21:15 Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, 1 do you love me more than these do?” 2 He replied, 3 “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” 4 Jesus 5 told him, “Feed my lambs.” 21:16 Jesus 6 said 7 a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He replied, 8 “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus 9 told him, “Shepherd my sheep.” 21:17 Jesus 10 said 11 a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed 12 that Jesus 13 asked 14 him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, 15 “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus 16 replied, 17 “Feed my sheep. 21:18 I tell you the solemn truth, 18 when you were young, you tied your clothes around you 19 and went wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up 20 and bring you where you do not want to go.” 21:19 (Now Jesus 21 said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter 22 was going to glorify God.) 23 After he said this, Jesus told Peter, 24 “Follow me.”
21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. 25 (This was the disciple 26 who had leaned back against Jesus’ 27 chest at the meal and asked, 28 “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”) 29 21:21 So when Peter saw him, 30 he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 21:22 Jesus replied, 31 “If I want him to live 32 until I come back, 33 what concern is that of yours? You follow me!” 21:23 So the saying circulated 34 among the brothers and sisters 35 that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live 36 until I come back, 37 what concern is that of yours?”
1 tc The majority of
2 tn To whom (or what) does “these” (τούτων, toutwn) refer? Three possibilities are suggested: (1) τούτων should be understood as neuter, “these things,” referring to the boats, nets, and fishing gear nearby. In light of Peter’s statement in 21:3, “I am going fishing,” some have understood Peter to have renounced his commission in light of his denials of Jesus. Jesus, as he restores Peter and forgives him for his denials, is asking Peter if he really loves his previous vocation more than he loves Jesus. Three things may be said in evaluation of this view: (a) it is not at all necessary to understand Peter’s statement in 21:3 as a renouncement of his discipleship, as this view of the meaning of τούτων would imply; (b) it would probably be more likely that the verb would be repeated in such a construction (see 7:31 for an example where the verb is repeated); and (c) as R. E. Brown has observed (John [AB], 2:1103) by Johannine standards the choice being offered to Peter between material things and the risen Jesus would seem rather ridiculous, especially after the disciples had realized whom it was they were dealing with (the Lord, see v. 12). (2) τούτων refers to the other disciples, meaning “Do you love me more than you love these other disciples?” The same objection mentioned as (c) under (1) would apply here: Could the author, in light of the realization of who Jesus is which has come to the disciples after the resurrection, and which he has just mentioned in 21:12, seriously present Peter as being offered a choice between the other disciples and the risen Jesus? This leaves option (3), that τούτων refers to the other disciples, meaning “Do you love me more than these other disciples do?” It seems likely that there is some irony here: Peter had boasted in 13:37, “I will lay down my life for you,” and the synoptics present Peter as boasting even more explicitly of his loyalty to Jesus (“Even if they all fall away, I will not,” Matt 26:33; Mark 14:29). Thus the semantic force of what Jesus asks Peter here amounts to something like “Now, after you have denied me three times, as I told you you would, can you still affirm that you love me more than these other disciples do?” The addition of the auxiliary verb “do” in the translation is used to suggest to the English reader the third interpretation, which is the preferred one.
3 tn Grk “He said to him.”
