3rd
Sunday of Easter–May 4, 2025
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19
Theme:
“Do You Love Me More Than These?”
A. A
Brief Exegetical Analysis of John 21:1-19
- Historical
and Literary Contexts
The
passage immediately preceding our text (20:30-31) indicates the ending of the
original Gospel of John. Many biblical scholars consider Jn 21, from which our
passage is taken, to be an epilogue added later before the publication of
the Gospel. However, many other scholars defend its position as the original
conclusion to the Gospel on historical grounds.[1]
There is no logical connection between Jesus’ appearance in Galilee, recounted
in Jn 21, and his different appearances in Judea, narrated in Jn 20. Mary of
Magdala has already received the mission from the Risen Lord to announce the
resurrection (see 20:11-18). Jesus appeared to his disciples twice (see
20:19-23; 24-29), and the narrator commented that they rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. Furthermore, in that same passage, the Risen Lord filled them with
the Holy Spirit and sent them on a mission. If all these events have already
occurred, then why do they return from Jerusalem to Galilee and resume their
former occupations, abandoning their discipleship? Why can they not recognize
the Risen Lord if they are already filled with the Holy Spirit? The sequence of
the story becomes confusing when chapters 20 and 21 are put together.[2]
Consequently, Jn 21 should be analyzed independently of the stories of Jesus’
appearances recounted in Jn 20 for better understanding. Our Gospel passage is
immediately followed by the story of the Beloved Disciple (vv. 20-23) and the
second conclusion of the whole Gospel (vv. 24-25), which the lectionary has
omitted.
- Form, Structure, and
Movement
Our
text is a narrative story structured in two parts. The narrator first recounts
Jesus’ appearance to the disciples (vv. 1-14) before relating Jesus’ one-on-one
conversation with Peter (vv. 15-19). The first part can be subdivided into
three subsections: the setting (vv. 1-3), Jesus’s appearance to the disciples
and miracle (vv. 4-8), and the meal (vv. 9-14). The second part is subdivided
into two subsections: Jesus’s one-on-one conversation with Peter (vv. 15-17)
and Jesus foretelling Peter’s crucifixion (vv. 18-19).
- Detailed
Analysis
Vv.
1-14. This first part is structured into three subsections.
(1)
The setting (vv. 1-3). The narrator lists seven disciples who are present
during this event. Nathanael is described as a man from Cana in Galilee. The
two sons of Zebedee are John and James. John is identified as the disciple whom
Jesus loved in v. 7 and is also referred to in vv. 20-23 and 24-25. The
narrator does not name the “two others of his disciples.”
Through
his announcement, “I am going fishing,” Peter firmly decides to quit
discipleship and return to his former fishing life. The rest of the disciples
agree with him and follow. Their decision has been the source of much
speculation. It does not make sense that the disciples, who rejoiced when they
saw Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and were sent out on a mission (see Jn
20:19-23), could quickly revert to their old way of life.[3]
Consequently, this v. 3 indicates that Jn 21 must be analyzed independently of
Jn. 20. The context of our Gospel passage shows that the disciples were
uncertain about their future after Master Jesus died. Christ had already
revealed to them twice previously, according to v. 14, but they still do not
understand, as they remain confused.
(2)
Jesus’ appearance to his disciples and the miracle (vv. 4-8). Jesus stands on
the shore at dawn, and nobody recognizes him (v. 4). He initiates the
conversation with a simple question, “Children, have you caught anything to
eat?” (v. 5). He addresses them as “children,” indicating Jesus’s intimate
authority.[4]
The fishermen respond, “No” (v. 5). Then, acting as a coach, Jesus commands
them to cast the net over the right side of the boat, reassuring them that they
will find fish (v. 6a). They execute this command with complete obedience and
catch many fish (v. 6b). This miracle prompts the “disciple whom Jesus loved”
to recognize Jesus. He informs Peter that it is the Lord. Upon hearing that the
gentleman who coached them and worked a miracle is their Risen Lord, Peter,
filled with emotion, jumps into the sea lightly clad (v. 7). He reacts with an
overwhelming mix of joy and awe, accompanied by guilt for being in front of his
Lord whom he denied three times (see Jn 18:17, 25-27) and whose discipleship he
recently abandoned. At this moment, he likely fears that Jesus will judge and
condemn him for his wrongs.
(3)
Jesus eats breakfast with his disciples (vv. 9-14). Jesus already has fish
(with bread) ready for breakfast (v. 9) before he commands them to bring what
they caught (v. 10). The disciples eat breakfast by Jesus’ invitation: “Come,
have breakfast.” (V. 12a). There is no need to ask Jesus to clarify his
identity because they all understand that it is their Risen Lord (v. 12b).
“Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the
fish.” This v. 13 recalls the early Christian Eucharistic celebration.[5]
The number of large fish caught (153) mentioned in v. 11 is subject to
different interpretations. One interpretation suggests that it has a symbolic
meaning in relation to the apostles’ universal mission. According to Saint
Jerome, the Greek zoologists classified 153 species of fish. Another hypothesis
states that 153 is the sum of 1 to 17. Other biblical scholars invoke Ez 47:10.[6]
The
narrator concludes this first part of the story by announcing that this scene
marks the third time Jesus is revealed to his disciples after being raised from
the dead. Since Jn 21 is considered an add-on and there is no mention of other
appearances of Jesus in this chapter, what does the “third time” refer to?
Perhaps the editor of the fourth Gospel intended to connect Jn 21 and Jn 20.[7]
Even if this assumption is plausible, it appears that the narrator has not
counted accurately; this should not be the third but the fourth time. Jesus
first appeared to Mary of Magdala (20:11-18), second to his disciples without
Thomas (20:19-23), third to his disciples with Thomas (20:26-29), and fourth,
here in our text (21:4-14). By labeling this appearance as the third one, can
we assume that the narrator intentionally omits Jesus’ appearance to Mary of
Magdala because she is not regarded as a disciple?[8]
The
second part of our text (vv. 15-19) recounts the conversation between Jesus and
Peter (vv. 15-17) and how Jesus foretells Peter’s crucifixion (vv. 18-19).
(1)
Vv. 15-17. Jesus and all the disciples finish eating breakfast. The scene
now focuses solely on the one-on-one conversation between Jesus and Peter.
Jesus questions Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Each time, Peter affirms
that he loves Jesus, and Jesus charges him to care for his sheep or lambs,
which represent Jesus’ people. What is happening in this conversation? The
narrator employs two different Greek verbs for “love”: agapaō and phileō; two
verbs for “care”: feed and tend; and two nouns for Jesus’ people: sheep and
lambs. Agapaō denotes a vertical love between humans and God. It also describes
Christian love, which leads to a supreme sacrifice for the loved ones. Phileō
represents horizontal love between humans.
Thus,
in his first question, “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus uses the verb
agapaō. Here, Jesus wants to ascertain whether Peter loves him as Lord and the
extent to which Peter is willing to sacrifice his life for him. Surprisingly,
in his response, Peter uses the verb phileō, indicating that he loves Jesus not
as God, but as a human Master, and not to the extent of sacrificing his life
for Jesus. For the second time, Jesus asks Peter the same question, still using
the vertical love: agapaō. Peter’s answer remains the same, continuing to use
the horizontal love: phileō. Now, for the third time, Jesus switches the verbs,
employing Peter’s verb, phileō. The question becomes: “Do you ‘love’ me as a
human Master?” Peter is distressed during this third inquiry, confirming his
ongoing struggle with his relationship with Jesus: “Lord, you know everything;
you know that I love [phileō] you.”
Peter
is distressed to see Jesus approaching his level of love. He would love to have
risen to the level of Jesus’ love (the vertical love). Unfortunately, all
the bad memories of how he betrayed Jesus are hurting him right now.
First, just recently, he ended his discipleship. If he loved Jesus as God, he
would not have left the group of disciples and would not have returned to his
former life. Second, the charcoal fire he saw in 21:9 reminds him of the last
time he stood by a fire made of coals when he denied Jesus (see 18:18, 25).
Third, Jesus added the “more than these” in his first question: “Do you love me
more than these?” (21:15). The “more than these” is another painful memory for
Peter. Before Jesus was arrested, Peter swore that though other disciples could
deny Jesus, he, Peter, would not (see Jn 13:37-38; Mk 14:29-31). So, Jesus’
question could mean, “Do you love me more than the rest of the disciples do?”
This question reminds Peter that he failed to love Jesus as he promised. The
“these” could also mean all the fish for which Peter ended his discipleship.
“Do you love me more than these fish?” or “Do you love discipleship more than
your former life?” All these bitter memories force Peter to consider himself
unworthy of loving Jesus with an agapaō meaning.
