Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (Cycle C)
Readings:
Acts 5:27-32, 40-41
Psalms 30:2, 4-6, 11-12a, 13b
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Following the Savior
The theme of this week's readings is following in the
footsteps of the Savior. In the First Reading, the Apostles, who were once
fearful and scattered, are now fearless and united in their commitment to their
Savior when facing the same Law court that condemned Jesus to death. Empowered
by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they were not intimidated and joyfully gave
their testimony concerning the risen Messiah.
In the Responsorial Psalm Reading, the psalmist praises God for saving him and not abandoning him to the grave. Today's Liturgy puts the Responsorial Psalm into the mouth of Jesus, who thanked God the Father for raising Him from death. God did not abandon Him to Sheol, the abode of the dead into which Jesus descended after His physical death to redeem the souls imprisoned there (1 Pt 3:18-20; 4:6; Apostles' Creed). In this context, the psalm reveals its prophetic meaning by proclaiming what God did when He resurrected Jesus in glory and gave Him victory over death. Victory over death is also what God will do for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior to follow Him in our resurrection from the bonds of death and our ascent to Heaven with Him in glory.
In the Second Reading from the Book of Revelation, St. John has a vision where he finds himself standing in the heavenly court among saints and angels. He gives us a glimpse of the Christian's reward for confessing belief in Christ no matter the cost. St. John was suffering in exile for having proclaimed the Gospel when Christ rewarded him with a visit to the heavenly Sanctuary and the liturgy of the saints and angels as they offered worship and praise around the throne of God Almighty. He saw the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus, the sacrificial victim (Rev 5:6) and the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary (Heb 7:26-27). This is the same vision all Christians hope to see at the end of their earthly lives when they follow Jesus into eternity.
In the Gospel Reading, seven of the Apostles, including St. Peter, meet the Resurrected Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (the Roman name of the Sea of Galilee), where He cooked breakfast for them over a charcoal fire. Jesus ate with them to show that He was indeed resurrected in body and spirit. Afterward, Peter, who had once denied Jesus three times by a charcoal fire, was forgiven three times by Christ and commissioned again to spiritually "feed" the "lambs" of the community of the faithful and "lead" both the authorized teaching authority and the children of the Church (the sheep and the lambs).
Jesus taught the Church after His Resurrection for forty days (as the ancients counted without a zero place-value). Then, after commissioning His Apostles and disciples to spread the Gospel of salvation to the "ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8), He Ascended into His heavenly Kingdom. The Apostles continued to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as they shared their experience of the living Christ, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of salvation and performing miracles in His name despite the threat of persecution and martyrdom. The promised reward of their obedience in following Christ would be what St. John witnessed in the Second Reading when he had a vision of the resurrected and glorified Christ leading the liturgy of worship in the heavenly Sanctuary.
The First Reading Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 ~ Boldly Preaching
in the Name of Jesus
27 When the captain
and the court officers had brought the Apostles in and made them stand before the
Sanhedrin, the high priest questioned them. 28
"We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name? Yet
you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood
upon us." 29 But Peter and the Apostles
said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though
you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant
Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. 32
We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has
given to those who obey him." [...] 40 The
Sanhedrin ordered the Apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and
dismissed them. 41 So they left the
presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer
dishonor for the sake of the name.
Before His crucifixion, Jesus warned His Apostles and disciples that they, like Him, would suffer persecution, be hated as he was hated, would endure suffering as He suffered, and some of them would face martyrdom as He was going to be martyred (Mt 10:16-23; Mk 13:9-13; Lk 21:12-19; Jn 15:18-20; 16:1-4). In this reading, the Apostles experience for the first time the fulfillment of Jesus's prophecy in their persecution by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court in Jerusalem. It was the same court that condemned Jesus to death.
