Restoration of Peter.

(John 21:15-25).

“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’” — before the arrival of the Lord’s suffering, Simon — more than anyone else — had pledged his loyalty to Him: “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (Mat. 26:33); “I will lay down my life for Your sake” (John 13:37); “If I have to die with you, I will not deny You!” (Mark 14:31); “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Notwithstanding all these ardent pledges, Peter renounced the Lord three times, and of course through this lost his apostolic calling and Apostolic rights — he ceased to be an Apostle. This is noted by Evangelist Mark — undoubtedly from Apostle Peter’s words — who narrates that the Angel which appeared to the women myrrhbearers, said: “But go, tell His disciples — and Peter…,” singling out Peter as one who through his renouncement, had fallen away from the Apostolic image, placing him last after the other Apostles.

For his sincere and profound repentance, the Lord mercifully restores Peter to his Apostolic worthiness. Peter renounced three times, so three times the Lord forces him to answer the question: “Do you love Me?” — with “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You!” And after every affirmation, the Lord entrusts him — as an Apostle — to nurture His lambs, to nurture His sheep. Peter was aggrieved because he was asked the third time: “Do you love Me?” — “You know that I love You.,” (that’s why on the 29^th of June, in the church service commemorating the holy foremost-of-the-Apostles Peter and Paul, the stihira “Glory” is sung).

The Roman-catholics, quite fruitlessly and without substance, see in this a special endowment of rights and seniority to Apostle Peter by the Lord — in comparison to the other Apostles. “Lambs,” which the Lord entrusts to Peter for nourishment, are the youngest, newly born, so to speak members of Christ’s Church, which are in need of special attention from the shepherd. “Lambs,” are the ordinary, spiritually mature members of the Church, which do not need special and diligent expenditure of time and care. It is very characteristic that the Lord in asking the first time: “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” was seemingly hinting at Peter’s promise to the Lord of his fidelity and loyalty — more so than the other disciples. Also very characteristic is the Lord calling Peter by his former name — “Simon” — and not Peter, because having renounced, he revealed his instability, lack of spiritual firmness, and through this ceased to be “Peter,” i.e. “rock.” Humbly acknowledging the depth of his fall, Peter doesn’t now compare his love of the Lord with that of the other disciples. He even doesn’t dare to reassure the Lord of his love for Him, but only alludes to His omniscience: “You know that I love You.” Not only that, through his humility, instead of the word “love” — “agapan,” used by the Lord in His question and meaning full and complete love, Peter uses another word — “filin,” meaning a personal heart-felt attachment and loyalty. In asking Peter the third time, the Lord uses this same word “filin.” This saddened Peter, that his personal attachment to Him is being subjected to doubt by the Lord. That’s why, on the third time, he confesses his love with exceptional force, citing His omniscience. Just as he had renounced the Lord for the third time with exceptional force, oaths and swearing, the Lord is now compelling Peter — for the third time — to confess his love for Him, with exceptional force.

The Lord combines the restoration of Peter’s Apostolic calling with the prediction, that his current attested love for the Him will lead to his martyr’s death at the end of his Apostolic mission. “When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish” — here, under the guise of a helpless old man being dealt with against his will, the Lord symbolically predicts the martyr’s violent death. Indeed, Peter was in fact crucified in Rome during the reign of Nero, in the year 68. “Follow Me” — were the last definitive words of the fallen Peter’s restoration to Apostolic calling.

After these words, the Lord left and evidently the disciples followed. Seeing the Lord’s beloved disciple John, Peter was overtaken with the desire to know his future — did a martyr’s death for Christ await him. But to the Lord, it was not opportune for Him to reveal the type of death of His beloved disciple. He answered Peter, that it was not his business to know this: “What is that to you? You follow Me.” Here we find another refutal of the Roman-catholic false teachings, as to the Lord entrusting the other disciples to Peter and that he had been appointed as the “prince.” If the Lord did in fact entrust Peter as His vicar with the other disciples, then Peter would of course be fully entitled to ask about John, and the Lord wouldn’t have responded with: “What is that to you?”

The words expressed by the Lord about John, gives rise to the thought that he wouldn’t die, but would live till the Second Coming of Christ: “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” However, the Evangelist himself refutes this, underlining the fact that the Lord’s dialogue carried a condition: “If I will that he remain…”

The narrative on this and in fact his Gospel, Saint John concludes with a testimony thereof: “This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” This confirms the attribution of this Gospel to Saint John the Theologian, and the truth of everything that he narrated in the Gospel. In conclusion, Saint John again reiterates that much “that Jesus did” has not been recorded in the Gospel, because if everything was to be recorded in detail, “I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Although this may seem an exaggeration, a hyperbolical expression, the discourse here is namely about the immensity of the Lord’s works, which the limited world is unable to absorb. Some assume that the last two verses — 24 and 25 — were subsequently added to John’s Gospel by his readers in ancient times, wanting to confirm for eternity the truth of this Gospel.