The Restoration of Peter (also known as the Re-commissioning of Peter) [1] is an incident described in John 21 of the New Testament in which Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and spoke to Peter in particular. Jesus restored Peter to fellowship after Peter had previously denied him and told Peter to feed Jesus' sheep.
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According to the New Testament, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. The Gospel of John records a number of such appearances. This episode is thus part of the fourth resurrection appearance in John's gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:5 suggests that Jesus had already appeared individually to Peter; A. B. Bruce argues on this basis that the account in John 21 is not really a "restoration" since Peter would have been restored already: "Who can doubt that after that meeting the disciple's mind was at ease, and that thereafter he was at peace, both with himself and with his Master?" [2] Bruce concludes that the account is not "the restoration of Peter to a forfeited position, but his recall to a more solemn sense of high vocation." [3]
All four gospels record Peter's denial of Jesus, and all of the synoptic gospels record how Peter "wept bitterly" after the rooster crowed. John omits this detail, but he is unique in describing the restoration scene between Jesus and Peter. Jesus words in Mark 16:7, however, are often thought to carry the message of Peter's restoration: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee...’" (NIV). [4]
Paul Barnett notes that Jesus' approach to Peter in John 21 is "both forgiving and stern." [5]
In John 21, Peter goes fishing with six other disciples. They do not catch any fish all night, but in the morning Jesus meets them and tells them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. When they do, there is a miraculous catch of 153 fish.
Jesus and his disciples have breakfast on the shore. Jesus prepares the breakfast of bread and fish, including a charcoal fire. Peter also stood near a charcoal fire when he denied Jesus. After they finish eating, Jesus speaks particularly to Peter.
Earlier Peter had denied Jesus three times. Now, in response to Jesus' questioning, Peter affirms his love for Jesus three times. William Hendriksen notes some other correspondences between this episode and that of Peter's denial. For example, it is at a charcoal (ἀνθρακιὰν) fire where Peter first denied Jesus (John 18:18) and now is asked to confess his love for his master (John 21:9). [6] Ben Witherington III suggests that "John has the threefold restoration take place in a setting similar to where the threefold denial did. It's like revisiting the scene of the crime, only this time getting it right." [7]
Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" The Greek text is ambiguous as to what the "these" refers to, and D. A. Carson notes that there are three possibilities:
Carson himself chooses the third option. [8] Adrienne von Speyr argues, "The Lord expects that Peter should love him more than the others do, more than John, who is nevertheless love personified. And he should also have personal knowledge of this more. This expectation constitutes an immediate overtaxing of Peter, an overtaxing that begins here and will reach no end until the end of time. ... More than these also means: more than these who have previously known only personal love." [9]
The dialogue between Jesus and Peter contains two different words for "love", which some, but not all, commentators deem to be of exegetical significance. The words are agapaô (the verb form of the noun agape ) and phileô (the verb form of the noun philia ). The dialogue proceeds as follows: [10]
This is brought out in the 1984 (but not the 2011) edition of the NIV, which renders agapao as "truly love" and phileo as "love". Ben Witherington III suggests that this indicates "Jesus' gracious condescension to the level that Peter was prepared to respond at this juncture." [11] William Hendriksen argues that in his third question, Jesus is calling into question even Peter's "subjective attachment" and affection, and that is why it says "Peter was grieved because he said to him this third time..." (John 21:17). [12]
Other commentators, such as Carson, reject the idea of a distinction between the meaning of the two words. [13] According to Thomas J. Lane, "Since the early centuries, it has been debated whether there is significance to Peter responding with a different love verb and for the third question Jesus using the same love verb as Peter. While the majority opinion has swayed to and fro over the centuries, the common opinion now is that, since these two love verbs are used interchangeably in this Gospel, there is no special significance to their use here in [John] 21:15-17. Keener has done a study of their interchangeability in John, showing that they are both used even to describe the Father loving Jesus." [14]
In his The Lord , Romano Guardini says that Jesus' second and third questions made Peter nevermore answer him with his "old confidence", made him more humble and realized that he was being punished for "his triple treason". [15]
In response to Peter's three affirmations of love for him, Jesus gives Peter three commands: "Feed my lambs" / "Take care of my sheep" / "Feed my sheep". Jesus is re-commissioning Peter as an apostle and leader in the church. "Sheep" is a common metaphor in the New Testament to refer to the people of God. This is the origin of the word "pastor", which means "shepherd".
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia argues that the title "Vicar of Christ", given to the Pope, is founded on these words of Jesus, "by which He constituted the Prince of the Apostles guardian of His entire flock in His own place, thus making him His Vicar and fulfilling the promise made in Matthew 16:18–19." [16] Protestant theologians such as D. A. Carson argues that "neither founding pre-eminence nor comparative authority is in view" in this passage. [17] Writing from an Orthodox perspective, Victor Potapov argues that the word "feed" does not signify "the supreme authority of pastorship," but simply "the authority and responsibilities of pastorship proper to all the apostles and their successors." [18]
Jesus then describes Peter's future to him, and says "someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go" (John 21:18, NIV). The narrator interprets this as referring to Peter's martyrdom (John 21:19). According to a tradition found in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, Peter was crucified upside-down.
Another possibility is argued for by classicist Timothy Barnes. He suggests that if the author of John knew the rough details of Peter's death, these verses actually imply that Peter was not crucified, but rather burned alive. According to the historian Tacitus, Nero ordered the Christians he accused of being behind the Great Fire of Rome to be burned alive as a sort of poetic justice. Criminals were generally crucified naked (despite later art often depicting Jesus allowed a loincloth for modesty), a poor fit for being "dressed" by another, while burning someone alive may have involved placing an oil-soaked tunic on them, suggesting that the verse may have been a reference to just such a vestment. [19]
After having said all the above, Jesus said to Peter, "Follow me" (John 21:19). Guardini argues, "Here too an event from the past is recalled, transfigured, and continued." At the moment Peter became happy again since he realized that he has been forgiven, and then he resumed "something of his old garrulousness". [15]
The Passion is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week.
