3rd Sunday of Easter–May 4, 2025

3rd Sunday of Easter–May 4, 2025

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

 

Theme: “Do You Love Me More Than These?”

 

A.    A Brief Exegetical Analysis of John 21:1-19

 

  1. Historical and Literary Contexts

The passage immediately preceding our text (20:30-31) indicates the ending of the original Gospel of John. Many biblical scholars consider Jn 21, from which our passage is taken, to be an epilogue added later before the publication of the Gospel. However, many other scholars defend its position as the original conclusion to the Gospel on historical grounds.[1] There is no logical connection between Jesus’ appearance in Galilee, recounted in Jn 21, and his different appearances in Judea, narrated in Jn 20. Mary of Magdala has already received the mission from the Risen Lord to announce the resurrection (see 20:11-18). Jesus appeared to his disciples twice (see 20:19-23; 24-29), and the narrator commented that they rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Furthermore, in that same passage, the Risen Lord filled them with the Holy Spirit and sent them on a mission. If all these events have already occurred, then why do they return from Jerusalem to Galilee and resume their former occupations, abandoning their discipleship? Why can they not recognize the Risen Lord if they are already filled with the Holy Spirit? The sequence of the story becomes confusing when chapters 20 and 21 are put together.[2] Consequently, Jn 21 should be analyzed independently of the stories of Jesus’ appearances recounted in Jn 20 for better understanding. Our Gospel passage is immediately followed by the story of the Beloved Disciple (vv. 20-23) and the second conclusion of the whole Gospel (vv. 24-25), which the lectionary has omitted.     

 

  1. Form, Structure, and Movement

Our text is a narrative story structured in two parts. The narrator first recounts Jesus’ appearance to the disciples (vv. 1-14) before relating Jesus’ one-on-one conversation with Peter (vv. 15-19). The first part can be subdivided into three subsections: the setting (vv. 1-3), Jesus’s appearance to the disciples and miracle (vv. 4-8), and the meal (vv. 9-14). The second part is subdivided into two subsections: Jesus’s one-on-one conversation with Peter (vv. 15-17) and Jesus foretelling Peter’s crucifixion (vv. 18-19).  

 

  1. Detailed Analysis

Vv. 1-14. This first part is structured into three subsections.

(1) The setting (vv. 1-3). The narrator lists seven disciples who are present during this event. Nathanael is described as a man from Cana in Galilee. The two sons of Zebedee are John and James. John is identified as the disciple whom Jesus loved in v. 7 and is also referred to in vv. 20-23 and 24-25. The narrator does not name the “two others of his disciples.”

Through his announcement, “I am going fishing,” Peter firmly decides to quit discipleship and return to his former fishing life. The rest of the disciples agree with him and follow. Their decision has been the source of much speculation. It does not make sense that the disciples, who rejoiced when they saw Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and were sent out on a mission (see Jn 20:19-23), could quickly revert to their old way of life.[3] Consequently, this v. 3 indicates that Jn 21 must be analyzed independently of Jn. 20. The context of our Gospel passage shows that the disciples were uncertain about their future after Master Jesus died. Christ had already revealed to them twice previously, according to v. 14, but they still do not understand, as they remain confused. 

(2) Jesus’ appearance to his disciples and the miracle (vv. 4-8). Jesus stands on the shore at dawn, and nobody recognizes him (v. 4). He initiates the conversation with a simple question, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” (v. 5). He addresses them as “children,” indicating Jesus’s intimate authority.[4] The fishermen respond, “No” (v. 5). Then, acting as a coach, Jesus commands them to cast the net over the right side of the boat, reassuring them that they will find fish (v. 6a). They execute this command with complete obedience and catch many fish (v. 6b). This miracle prompts the “disciple whom Jesus loved” to recognize Jesus. He informs Peter that it is the Lord. Upon hearing that the gentleman who coached them and worked a miracle is their Risen Lord, Peter, filled with emotion, jumps into the sea lightly clad (v. 7). He reacts with an overwhelming mix of joy and awe, accompanied by guilt for being in front of his Lord whom he denied three times (see Jn 18:17, 25-27) and whose discipleship he recently abandoned. At this moment, he likely fears that Jesus will judge and condemn him for his wrongs.

