Jo-Ann Brant and John 21:15-17

 Jo-Ann A. Brant, John, Paideia Commentaries, pages 283-284.

Peter’s Reversal and Fate (21:15–19)

The dialogue in John 21:15–22 has been described in terms of rehabilitation, reinstatement as leader, and redemption. Within the framework of Aristotle’s (Poet. 1452a.23–1452b.14) plot elements, the dialogue enacts Peter’s reversal of his relationship with Jesus (peripeteia). Peter has denied his role as a disciple in acts of self-preservation (18:17, 25, 27). Now he acknowledges his attachment to Jesus and completes his identification with the Good Shepherd (see table 6 at 13:11). After they had taken breakfast, the heart of the action begins when Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Simon [son] of John, do you love [agapas] me more than these [toutōn]?” (21:15a). Toutōn could refer to the disciples or to the fish, which signify his occupation. Jesus may be preparing Peter to leave the solidarity of the disciples for a solitary path, or he may be preparing Peter for the choice to leave his old way of life and follow a path to a martyr’s death.

The fish may also signify a life of comfort: recall that Peter’s physical comfort is linked with his denials in 18:17–27. Jesus uses Peter’s given name (Simon) rather than his nickname (Cephas/Peter; see 1:42), suggesting that Peter is indeed starting over.

In the give-and-take that follows, John alternates words for love (agapaō and phileō), sheep (arnia and probata), and tend (boskō and poimainō) so that no combination is repeated. Nineteenth-century scholars tend to argue for the superiority of agapaō over phileō and insist that Peter persists in misunderstanding the nature of divine love when he says, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love [philō] you.” The current consensus is that the words agapaō and phileō are synonyms (see also Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 123.5); therefore, when Jesus says, “Graze [boske] my lambs [arnia]” (21:15b), he is clarifying what that love entails and reiterating the love commandment (13:34; 14:15). A more-elegant translation would be “See that my lambs can graze.” The process of canceling out Peter’s threefold denial continues when Jesus repeats the question:

“Simon [son] of John, do you love [agapas] me?” Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love [philō] you,” and Jesus instructs, “Shepherd [poimaine] my flock [probata]!” (21:16). With Jesus’s third repetition of the question, “Simon [son] of John, do you love [phileis] me?” the narrator registers Peter’s emotional response: Peter was pained that he said to him a third time, “Do you love [phileis] me?” The narrator’s glimpse into Peter’s interiority at this point, after he has withheld it at the time of his denial, perhaps suggests that Peter continues to suffer for what he has done. Peter’s longer response is then not simply an expression of his convictions about Jesus’s omniscience; it is a confession: “Lord, you know [oidas] everything; you know [ginōskeis] that I love [philō] you.” Jesus’s repeated instruction, “Graze [boske] my flock [probata]!” (21:17), becomes an acknowledgment of Peter’s past failure and present contrition as well as a commission. Besides negating Peter’s threefold denial and substantiating Peter’s sincerity, the exchange draws on the storytelling “rule of three,” the phenomenon that things that come in three are more satisfying, be it three wishes, three musketeers, or “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.