Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 21:17

"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of John, 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." — John 21:17 (ASV)

The chief reason for the narration of this episode seems to be to let Peter know that the Lord still loved him and had not cast him out (cf. 15:6). The three questions Jesus addressed to Peter stand in contrast to Peter’s three denials. The disciples were no doubt aware of Peter’s denial of Jesus, and the commission that Jesus renewed with him in their presence would reassure them of Peter’s place among them. The wording of the first question, “Do you truly love me more than these?” contains an ambiguity. There are three possible solutions:

1. Do you love me more than these other men do?

2. Do you love me more than you love these men?

3. Do you love me more than these things—the boats, the fish, etc.?

In view of Peter’s earlier boastful promise that whatever the others did he would not fail, the first option seems most likely.

The words translated “love” have also raised considerable debate. Two different terms are used: agapao (GK 26) is used in Jesus’ first two questions and phileo (GK 5797) is used in Jesus’ third question and in Peter’s three replies. The former is the same word “love” that appears in 3:16; it is used of divine love and usually carries the connotation of will or purpose as well as that of affection. Phileo implies affinity, friendship, and fondness. Both words represent a high aspect of love, for both are used of God (3:16; 5:20) and of humans (14:21; 16:27) in this gospel. Some maintain that these words here are interchangeable. On the other hand, a good case can be made for a difference in Jesus’ emphasis. There was less doubt concerning Peter’s attachment to Jesus than there was concerning his will to love at all costs; and the change of term in Jesus’ third question makes his probing of Peter even deeper. If the latter alternative is adopted, it explains better Peter’s distress when questioned a third time, since Jesus would not only be challenging his love but would be implying that it was superficial.

Peter’s affirmative answer to each question is substantially the same. The verb “know” (GK 1182) used in the first two responses is a word that implies the intellectual knowledge of a fact. In his third reply, however, Peter strengthened his statement by a word that denotes knowledge gained through experience.

Jesus’ commands to Peter also contain fine distinctions:

1. “Feed [pasture] my lambs” (v.15).

2. “Take care of [shepherd] my sheep” (v.16).

3. “Feed [pasture] my sheep” (v.17).

The first and third imply only taking the sheep to pasture where they are fed; the second implies the total guardianship a shepherd exercises. This threefold injunction does not necessarily give Peter the sole responsibility for the oversight of Christ’s followers; all of his spiritually mature disciples are called to be shepherds (cf. 1 Peter 5:2). This challenge to Peter demanded a total renewal of his loyalty and reaffirmed his responsibilities.