Jesus
realizes that Peter struggles to relate to him in a vertical love (agapaō),
yet he charges him with caring for his people. The narrator uses two verbs for
care, “feed” and “tend,” and two nouns for Jesus’ people, “lambs” and
“sheep.” The lambs are the young sheep and represent all beginners in faith,
while the sheep represent believers who are more mature in faith. To
“feed” means to care gently, while to “tend” means to care strictly. Jesus’
first command, “Feed my lambs,” signifies that Peter should provide the
“beginners in faith” with simple and gentle care as they are fragile in faith.
Jesus’ second statement is, “Tend my sheep.” Here, Peter is instructed to apply
stricter care to the believers who are mature in faith. In his last command,
Jesus switches the verb and noun, declaring, “Feed my sheep.” This indicates
that Peter sometimes needs to offer the believers who are mature in faith
gentle care because they can also become fragile and stop believing in
Jesus.
(2)
In vv. 18-19, Jesus foretells Peter’s crucifixion. “When you were younger”
alludes to Peter’s life before discipleship, and “when you grow old” refers to
Peter’s life during discipleship and after accepting to oversee Jesus’ Church.
Thus, before discipleship, Peter was the master of his life, but after becoming
Jesus' disciple, especially after taking charge of Jesus’ Church, Jesus became
the one to lead Peter. Here, Jesus foretells how Peter will “feed” and “tend”
Jesus’ “lambs” and “sheep” with the supreme love (agapaō) of sacrificing his
life for Jesus’ Church and God’s people. The scene ends with Jesus telling
Peter, “Follow me” (v. 19b). This recalls the first time Jesus called Peter
while walking by the Sea of Galilee (see Mt 4:18-22). At the same Sea, Jesus
renews his call to Peter.
- Synthesis
The
disciples are disappointed and confused because their Master, Jesus, whom they
had followed for three years, has died. Everything seems over, and they find
themselves as the losers in this scenario. Consequently, they decide to abandon
their discipleship and return to their former fishing life. They catch nothing
for the entire night. Jesus appears to them at daybreak, but they do not
recognize him. He instructs them like a coach to cast their net on the right
side and promises they will catch something. The fishermen obey and catch many
fish. Through this miracle, the “disciple whom Jesus loved" recognizes
Jesus and tells Peter, “It is the Lord.” With mixed emotions, Peter, lightly
clad, jumps into the sea.
The
scene continues with Jesus inviting the disciples for breakfast, alluding to
the Christian Eucharistic celebration. The disciples do not dare to question
Jesus about his identity, as they all recognize him. The narrator states that
the fish the disciples caught numbered one hundred fifty-three. This number is
interpreted in various ways: it could relate to the disciples’ universal
mission, the 153 species of fish documented by Greek zoologists (St. Jerome’s
position), or the sum of the numbers from 1 to 17. Other biblical scholars
believe that this number invokes Ez 47:10.
After
breakfast, the focus shifts to the one-on-one conversation between Jesus and
Peter. This dialogue centers on Jesus’ three-time question to Peter about
whether he loves him as Lord. Jesus discovers that Peter loves him not as God,
but as a human Master. Peter confesses his struggle with his relationship with
Jesus. He wishes to relate to Jesus as his Lord, but various painful memories,
such as his recent departure from discipleship and his denial of Jesus three
times during Jesus’ arrest, compel him to admit that he is not worthy of loving
Jesus in the agapaō sense. Despite Peter’s feelings of unworthiness,
Jesus entrusts him with the care of his Church and people. He predicts
that Peter will eventually love him in the agapaō sense, sacrificing his
life for Jesus’ Church and people. The story concludes with Jesus renewing his
call to Peter, “Follow me.”
B. Pastoral
Implications
1.
Liturgical Context
The
era of the Church will soon arrive when Jesus ascends to heaven and sends the
Holy Spirit upon his disciples. Before that occurs, in today’s second part of
the Gospel, which resembles a job interview, Jesus wants to ensure that Peter,
who will lead his Church, loves him as God and with a love that entails
sacrifice for his Church and God’s people. The sacred author of our first
reading explains how Peter and the other disciples demonstrated their love for
Jesus before the Sanhedrin, who strictly forbade them from teaching in Jesus’
name. All the second readings of this Easter Season (from the second to the
sixth Sundays) are taken from the book of Revelation. The vision we heard today
attests that Jesus is alive and seated on the throne in heaven.
2.