The Apostles were teaching daily in the Temple that Jesus of Nazareth was the Davidic Redeemer-Messiah promised by the Prophets. As He foretold, He was resurrected from the dead. The religious authorities arrested them and brought them to trial before the high court, where the Sanhedrin forbade them to continue teaching that Jesus was the Messiah. Instead of submitting to the court's attempt to frighten and discourage them, the Apostles courageously continued to profess Jesus was the Messiah promised by the prophets and fearlessly exercised their divine calling to preach His Gospel of salvation (Acts 5:2b-32). In response to their defiance, the members of the Sanhedrin ordered the Apostles to be beaten severely and then released after giving them the warning to cease giving their testimony of Christ (Acts 5:40). However, instead of being intimidated, the Apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:41). If you choose to follow Christ, you must also have the courage to risk persecution and to be found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-12a, 13b
The response is: "I will praise you, Lord, for you have
rescued me." Or "Alleluia" ("alleluia" is Latin for the Hebrew "Halleluyah,"
which means "Praise God Yahweh."
2 I will
extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice
over me. 4 O LORD, you
brought me up from the netherworld; you preserved me from among those going
down into the pit.
Response
5 Sing praise
to the LORD, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. 6 For his anger lasts but a moment; a
lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn,
rejoicing.
Response
11 Hear, O
LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper. 12 You changed my mourning into dancing; O LORD, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.
Response
Psalm 30 consists of four stanzas that contain a promise to praise Yahweh for coming to the aid of the psalmist in his distress. The psalmist begins by personally praising God and then extends an invitation to the faithful to join him in praising the Lord (verses 2 and 5). In verse 6, the psalmist reminds us that God's anger and His divine judgment are meant to be redemptive and to bring repentance and rejoicing in renewed communion with the Almighty. "Weeping" and "mourning," the expressions of penance, contrast with "rejoicing" and "dancing" in God's divine presence when He forgives our sins and restores our fellowship with Him (verses 6 and 11). The psalm concludes with the psalmist's gratitude for his salvation by declaring that he will continue to give thanks to the Lord forever (verses 11-12).
Today's Liturgy puts the Responsorial Psalm into the mouth of Jesus, who thanks God the Father for His resurrection and for not abandoning Him to Sheol, the abode of the dead into which Jesus descended after His physical death to redeem the souls imprisoned there (Apostles' Creed; 1 Pt 3:18-20; 4:6). In this context, the psalm reveals its prophetic meaning in proclaiming what God did when He resurrected Jesus in victory after He conquered death and what God will also do for us if we believe in Him and place our lives in His hands.
In the psalm, we can also rejoice as disciples of the Lord rejoiced in the First Reading. We acknowledge Jesus as our defender and Savior. Even if we suffer, either because of sin in the world or persecution in defending Christ, we have confidence that our Lord will not abandon us to the grave. Instead, when we enter Heaven and become citizens of His Kingdom, our mourning will be turned into gladness ("dancing" in verse 12, which is a sign of joy).
The Second Reading Revelation 5:11-14 ~ St. John's Vision
in the Heavenly Sanctuary
11 I, (John)*,
looked and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the
living creatures and the elders. They were countless in number, 12 and they cried out in a loud voice:
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and
strength, honor and glory and blessing." 13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the
earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: "To the one who sits
on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever
and ever." 14 The four living
creatures answered, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
* The name "John" is not in the Greek text but added to
place the passage in context; see IBGE, vol. IV, page 666. However, the Book of
Revelation names John as the one receiving the revelation five times
(Rev 1:1, 4, 9; 21:2; 22:8).
The Apostles' joy in the First Reading was their belief in the redemptive value of suffering for Christ. The Apostles believed if they were found to be worthy to suffer like Jesus, they would also be found worthy to be resurrected to glory like Him (Rom 8:17-18) and would one day stand in the heavenly Sanctuary before the "Lamb that was slain" (verse 12). John's vision of standing in the heavenly court among saints and angels in the Second Reading gives us a glimpse of the Christian's reward for confessing belief in Christ no matter the personal cost. St. John, who was suffering for the sake of Christ in exile on the island of Patmos off the coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), was rewarded by a vision of the heavenly Sanctuary. He saw the liturgy of the saints and angels as they offered worship and praise around the throne of God Almighty and the Lamb, Christ Jesus, who is both the sacrificial victim (Rev 5:6) and the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary (Heb 7:26-27).