4 tn Is there a significant difference in meaning between the two words for love used in the passage, ἀγαπάω and φιλέω (agapaw and filew)? Aside from Origen, who saw a distinction in the meaning of the two words, most of the Greek Fathers like Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria, saw no real difference of meaning. Neither did Augustine nor the translators of the Itala (Old Latin). This was also the view of the Reformation Greek scholars Erasmus and Grotius. The suggestion that a distinction in meaning should be seen comes primarily from a number of British scholars of the 19th century, especially Trench, Westcott, and Plummer. It has been picked up by others such as Spicq, Lenski, and Hendriksen. But most modern scholars decline to see a real difference in the meaning of the two words in this context, among them Bernard, Moffatt, Bonsirven, Bultmann, Barrett, Brown, Morris, Haenchen, and Beasley-Murray. There are three significant reasons for seeing no real difference in the meaning of ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in these verses: (1) the author has a habit of introducing slight stylistic variations in repeated material without any significant difference in meaning (compare, for example, 3:3 with 3:5, and 7:34 with 13:33). An examination of the uses of ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in the Fourth Gospel seems to indicate a general interchangeability between the two. Both terms are used of God’s love for man (3:16, 16:27); of the Father’s love for the Son (3:35, 5:20); of Jesus’ love for men (11:5, 11:3); of the love of men for men (13:34, 15:19); and of the love of men for Jesus (8:42, 16:27). (2) If (as seems probable) the original conversation took place in Aramaic (or possibly Hebrew), there would not have been any difference expressed because both Aramaic and Hebrew have only one basic word for love. In the LXX both ἀγαπάω and φιλέω are used to translate the same Hebrew word for love, although ἀγαπάω is more frequent. It is significant that in the Syriac version of the NT only one verb is used to translate vv. 15-17 (Syriac is very similar linguistically to Palestinian Aramaic). (3) Peter’s answers to the questions asked with ἀγαπάω are ‘yes’ even though he answers using the verb φιλέω. If he is being asked to love Jesus on a higher or more spiritual level his answers give no indication of this, and one would be forced to say (in order to maintain a consistent distinction between the two verbs) that Jesus finally concedes defeat and accepts only the lower form of love which is all that Peter is capable of offering. Thus it seems best to regard the interchange between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω in these verses as a minor stylistic variation of the author, consistent with his use of minor variations in repeated material elsewhere, and not indicative of any real difference in meaning. Thus no attempt has been made to distinguish between the two Greek words in the translation.
5 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “said again.” The word “again” (when used in connection with the phrase “a second time”) is redundant and has not been translated.
8 tn Grk “He said to him.”
9 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.
12 tn Or “was sad.”
13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Grk “said to.”
15 tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.
16 tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially later ones (A Θ Ψ Ë13 Ï), read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while B C have ᾿Ιησοῦς without the article and א D W Ë1 33 565 al lat lack both. Because of the rapid verbal exchange in this pericope, “Jesus” is virtually required for clarity, providing a temptation to scribes to add the name. Further, the name normally occurs with the article. Although it is possible that B C accidentally omitted the article with the name, it is just as likely that they added the simple name to the text for clarity’s sake, while other witnesses added the article as well. The omission of ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς thus seems most likely to be authentic. NA27 includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.
tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
18 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
19 tn Or “you girded yourself.”
20 tn Grk “others will gird you.”
21 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The phrase by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God almost certainly indicates martyrdom (cf. 1 Pet 4:16), and it may not predict anything more than that. But the parallelism of this phrase to similar phrases in John 12:33 and 18:32 which describe Jesus’ own death by crucifixion have led many to suggest that the picture Jesus is portraying for Peter looks not just at martyrdom but at death by crucifixion. This seems to be confirmed by the phrase you will stretch out your hands in the preceding verse. There is some evidence that the early church understood this and similar phrases (one of them in Isa 65:2) to refer to crucifixion (for a detailed discussion of the evidence see L. Morris, John [NICNT], 876, n. 52). Some have objected that if this phrase does indeed refer to crucifixion, the order within v. 18 is wrong, because the stretching out of the hands in crucifixion precedes the binding and leading where one does not wish to go. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:1108) sees this as a deliberate reversal of the normal order (hysteron proteron) intended to emphasize the stretching out of the hands. Another possible explanation for the unusual order is the Roman practice in crucifixions of tying the condemned prisoner’s arms to the crossbeam (patibulum) and forcing him to carry it to the place of execution (W. Bauer as cited by O. Cullmann in Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr [LHD], 88).
24 tn Grk “After he said this, he said to him”; the referents (first Jesus, second Peter) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
26 tn The words “This was the disciple” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity.
27 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 tn Grk “and said.”
29 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
30 tn Grk “saw this one.”
31 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
32 tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.
33 tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.
34 tn Grk “went out.”
35 tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).
36 tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.
37 tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.