What the Church Teaches Us Today
From
the first part of our Gospel (21:1-14), we learn that sometimes, through our
sufferings, we abandon Jesus and return to our sinful lives, believing we can
find a better life on our own, as Peter and his companions did. These fishermen
in our Gospel did not catch anything during the entire night because they chose
to live without involving Jesus. This teaches us that we will not find success
and true happiness when we distance ourselves from God through sin. Our Gospel
tells us that Jesus appears to these unfaithful disciples, even though they
abandoned him. Despite our sins, Jesus seeks us daily and desires to reconcile
us with God. When Peter and the other disciples allowed Jesus to be part of
their lives again, leading and instructing them, they caught many fish. Success
comes only through Jesus. Let us allow our Risen Lord to “instruct” and lead
us, and then we will find true happiness. After the miracle scene, Jesus
invites his disciples to eat breakfast with him (v. 12a). Similarly, Jesus
continues to invite us today to partake in the Eucharistic meal, his Body and
Blood, at each Mass we attend. Whenever we come to Church for Mass, we respond
to Jesus’ invitation. Let us not miss these opportunities.
From
the second part of our Gospel (vv. 15-19), we learn that faith involves love
for God and his people. This love is agapaō love, which enables us to
relate to Jesus as our Lord and to care for God’s people, even to the extent of
sacrificing our lives.
Peter
confesses that he loves Jesus not with agapaō but with phileo love. This means
he does not relate to Jesus as his Lord but merely as a human master. He would
love to rise to agapaō love, but the painful memories hurt him. First, if he
loved Jesus as God, he would not have ended his discipleship and returned to
his former life. Second, the charcoal fire he saw in Jn 21:9 reminds him of the
last time he stood by a fire made of coals when he denied Jesus (see Jn 18:18,
25). Third, the “more than these” that Jesus added in his question (21:15) is
another painful memory for Peter. Before Jesus was arrested, Peter swore that
though the other disciples could deny Jesus, he, Peter, would not (see Jn
13:37-38; Mk 14:29-31). Thus, Jesus’ question could mean, “Do you love me more
than the rest of the disciples do, as you promised?” The “more than these”
could also refer to all the fish for which Peter ended his discipleship. Jesus’
question can be interpreted this way: “Do you love me more than these fish?” or
“Do you love discipleship more than your former life?” All these bitter
memories force Peter to consider himself unworthy of loving Jesus in an agapaō
sense.
We,
too, likely carry painful memories of the wrongs we committed in the past,
which continue to make us feel unworthy of loving Jesus as we should. Do we
love Jesus and his Church as promised when we were baptized? Do we love Jesus
and his Church more than our family members, friends, jobs, and businesses? Here,
the Church wants us to understand that Jesus has not given up on us. He
persistently seeks us out, offering us a second chance to repent and return to
him.
Jesus
realizes that Peter struggles to relate to him in a vertical love (agapeō); yet
he charges him to care for his people. Despite our human weaknesses, Jesus
continues to commission us (priests and laypeople) to care for his Church and
God’s people. The narrator employs two verbs for care: “feed” and “tend,” along
with two nouns for Jesus’ people: “lambs” and “sheep.” The lambs are the
young sheep, representing all beginners in faith, while the sheep symbolize
believers who are more mature in faith. To “feed” means to care gently,
whereas to “tend” indicates caring strictly. Jesus first commands Peter and us
to feed his lambs, which means we should provide the “beginners in faith” with
gentle and straightforward pastoral care, as they are spiritually fragile.
Next, Jesus asks Peter and us to tend his sheep, which requires us to apply
stricter pastoral care to believers who are mature in faith. In his third
command, Jesus switches the verb and the noun when he says, “Feed my sheep.”
This means we should sometimes provide the believers who are mature in faith
with gentle pastoral care, as they can become fragile.
In
vv. 18-19, Jesus foretells how Peter will “feed” and “tend” Jesus’ “lambs” and
“sheep” with the supreme love (agapaō) of sacrificing his life for Jesus’
Church and people. He first declares that before discipleship, Peter was the
master of his life; but after he accepted the task of following him and
overseeing his Church, Jesus became the one to lead him. The story we heard in
our first reading fulfilled what Jesus said here. Although the Jewish religious
leaders forced the disciples to stop teaching in Jesus’ name, Peter and the
other apostles did not cease their efforts. They courageously and openly stated
that they must obey God rather than men. In our baptism, we, too, have accepted
to follow Jesus, serve him through our brothers and sisters, and allow him to
lead our lives. Despite all our daily difficulties that may tempt us to abandon
our Christian commitment, let us imitate Peter and the other disciples and
continue our mission with courage.
The scene ends with Jesus calling Peter and each of
us to follow him (v. 19b). May the liturgy of this Mass enable
us to love Jesus with an agapaō love and be ready to care for
his lambs and sheep, no matter our daily trials. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