The Gospel Reading John 21:1-19 ~ The Resurrected Jesus
Meets the Apostles on the Shore of the Sea of Galilee
1 At that
time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He
revealed himself in this way. 2 Together
were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's
sons, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon
Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also will come
with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing. 4 When it was already
dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that
it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said
to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." 6 So he said to them, "Cast the net over
the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and
were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. 7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said
to Peter, "It is the Lord." When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked
in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net
with the fish. 9 When they
climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the
fish you just caught." 11 So
Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three
large fish. Even though they were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come have breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they
realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus
came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed
to his disciples after being raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my
lambs." 16 He then 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, "Tend my sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon,
son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a
third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything;
you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Amen, amen, I say to you, when you
were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you
grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and
lead you where you do not want to go." 19 He
said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he
had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
The setting of the Gospel reading is on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, the Roman name for the Sea of Galilee. St. John the Apostle wrote his Gospel in Ephesus, a Roman city on the western coast of Asia Minor, for a primarily Gentile-Christian faith community. Therefore, he did not use Jewish terms or geographic names, or even Jewish time references. The Sea of Tiberias/Galilee is the same place where Jesus first called the Apostles to leave behind their old lives and follow Him to become "fishers of men" (Mt 4:18-22). They returned to Galilee because an angel told them to meet Jesus there after His resurrection (Mt 28:7, 10, 16; Mk 14:28; 16:7).
When they first arrived, after waiting a long time, Peter decided to go fishing, and the others decided to join him (verse 3). It was a chance for them to compare the old life they had left behind for the mission that would be their future in proclaiming the universal Kingdom of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:47).
Some scholars interpret the action of returning to their old occupation as an indication that these men were abandoning the path they had taken on the shores of this same lake almost three years earlier (actually, Jesus's ministry took place over a period that covered three Passovers). They suggest that the Apostles were returning to their old way of life, apparently unaware of what Jesus's commission meant when He spoke to them in the Upper Room on Resurrection Sunday. However, they must have known not only because of the miracle of the Resurrection event but from the knowledge they received through Jesus's post-resurrection visitations and the spiritual gifts He gave them. On Resurrection Sunday, He effused them with His spirit (Jn 20:22), gave the gift of His power and authority to forgive or not to forgive sins (Jn 20:23), and He opened their minds and hearts to the prophetic passages of the Old Testament (Lk 24:44-49). This knowledge called them in faith and obedience to return to Galilee to meet with Jesus, where He first called them to discipleship.
Perhaps they went fishing because they had been waiting all day for Jesus, and even though it was now night, they were all too anxious to sleep. If this was the case, it makes sense that Peter, always a man of action, might decide to be proactive while they continued to wait on the Lord by fishing, just as they had fished that last night before Jesus called them to be "fishers of men" at the beginning of His ministry (Lk 5:5). Or perhaps this episode intends to show that they still had a choice either to take up their old way of life or choose to follow Jesus.
That Peter and the Zebedee brothers still owned their fishing boats points to the fact that these men, who were not formally educated in the Law like the priests and scribes, were neither poor nor ignorant. They had been absent from the fishing business for a yearly period of three Passovers (Jn 2:13; 6:1-4; 12:1), and yet they still had their fishing business if they wanted to take up their old profession. St. John also includes the information that it was at night when they went fishing (Jn 21:3), an accurate historical detail. Night fishing is still the practice of fisherman on the Sea of Galilee today. At night the fish are attracted to the phosphorus glow of the algae on the water's surface, and fish caught at night are fresher for sale in the morning.
4 When it was
already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore, but the disciples did not realize
that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus
said to them, "Children*, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him,
"No." 6 So he said to them,
"Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So
they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.
*the literal translation of this word in Greek is paidia.
It is more literally translated as "boys" or "lads," a friendly, casual
greeting (IBGE, vol. IV, page 317).
