THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 21
A COMMENTARY
By John Romaine
Introduction: I never thought I would attempt to write a portion of a Bible commentary,
but I have learned some things about this chapter which I want to pass on.
John, chapter 21 is the last chapter of his Gospel. I think he saved the best for last.
By that I mean he sums up all he has said previously in this narrative between Jesus and Peter in John chapter 21.
We must remember that John is about 100 years old. He had a unique relationship with
Jesus and the Bible says that John is the disciple “whom Jesus loved”. This is the chapter Jesus questions
Peter about the kind of love Peter has for Him.
It is important to know that the New Testament was written in the Greek language. When
that language was translated into English, it was almost impossible to convey the exact meaning of each Greek word into English.
English had about 40,000 words, whereas the Greek language had about 200,000 words; so we can see that the Greek language
is much more expressive than English.
There were four different Greek words for love in the time of Jesus. These four different
Greek words were all translated ‘love’. One of the words was ‘eros’ which means sexual or sensual
love. A second Greek word was ‘Storgay’ which means family love, or love of our kin-folk. A third
word is ‘phileo’ which means to be fond of, or to be emotionally attached to. Phileo also has the sense
of admiration, or someone who feels he has found his hero. The fourth word is the word ‘agape’ which means selfless
love. Remember these four different Greek words were all translated ‘love’ in our English translations.
Agape is God’s love. It is what motivated God to give His Only Begotten Son.
The question which Jesus asks Peter is “Do you love (agape) me?” Peter
answers, “Yes I do, I love (phileo) you!” Many scholars have written that the four Greek words are synonyms
that are that there is no significant difference between them and that they may be exchanged for each other. Other writers,
those who are Greek scholars say that there is significance between them and they should be interpreted showing their difference.
So this commentary is an attempt to show the impact of translating phileo and agape as they relate to the relationship of
Jesus and Peter. Let’s start with the verses of chapter 24: 1-14 of John’s Gospel.
Jesus was going to show Himself again to His disciples. His disciples, led by Peter
were going back to fishing. Peter had given up on this Jesus thing and other disciples agreed to join him. As
they were out fishing, Jesus called them from the store and asked them if they had caught any fish. They answered “no”
and Jesus told them to cast their net on the other side of their boat. When they did that, they netted 153 fish and
yet their net did not break. John said “it is the Lord” and when Peter heard that he jumped over board and
hurried in to Jesus.
The heart of this story is verses 15-17. After eating super together, Jesus drew Peter
aside and asked Peter if he loved (agape) Him. Peter answered; “Lord you know that I love (phileo) you.”
Jesus asked this question three times. The second time Jesus uses the same Greek word; “Peter, do you agape me?”
Peter then answers, “Lord you know that I phileo you.” Then Jesus asked the third time, “Peter do
you phileo me?” Peter is grieved because Jesus asked him if he phileo Him. And he answers “Lord you
know all things, you know that I phileo you.”
Many commentators explain Jesus asking Peter three times reference Peter’s love for
Him as an example of the three times when Peter denied his Lord. But this is not a sufficient answer. Jesus is
trying to do more than to forgive Peter for Peter’s denial of Him. Jesus is trying to show Peter how Jesus feels
about Peter; how Jesus loves Peter. Jesus loves Peter with agape love. Jesus has just died on His cross and He
wants Peter to know that He has loved (agape) Peter with a forgiving, selfless love. This is the kind of love that Jesus
wants Peter to have. Jesus wants Peter to fall in love with Jesus in a much deeper way. He wants Peter to have
agape love because agape love will be the only way that Peter will have the strength to go to his death on his own cross;
and to live out his life with enough Godly strength to fulfill his calling.
Jesus had to find agape love for Himself. That was the only way Jesus had
been able to fulfill His own mission.
