1 Clement 5.4] of Peter’s martyrdom, but does not indicate what form it took; for this we have to wait until Tertullian (c. AD 212), who says, with evident reference to our present text, that it was ‘when Peter was bound to the cross that he was girt by someone else.’ [Scorpiace 15] The stretching out of his hands would then be understood in retrospect to be their stretching out on the cross-beam of the cross. (We need not take too seriously the later embellishment, found in the apocryphal Acts of Peter [37-39] and in Eusebius [Hist. Eccl. 3.1], according to which he was crucified head downwards at his own insistence). (comment on vv. 18-19).
Beasley-Murray teaches us that classical writers, who lived before the NT was written, understood the expression “stretching out” to refer to Roman crucifixion, to a crucified man (comment on v. 18). So Jesus is telling Peter that he will be crucified.
Jesus starkly finished his one-on-one dialogue with Peter with the two words, “Follow me.” He was communicating to Peter that he had betrayed him before; now it is time to really follow him, even when he is about to you his life unpleasantly, as Jesus did. In effect: “I followed the Father’s will even to the cross. Now you follow me no matter where your journey, directed by me, leads.”
Jesus knew by what death Peter would glorify God. Peter had proclaimed, confidently, “I will lay down my life for you (13:37), and the first stage in the prophecy was wrong. He abandoned Jesus. But at the end of Peter’s life his confident prediction proved true. He really did lay down his life for Jesus. This willingness to be martyred happened only after his empowerment at Pentecost. He is an inspiration to us.
GrowApp for John 21:15-19
1. However one translates the two verbs for “love”, these questions are challenging. “How deep is your commitment to Jesus?
2.. Would you lay down your life for him (by God’s grace)?
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3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
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