The great catch of fish recalls the earlier event with Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when Peter, Andrew, James, and John had been fishing all night without catching any fish (Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:1-5). In that encounter, Jesus also told them to cast their nets again, and when they did, the number of fish was so plentiful they needed two boats to bring in the catch when the fishnets began to tear. At that point, Peter, recognizing an act of God, confessed his sins and called Jesus "Lord" (Lk 5:6-11).
7 So the
disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." When Simon Peter
heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea. 8 The
other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about
a hundred yards*, dragging the net with the fish.
* about a hundred yards in the Greek text is 200 cubits.
Suddenly, the seven disciples (Peter, John and James
Zebedee, Thomas, Nathanael, and two others) saw Jesus on the shore. He had prepared
a charcoal fire and was cooking fish. The disciple who called himself "the
disciple Jesus loved" (identified by the Church Fathers as St. John Zebedee,
the author of the Gospel of John) told Peter it was Christ who called to them. In
his excitement and desire to be with the Master, Peter leaped into the water
and swam to shore. The old life was no longer satisfying for Peter; he longed
to be with the Messiah. Some scholars point out that John saw Jesus first because,
being the more "spiritual" disciple, he was looking with the eyes of faith. Another
possibility is that the much younger man had better eyesight than his older
companions, or he was at a vantage point where he had a better view of Jesus
standing on the shore.
It was the custom to remove one's outer long garment and wear only a breechcloth when fishing. Gentiles usually fished naked. The Jews were particular about maintaining modesty as a sign of righteousness, and therefore public nakedness was forbidden. So, it is unlikely that the men were fishing without any outer clothing but were probably wearing only their loincloths. That Peter dressed before jumping into the water was out of modesty and reverence for his Master. He tucked or tied his outer garment to give him the freedom to swim. John did not jump into the water to swim to Jesus with Peter. Perhaps this was because John was acknowledging Peter's authority as the leader of the Apostles, as he did in John 21:3-8 when he stood aside and allowed Peter to be the first to enter Jesus's empty tomb.
The enormous quantity of fish in verses 7-8 symbolizes the abundance of God's blessings and prefigures the abundant harvest of souls these "fishers of men" will bring into the New Covenant Church, symbolized by Peter's boat. It is a promise Jesus made to them when He told Simon-Peter: Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching men (Lk 5:10b). This promise of the superabundance of blessings in the New Covenant also recalls the other acts and promises of Jesus's generosity:
9 When they climbed
out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish* on it and bread*. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the
fish you just caught." 11 So
Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred
fifty-three large fish. Even though they were so many, the net was not torn. *
the words "bread" and "fish" are in the singular (IBGE, vol. IV, page 318).
The details in this encounter remind us of two similar
experiences that some of these men had with Jesus:
The Synoptic Gospels record the story of when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John (the sons of Zebedee) to discipleship. St. John does not recount this event in his Gospel, but he expects us to be familiar with that event and how those stories connect to this encounter with Christ. There are more parallels between this event in John's Gospel and Jesus's call of the fisherman in Luke 5 than in the other Gospels.
