The Role of PETER in JOHN 21

JOHN 21:15-23 and the Primacy of Peter

I. John 21 was added to the main text of the Gospel of John which ended with chapter 20.
A. This epilogue has always been considered to be a part of the Gospel.
B. It was probably written by another member of the Johannine community following the lead of the evangelist (called the redactor).
C. John 21 includes two separate events: (1) vv.1-14, and (2) vv.15-23.

II. John 21 is a resurrection appearance of Jesus where Peter is “chosen” to lead the faithful.
A. Jesus asks a series of three questions to Peter about whether or not Peter “loves” him.
1. Most commentators believe this to be an attempt by Jesus to allow Peter to redeem himself because of his earlier three-fold denial of Jesus (John 18:17, 25-26).
2. In asking these three questions, the image of the shepherd arises. “Feed my lambs (v.15)…Tend my sheep (v.16)…Feed my sheep (v.17)”.
B. The shepherd is a surrogate or stand-in for God. Jesus is this shepherd (John 10) but now he commissions Peter to fulfill the role.
1.The shepherd, Peter, is to watch over the flock of the faithful until the true shepherd, Jesus, returns.
2. Because of this shepherd imagery, Peter is also to be identified with martyrs because “ [Jesus speaking] The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11).
a. See also the language of John 21:18 “…when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands…” common language for crucifixion.
b. In point of fact, tradition records that Peter was crucified at Rome under Nero (sometime around 64 to 68 CE).

III. Peters’ role in the Jesus movement expands as time passes.
A. Missionary role- Originally Peter is a fisher of men charged by Jesus to help to gather the people of Israel. (i.e. Mark 1:17)
B. Pastoral role- With the addition of the role of shepherd, Peter is now also given the power to watch over the flock in a (to protect and care for them).
C. This evolutionary of the nature of Peter’s role has led many commentators to the opinion that the story of John 21 is a combination of an historical appearance of Jesus and the later history of the Jesus movement. (As well as the evidence in Matthew 16).

IV. Matthew 16:13-20 also deals with the primacy of Peter as well, but in a different way.
A. There are five main differences in the respective stories (besides the overall setting).
1. "on this rock” (Mt. 16:18)
2. “I [Jesus] will build my church” (16:18)
3. “and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (16:18)
4. “I will give you the keys of heaven” (16:19)
5. “and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose in heaven will be loosed on earth.” (16:19)

V. John 21 and Matthew 16 both offer many hints that the role of Peter evolved from the time of Jesus until the time that the respective traditions were recorded in the Gospels.