15 So when they had dined, Jesus
saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him,
Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third
time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And
he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18 Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst
whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy
hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19
This spake
he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken
this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
20 Then
Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also
leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth
thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus,
Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad
among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto
him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry
till I come, what is that to thee? 24 This is the disciple which
testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his
testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other
things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I
suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be
written. Amen. (John
21:15-25)
After a feast of fish and bread - the third such feast (the first being the
5,000 of John 6 and the other three Gospels, and the 4,000 of Matthew 14 and
the Gospel of Mark), the disciples have another feast by the Sea - a feast of
love and Communion. It is interesting to note that these three feasts of bread
and fish happened by the shores of Galilee or the adjacent mountain.
Now you will remember that Peter was aggrieved at having denied our Lord three
times ere the cock crew on the night of our Lord's betrayal. But a certain maid beheld him as he
sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also
with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little
while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I
am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed,
saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And
Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet
spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke
22:56-62) We would
be perfectly justified in supposing Peter wept bitterly those three days until
he knew of the Lord's resurrection. What a stinging embarrassment and
self-disappointment to be looked upon by our Lord in that third denial!
Our Lord, even at the Garden Tomb, was aware of Peter's shame and hurt.
Therefore, upon His resurrection, do you remember what the great angel said to
the women at the Garden Tomb? But
go your way, tell his disciples AND PETER that he goeth before
you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. (Mark 16:7) Peter was the only disciple
mentioned by name since our Lord desired that Peter be especially informed to
alleviate Peter's great grief. And thus, we find Peter fishing on the Sea of
Galilee with the other disciples on this beautiful Spring morning. After
directing them in the catching of a great draught of fish, our Lord has
prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for the disciples - but instructs them
to bring their own fish as well. Fish and bread is not an unusual breakfast -
at least not at my mother's table. On Sunday mornings we often had
flour-battered, fried fish with biscuits. I can taste them yet!
Jesus is well aware of Peter's grief and guilt at his denial of our Lord three
nights earlier. He wishes to relieve Peter of that guilt but, before that is
possible, Peter must be made fully aware of it and repent. Repentance and
forgiveness is an act of mercy on the part of God. He allows the repentance so
that grace and mercy may wash away the guilt. So, immediately after dining, the
Lord turns to Peter and says, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?
In order to grasp the depth and magnitude of the following exchange
between Peter and the Lord, we must address the finely nuanced terms used by
both in addressing the subject of love. In His first two questions, Jesus uses
the Greek term agapao for lovest thou me.
Agapao is an exalted kind of love that is reverential and perfect. It is the
kind of love with which Jesus loves us. When Martha and Mary of Bethany sent
word to Jesus of the sickness of Lazarus, the message was, Lord, the one
whom thou lovest (agapao) is sick.
When Jesus asks Peter lovest (agapao) thou me? Peter answers with a different verb all
three times. That word Peter used for love was the Greek phileo which
means a fondness, or brotherly love such as that brotherly love that typifies
the modern Philadelphia. (*___~) The last time our Lord asks Peter, Lovest thou me He resorts to the same verb
that Peter used. It was, perhaps, an acknowledgement on the part of our Lord
that feeble man is unable to love with that same agapao kind of love
with which our Lord loves us.
It is true if we love the Lord, we will certainly feed His sheep - each of them
with which we come into knowledge of. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to
Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He
saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I
love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the
third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all
things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Often the Lord questions us and
gives commands which escape our understanding. This is the present case with
Peter in the text. Peter seems to be a bit frustrated at the repetition of the
Lord's question: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? The second time, Peter responds, Yea, Lord; thou knowest
that I love thee. It is true the Lord already knew that Peter loved Him,
just as Jesus knew Peter would deny Him thrice before the cock crew that
fateful night. But, so far, Peter is oblivious to the hidden meaning in the
Lord's line of questioning.
So on the third repetition of the question, the Lord uses a verb for love that
is on Peter's level of love. The love of Christ had weathered the storms and
torture of that night of betrayal, but Peter's had failed miserably. So, at last,
when Christ asked the third time using the lower standard of love, Peter's eyes
were opened. Peter's mind raced back to that scene at the courtyard of Caiaphas
at which he had denied the Lord thrice. Bingo! After this event, there is no
record of Peter ever failing of courage and faith again. In fact, he
demonstrates inhuman Apostolic courage throughout his ministry. 18 Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and
walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch
forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou
wouldest not. 19
This spake
he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken
this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
The Lord then tenderly relates to Peter the manner of his death. Our Lord knew
Peter long before Peter knew the Lord. He knew him when he was a child at his
mother's knee. He knew him when he was a young and carefree boy going and doing
whatever his youthful spirit opted. But the day will come, Peter, when your
freedom of movement will be restricted by bonds. You will no longer dress in
your raiment of choice, but other hands will dress you and carry you to the
place of your own cross. Yes, we follow Christ today, and we will follow Him
to, and thru, the cross. But we shall also follow in the glorious resurrection.
Christ knows our future as well as our past.
In the next verse, there is a stark difference of personality, though not
commitment, represented between the Apostle John and Peter. John is much
younger and tender of heart. Peter is brash and impulsive. 20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth
the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at
supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? That disciple whom Jesus loved
and who asked our Lord at the Last supper, Lord, which is he that betrayeth
thee? Peter remembers the close affinity of John to the Lord and is
somewhat jealous. Peter seeing
him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Of what concern is it
to a private soldier what duties another private soldier will be assigned by
the commander? We are simply to perform those duties assigned to us without
question or waver. Jesus saith unto him, If I
will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
We do not question the calling of others. We shall have enough to occupy our
souls in our response to our own calling under God.
This is the disciple which
testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his
testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself
could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. I love John and,
if you love the Lord, you are well advised to love John, too, for the Lord
loved John with a special love - just as He loves all of His Children and
Elect. Again, John advises us of the enormity of the works of God and of the
only Begotten of the Father, Jesus Christ, which are not capable of being
contained in the combined libraries of the world. It is quite appropriate that
the word AMEN seals his Gospel and his Revelation at the end.