| John 21:1-8 | Luke 5:1-11 |
| The Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee/Tiberias) is the location. | The Sea of Tiberius (Sea of Galilee) is the location. |
| Seven disciples fished all night | The men had been fishing all night (5:5). |
| When it was light, Jesus was standing on the shore watching the boat (21:4). | In the morning, Jesus passed two boats by the water's edge with fisherman tending their nets (5:2). |
| Jesus called to the fisherman in Simon-Peter's boat and asked if they had caught anything (21:5). | Jesus got into Simon-Peter's boat and asked him to put the boat out into deeper water, where Jesus taught the crowds from the boat (5:3). |
| Jesus told them to throw the net to the right side and told them they would find something (21:6). | Jesus told Simon to put out into deep water and drop the nets (5:4). |
| They threw out the nets, and the quantity of fish was so great that they could not haul in the catch (21:6). | Simon told Jesus they had fished all night without success, but they would do as He requested (5:5). |
| Despite catching so many fish, the net was not broken (21:11). | They caught such a vast number of fish that their nets began to tear (5:6). |
| Simon Peter dragged the net ashore; it was full of 153 fish (21:11). | The other boat with James and John came to help and filled both boats to the point of sinking (5:7). |
| Simon-Peter immediately swam to Jesus (21:7). | Simon-Peter immediately fell to his knees, saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" (5:8). |
| Jesus commissioned Peter a second time as His chief minister (21:15-17). | Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on, you will be catching men" (5:10). |
| Peter professed his love for Jesus (21:17), and Jesus commanded him to "Follow me" (21:19). | Then, bringing the boats back to the shore, they left everything and followed Him (5:11). |
Significantly, this time the net did not break as it had in the first miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5:6 because this time, Jesus Christ was in charge of the catch! The Fathers of the Church saw Peter's boat as symbolic of the universal Church. She may be tossed on stormy seas, but it is Jesus's will that she should prevail and bring in an abundant harvest of souls. This is why the main body of the building of a Catholic church is called a "nave," the Latin word for "boat."
Much ink has been spilled by scholars attempting to answer the question concerning the symbolic significance of Peter hauling ashore the net full of the specific number of 153 fish. Most scholars recognize that the fish were symbolic of the souls harvested by the Church for Christ. St. Jerome noted that Greek zoologists had determined that there were 153 kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee, which he felt was symbolic of all the different tribes of the earth being brought back into God's covenant family. A parallel to this theory is in Matthew 13:47, where Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a dragnet which, when thrown into the sea, gathers fish "of every kind," indicating the universality of the Christian mission.
The use of "fish" and "bread" in the singular in verse 9 is also significant. Here is another connection to the feeding miracle of the 5,000 in John chapter 6, when the fish and bread were miraculously multiplied. Does John want to illustrate the theme of unity at a meal by referring to one fish and one loaf? Is it possible that Jesus miraculously multiplied the one fish and the one loaf to feed the eight of them, just as He multiplies His flesh and blood through His ordained priesthood to feed the souls of all future believers who come to Him in the Most Holy Eucharist? In the symbolism of numbers in Scripture, eight (as in the eight Apostles present) is the number of salvation, redemption, and regeneration (see the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture").
The other earlier event connected to this encounter with the risen Christ is signified by the charcoal fire. The last time Peter drew near a charcoal fire was when he denied Jesus three times. His denial took place in the courtyard of the High Priest's palace in John 18:15-18 and 25-27, fulfilling Jesus's prediction that Peter would deny Him three times before the trumpet signaling the end of the third Night Watch called the "cockcrow" (see the chart on the Division of the Night Watches in the first century AD in Luke Lesson 16, Handout 3). Now, at another charcoal fire, Jesus would allow Peter to repent and be restored in fellowship with his Lord and Savior.
12 Jesus said
to them, "Come have breakfast." And none of the disciples dared to ask him,
"Who are you?" because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and
gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his
disciples after being raised from the dead.
St. John could be mentioning this third revelation (verse
14) as a symbolic number, or it could be the third visit with a larger group of
the Apostles or disciples (not counting the encounter with Mary Magdala or the
two disciples on the road to Emmaus). But this is probably literally the third
time Jesus provided evidence to the disciples that He was not a ghost by eating
with them. In Luke 24:13-32, Jesus appeared to two disciples traveling to
Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday, and He stopped at their home and ate with them. In
John 20:19-23, on Resurrection Sunday, Jesus appeared to ten Apostles in the
Upper Room in Jerusalem, which was probably the same encounter recorded in Luke 24:36-43, when Jesus ate with them. Then He returned one week later in John 20:26-29,
but there is no mention of a meal in the return visit. The meal on the Sea of
Galilee is the third meal. In Acts 10:41, St. Peter wrote about eating with
Jesus after the Resurrection event: Yet on the third day God raised him to
life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses
that God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses; we have eaten and
drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead..." (Act 10:40-41).