John 21 is the twenty-first and final chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains an account of a post-crucifixion appearance in Galilee, which the text describes as the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples. In the course of this chapter, there is a miraculous catch of 153 fish, the confirmation of Peter's love for Jesus, a foretelling of Peter's death in old age, and a comment about the beloved disciple's future.
The life of Jesus is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and nativity, public ministry, passion, prophecy, resurrection and ascension. Other parts of the New Testament – such as the Pauline epistles which were likely written within 20 to 30 years of each other, and which include references to key episodes in the life of Jesus, such as the Last Supper, and the Acts of the Apostles, which includes more references to the Ascension episode than the canonical gospels also expound upon the life of Jesus. In addition to these biblical texts, there are extra-biblical texts that Christians believe make reference to certain events in the life of Jesus, such as Josephus on Jesus and Tacitus on Christ.
The phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" or, in John 20:2; "the other disciple whom Jesus loved", is used six times in the Gospel of John, but in no other New Testament accounts of Jesus. John 21:24 states that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of this disciple.
John 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the famous stories of the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine and Jesus expelling the money changers from the Temple. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this gospel.
Mark 8 is the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains two miracles of Jesus, Peter's confession that he believes Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus' first prediction of his own death and resurrection. It is the middle chapter of the gospel but its significance is variously understood: for example the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary calls it a "section of miscellaneous matter", whereas many commentators treat it as a turning point where Mark's description of Jesus as teacher and miracle worker gives way to his focus on the role of Jesus' death and the difficult nature of his teachings.
Matthew 27 is the 27th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, part of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. This chapter contains Matthew's record of the day of the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Scottish theologian William Robertson Nicoll notes that "the record of this single day is very nearly one-ninth of the whole book".
The conditional preservation of the saints, or conditional perseverance of the saints, or commonly conditional security, is the Arminian Christian belief that believers are kept safe by God in their saving relationship with him upon the condition of a persevering faith in Christ. Arminians find the Scriptures describing both the initial act of faith in Christ, "whereby the relationship is effected", and the persevering faith in him "whereby the relationship is sustained." The relationship of "the believer to Christ is never a static relationship existing as the irrevocable consequence of a past decision, act, or experience." Rather, it is a living union "proceeding upon a living faith in a living Savior." This living union is captured in the simple command by Christ, "Remain in me, and I in you".
Matthew 16 is the sixteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus begins a journey to Jerusalem from the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, near the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. Verse 24 speaks of his disciples "following him".
John 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The "latter half", "second book", or "closing part" of John's Gospel commences with this chapter. The nineteenth-century biblical commentator Alexander Maclaren calls it "the Holy of Holies of the New Testament" and the "most sacred part of the New Testament", as it begins John's record of the events on the last night before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, emphasising Jesus' love for His disciples, demonstrated in the service of washing their feet, and His commandment that they love one another in the same way. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this Gospel.
John 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It continues Jesus' discussions with his disciples in anticipation of his death and records the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks individually with Thomas, Philip and Judas ; throughout this chapter, Jesus' purpose is to strengthen the faith of the apostles. Christians traditionally believe that John composed this Gospel.
John 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter records the events on the day of the Crucifixion of Jesus, starting with the arrest of Jesus the evening before. The three denials of Peter are interwoven into the narrative concerning the trials of Jesus.
In the New Testament, chapters 14–17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples immediately after the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion.
The miraculous catch of fish, or more traditionally the miraculous draught of fish(es), is either of two events commonly (but not universally) considered to be miracles in the canonical gospels. The miracles are reported as taking place years apart from each other, but in both miracles apostles are fishing unsuccessfully in the Sea of Galilee when Jesus tells them to try one more cast of the net, at which they are rewarded with a great catch (or "draught", as in "haul" or "weight"). Either is thus sometimes called a "miraculous draught of fish".
The raising of Jairus' daughter is a reported miracle of Jesus that occurs in the synoptic Gospels, where it is interwoven with the account of the healing of a bleeding woman. The narratives can be found in Mark 5:21–43, Matthew 9:18–26 and Luke 8:40–56.
The burial of Jesus refers to the entombment of the body of Jesus after his crucifixion before the eve of the sabbath. This event is described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel narratives, he was placed in a tomb by a councillor of the Sanhedrin named Joseph of Arimathea; according to Acts 13:28–29, he was laid in a tomb by "the council as a whole". In art, it is often called the Entombment of Christ.
The keys of the kingdom is a Christian concept of eternal church authority. Christians believe it was established in the 1st century AD, initially through Saint Peter then through the rest of the 12 Apostles. The latter, continuing with the early Church Fathers, would eventually comprise the early church and its doctrine. It is this authority, having been given the keys, that subsequent doctrinal points have been built upon.
Counting the Cost is a passage in the Gospel of Luke which includes a pair of parables told by Jesus. The first title comes from the phrase "count the cost", which occurs in the King James Version of the passage, as well as some other versions.
There are several references in the Synoptic Gospels to Jesus predicting his own death, the first two occasions building up to the final prediction of his crucifixion. Matthew's Gospel adds a prediction, before he and his disciples enter Jerusalem, that he will be crucified there.
Saint Peter, also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repeatedly and prominently in all four New Testament gospels as well as the Acts of the Apostles. Catholic tradition accredits Peter as the first bishop of Rome—or pope—and also as the first bishop of Antioch.
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