John 21:15-17
15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
I love this portion of scripture. It is one of my favorites. I have seen a lot of teachings on it that have been valuable, yet the full meaning of the scripture is often not seen. I decided to flesh it out a bit but looking up the original Greek. Specifically, the words I looked at are lovest, knowest, feed, lambs, and sheep. What I found is that while many versions of the translate "Feed my sheep" the same way twice, the original Greek did not use the same words.
Two words for love are used by Jesus and Peter. One is agapao. According to Strong's Concordance, this translates as:
"properly, to prefer, to love; for the believer, preferring to "live through Christ" (1 Jn 4:9,10), i.e. embracing God's will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power. 25 (agapáō) preeminently refers to what God prefers as He "is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16). See 26 (agapē).
With the believer, 25 /agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). True 25 /agapáō ("loving") is always defined by God – a "discriminating affection which involves choice and selection" (WS, 477). 1 Jn 4:8,16,17 for example convey how loving ("preferring," 25 /agapáō) is Christ living His life through the believer."
Phileo is the other word that is used. This translates as:
"affectionate friendship") – properly, to show warm affection in intimate friendship, characterized by tender, heartfelt consideration and kinship."
Next, I looked at the words for lambs and sheep. The word used for lambs is arnion. This translates as:
"properly, a young lamb, "a little lamb" (J. Thayer); (figuratively) a person with pure (innocent), virgin-like (gentle) intentions."
The word used for sheep is probaton. This translates as:
"sheep; (figuratively) someone easily led, one way or the other (like a sheep)."
I then looked at the word feed. This translates in two different ways. The first word is bosko. This translates as:
"properly, feed (graze); (figuratively) spiritually nourish by feeding people the Word of God (Jn 21:15,17). While 4166 (poimḗn) focuses on "shepherding" the flock of God (caring for them)"
Feed also translates to the word poimaino. This means:
"focuses on "tending" ("shepherding") (WS, 274), which includes guarding, guiding, and folding the flock and is only provided (ultimately) by Jesus Christ – the Shepherd, who calls under-shepherds (such as elder-overseers) to guard and guide His people by His direction (1 Pet 5:1-5)"
Finally, I looked at the word knowest. This also translates two different ways. First, this translates as eido, which means:
"properly, to see with physical eyes (cf. Ro 1:11), as it naturally bridges to the metaphorical sense: perceiving ("mentally seeing"). This is akin to the expressions: "I see what You mean"; "I see what you are saying.""
This also translates to the word ginosko, which means:
"I am taking in knowledge, come to know, learn; aor: I ascertained, realized."
So, with all of this said, allow me to write this out a little bit closer to the original Greek.
15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you long for me with a Godly Love? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou physically see that I strongly like thee. He saith unto him, Spiritually nourish with the Word of God my people with pure virgin-like intentions. 16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you long for me with a Godly love? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou physically see that I strongly like thee thee. He saith unto him, Guard, guide and fold into the flock my people that are easily led. 17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, do you only strongly like me with a brotherly love? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, do you only strongly like me with a brotherly love? And he said unto him, Lord, thou are aware of all things; thou have perceived that I only strongly like thee. Jesus saith unto him, Nourish my easily led people with the Word of God.
So, with all of this, why does it matter that the text is different from what is seen at face value? First, the same thing is not said back and forth between Jesus and Peter three times. I think it is important to note that Jesus does not waste words in this conversation.
To me, one of the most important things is that we are called to follow Christ with an unwavering, fully committed love. Even when we don't have the relationship with Christ that we should, we are still called to nourish, guide, and guard those that are easily led. We are also called to nourish the young and innocent believers. How do I know that what Jesus said to Peter applies to us as well? Romans 2:11 tells us that God does not show favoritism.
Until next time,
Derek