15 When they
had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you
love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love
you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 He
then 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, "Tend my sheep."
17 He said to him the third
time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had
said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know
everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
It is unclear what Jesus meant when He asked Peter, "do
you love me more than these?" There are two possible interpretations:
The first possibility is preferred by some Bible translators who include the words "more than these others do" in their translation, interpreting Jesus's question to be was Peter's love for Jesus greater than the other Apostles' love for Him.
However, all the interpretations agree that Jesus was asking Peter to declare his ultimate loyalty. Perhaps Peter remembered Jesus's testing of the strength of his commitment when he, in writing to the ordained ministers of the Church in 1 Peter 5:1-4, urged them: So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint by willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Note that Jesus called Peter the "son of John" or Ben Yehohanan in Hebrew. The Hebrew name Yehohanan means "Yahweh's mercy" or "Yahweh is mercy." Jesus called Peter the son of a man named John three times in this passage (verses 15-17), but it is the fourth time John's Gospel identifies Peter as the "son of John." When Jesus first met Simon-Peter in John 1:42, He addressed him as Simon, son of John.
However, in Matthew 16:17, Jesus referred to Simon-Peter as the "son of Jonah." Ben Yonah in Hebrew means "son-of-dove" or "son-of-Jonah." It is not a discrepancy. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is using a symbolic reference to the 8th century BC Galilean prophet Jonah. Five times before the reference in Matthew 16, Jesus had compared His impending death and resurrection to the prophet Jonah's three-day entombment and death in the great fish/whale. If you recall the story of Jonah, you will remember that Yahweh sent the prophet to the city of Nineveh, the capital city of the regional superpower of Assyria to tell the people to repent and turn to Yahweh. Jesus will send His prophet Peter, "son of the dove" (the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit) to Rome, the capital city of the regional superpower of the Roman Empire, where Peter will establish the headquarters of the universal Church. From Rome, St. Peter would bring the Gospel to the world, calling all the families of the nations to repentance and salvation in Christ Jesus! Peter became the first Christian Bishop of Rome in circa AD 42 and suffered martyrdom in AD 67.
Peter's triple profession of love for Jesus in John 21:15-17 forgave Peter's threefold denial, and once again, Jesus invested Peter as the chief Shepherd of the Good Shepherd's flock. A three-times repetition oath is a common Semitic practice and recalls Abraham's triple covenant formula with Yahweh in Genesis 23:3-20. The dialogue of Peter's triple repetition investiture uses several Greek synonyms. There are two different nouns for "sheep," two different verbs for "feed" or "tend," and two different verbs for "know" and "love" (IBGE, vol. IV, page 318).
| Jesus: "Simon, son of John, do you love [agapas] me more than these?" |
| Simon-Peter: "Yes Lord, you know [oidas] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Feed [boske] my lambs [arnion]." |
| Jesus: "Simon son of John, do you love [agapas] me?" |
| Simon-Peter: "Yes, Lord, you know [oidas] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Tend/shepherd [poimaine] my sheep [probata]" |
| Jesus: "Simon son of John, do you love [phileis] me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love [phileis] me?" and he said to him |
| Simon-Peter: 'Lord you know [oidas] everything, you know [ginoskeis] that I love [philo] you." |
| Jesus: "Feed [boske] my sheep [probata]." |
What then is significant in the use of the two verbs for feed or nourish and to guide or rule and the use of the two nouns for lambs and sheep? The two verbs boskein and poimainein (to nourish and rule) combine with the two words for lamb and sheep to express the fullness of the pastoral duty assigned to Peter as Vicar of Christ's Kingdom of the Church. He guides and feeds the lambs who are the laity, and feeds and rules the sheep who rule over the lambs and are the members of the ordained ministerial priesthood.
Some scholars interpret the lambs as the spiritually immature and the sheep as the spiritually mature members of the congregation, but this interpretation does not take into account the difference in meaning between the verbs for "feed" and "rule." Philo's quote is an important guide to understanding these two verbs. As noted above, Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of St. John) wrote, "Those who feed [boskein] supply nourishment ... but those who tend [poimainein] have the power of rulers and governors."
