John 21: Feed My Lambs

Cindy Smith cms at dragon.com
Sat Jan 6 23:20:38 EST 2001


>From:	MX%"hholmyard at ont.com"  "Harold R. Holmyard III"  6-JAN-2001 22:57:57.96
>To:	MX%"b-greek at franklin.oit.unc.edu"
>Subj:	[b-greek] Re:  John 21  Feed my lambs

>Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 21:56:06 -0600
>To: Biblical Greek <b-greek at franklin.oit.unc.edu>
>From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard at ont.com>
>Subject: [b-greek] Re:  John 21  Feed my lambs
>Reply-To: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard at ont.com>

>Dear Bill,

>You wrote:

>>The first question from Jesus was the same question that was posed in the
>>beginning:  "Do you love me more than these [fish]?"

>The NIV Study Bible has this note at John 21:15:

>"more than these." May mean "more than you love these men" or "more than
>these men love me" or "more than you love these things (i.e., the fishing
>gear). Perhaps the second is best, for Peter had claimed a devotion above
>that of the others (cf. 13:37; Mt 26:33; Mk 14:29). Peter did not take up
>the comparison, and Jesus did not explain it.

The NAB note has this to say:

	More than these:  probably "more than these disciples do"
	rather than "more than you love them" or "more than you love
	these things [fishing, etc.]."

I take it to mean that Peter loves Jesus more than the these disciples 
love him.  I base this on a parable of Jesus recorded in Luke 7:40-50 
in which Jesus tells Simon:  

	"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed 
	five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.  Since 
	they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.  
	Which of them will love him more?"  Simon said in reply, 
	"The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven."
	He said to him, "You have judged rightly."

	Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see
	this woman?  When I entered your house, you did not give me 
	water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears
	and wiped them with her hair.  You did not give me a kiss,
	but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I
	entered.  Yu did not anoint my head with oil, but she 
	anointed my feet with ointment.  So I tell you, her many
	sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.
	But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
	He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  

	The others at the table said to themselves, "Who is this who 
	even forgives sins?"

	But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you;
	go in peace."

I think Jesus wanted to know if Peter loved him more than the 
disciples loved him because Peter had denied him three times.  Peter 
should love Jesus more because more serious sins had been forgiven 
Peter than the others.  Because Peter needed more forgiveness, he also 
needed to love Jesus more.  Peter's love is a consequence of his 
forgiveness.  The threefold confession counteracts his earlier 
threefold denial.  Vatican I interprets these verses to mean that the 
resurrected Jesus defines Peter as having the jurisdiction of supreme 
shepherd and ruler over the whole flock, i.e, all Christians.

>The NIV Study Bible also has notes on the other issues. It thinks the usage
>of the words for love is too deliberate here to be merely stylistic. On the
>other hand, it thinks that the expressions for feeding/caring for the
>lambs/sheep are probably equivalent in sense.

>				Yours,
>				Harold Holmyard



Cindy Smith				   Spawn of a Jewish Carpenter
GO AGAINST THE FLOW! \\ _\\\_     _///_ // A Real Live Catholic in Georgia
cms at dragon.com       >IXOYE=('> <`)=  _<<  "Delay not your conversion  
cms at romancatholic.org//  ///       \\\  \\   to the LORD, Put it not off 
cms at 5sc.net				     from day to day" Ecclus/Sira 5:8



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