In the Greek language, the word agape is defined as a spiritual kind of love as opposed to eros, physical love, or philio, brotherly or family love. However, Christians changed the meaning of the word agape to define Jesus's unique, self-sacrificial love for humanity. In the first two exchanges with Peter, Jesus used the verb form agape, which for Christians signifies Jesus's self-sacrificial love and the kind of self-sacrificing love with which He calls Peter to love His Church. However, Peter responded each time with the word philo, meaning brotherly love or love of family. What might Peter's response indicate? Some scholars contend that the use of the two the verbs for "love" means nothing significant, but St. John never uses double words or double meaning words without some hidden significance. It is possible that the difference in meaning between these two verbs for "love" signifies that Jesus is calling Peter to a higher form of love, but Peter is not yet ready to commit himself to that kind of self-sacrificing love.
The question is, will Peter grow spiritually mature enough to commit himself to that kind of agape = self-sacrificing love that Jesus encourages him to give? The answer is "Yes." The Book of Acts records Peter's transformation after the miracle of Pentecost in his fearless preaching of Jesus's Gospel of salvation. The Acts of Apostles also record Peter's courageous testimony before the same Jewish court that condemned Jesus to death as well as other actions that testify to the strength and force of his commitment to the New Covenant Church. Peter's letters to the Church in 1 and 2 Peter demonstrate that he more than rose to the level of self-sacrificing love and fulfilled Jesus's calling, not only in his ministry by spreading the Gospel of salvation and in leading the Kingdom of the Church, but in his martyrdom.
18 Amen,
amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go
where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and
someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19 He said this signifying by what kind
of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him,
"Follow me."
Some scholars believe the fourth Gospel was written several
decades after Peter's death and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. However
other scholars, including the Navarre theologians and Dr. Scott Hahn, believe
John's Gospel was completed before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 since
there is no mention of that great tragedy that was the end of the world for the
Jews and fulfilled Jesus's prophecy of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction.
It is highly unlikely that the Gospel writers would have failed to declare that
what Jesus prophesized about Jerusalem and the Temple came true in AD 70; therefore,
the destruction must have occurred after their Spirit-inspired Gospels, as the Church
Fathers testified.
And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
The first time Jesus called to Peter to "follow me" was
after the huge catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee years earlier (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17). Now He used the same words again, but this time there was a double
meaning to the command "Follow me." Peter would indeed "follow" Jesus
and spread the Gospel message across the known world, but he would also follow
Jesus not only in imitation of His life but also in His death. Peter, the first
Pope [Papa] of the Universal [Catholic] Church would demonstrate his agape
love for Jesus when he was crucified upside down in Rome. St. Peter was
crucified upside down at his request because he said he was unworthy to be
crucified in the same position as his Lord (Eusebius, Church History, III.1.1;
and Origen, Commentary on Genesis, vol. III). Scholars debate the exact
date, but most accept that it was in AD 67. St. Jerome testified that after
leaving Judea, Peter spent seven years with the Christian community in Antioch,
Syria, and then left for Rome where he served as Bishop of Rome for twenty-five
years (Jerome, De vir. ill. c.1). The Church testifies: "Christ sent the
Apostles as he himself had been sent by the Father, and then through the
Apostles, made their successors the bishops, sharers in his consecration and mission"
(Vatican II, Presbyterorum Ordinis 2). It was in Rome that St. Peter,
as prophesized by Jesus in John 21:18, stretched out his hands upon a wooden
cross and suffered martyrdom for his faith, stepping across the threshold of death
and following His Lord and Savior into a blessed eternity.
Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates
Scripture is quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 5:27-32, 40-41
21:15-17 (CCC 553, 881*, 1429*)
The Apostles and disciples as witnesses of the Resurrection (CCC 643-644, 857, 995-996)
The risen Christ and Peter (CCC 553, 641, 881, 1429)
The heavenly liturgy (CCC 1090, 1137-1139, 1326)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2013; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.