(3) Jesus eats breakfast with his disciples (vv. 9-14). Jesus already has fish (with bread) ready for breakfast (v. 9) before he commands them to bring what they caught (v. 10). The disciples eat breakfast by Jesus’ invitation: “Come, have breakfast.” (V. 12a). There is no need to ask Jesus to clarify his identity because they all understand that it is their Risen Lord (v. 12b). “Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.” This v. 13 recalls the early Christian Eucharistic celebration.[5] The number of large fish caught (153) mentioned in v. 11 is subject to different interpretations. One interpretation suggests that it has a symbolic meaning in relation to the apostles’ universal mission. According to Saint Jerome, the Greek zoologists classified 153 species of fish. Another hypothesis states that 153 is the sum of 1 to 17. Other biblical scholars invoke Ez 47:10.[6]

The narrator concludes this first part of the story by announcing that this scene marks the third time Jesus is revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. Since Jn 21 is considered an add-on and there is no mention of other appearances of Jesus in this chapter, what does the “third time” refer to? Perhaps the editor of the fourth Gospel intended to connect Jn 21 and Jn 20.[7] Even if this assumption is plausible, it appears that the narrator has not counted accurately; this should not be the third but the fourth time. Jesus first appeared to Mary of Magdala (20:11-18), second to his disciples without Thomas (20:19-23), third to his disciples with Thomas (20:26-29), and fourth, here in our text (21:4-14). By labeling this appearance as the third one, can we assume that the narrator intentionally omits Jesus’ appearance to Mary of Magdala because she is not regarded as a disciple?[8]

The second part of our text (vv. 15-19) recounts the conversation between Jesus and Peter (vv. 15-17) and how Jesus foretells Peter’s crucifixion (vv. 18-19).

(1) Vv. 15-17. Jesus and all the disciples finish eating breakfast. The scene now focuses solely on the one-on-one conversation between Jesus and Peter. Jesus questions Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Each time, Peter affirms that he loves Jesus, and Jesus charges him to care for his sheep or lambs, which represent Jesus’ people. What is happening in this conversation? The narrator employs two different Greek verbs for “love”: agapaō and phileō; two verbs for “care”: feed and tend; and two nouns for Jesus’ people: sheep and lambs. Agapaō denotes a vertical love between humans and God. It also describes Christian love, which leads to a supreme sacrifice for the loved ones. Phileō represents horizontal love between humans.

Thus, in his first question, “Do you love me more than these?” Jesus uses the verb agapaō. Here, Jesus wants to ascertain whether Peter loves him as Lord and the extent to which Peter is willing to sacrifice his life for him. Surprisingly, in his response, Peter uses the verb phileō, indicating that he loves Jesus not as God, but as a human Master, and not to the extent of sacrificing his life for Jesus. For the second time, Jesus asks Peter the same question, still using the vertical love: agapaō. Peter’s answer remains the same, continuing to use the horizontal love: phileō. Now, for the third time, Jesus switches the verbs, employing Peter’s verb, phileō. The question becomes: “Do you ‘love’ me as a human Master?” Peter is distressed during this third inquiry, confirming his ongoing struggle with his relationship with Jesus: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love [phileō] you.”

Peter is distressed to see Jesus approaching his level of love. He would love to have risen to the level of Jesus’ love (the vertical love). Unfortunately, all the bad memories of how he betrayed Jesus are hurting him right now. First, just recently, he ended his discipleship. If he loved Jesus as God, he would not have left the group of disciples and would not have returned to his former life. Second, the charcoal fire he saw in 21:9 reminds him of the last time he stood by a fire made of coals when he denied Jesus (see 18:18, 25). Third, Jesus added the “more than these” in his first question: “Do you love me more than these?” (21:15). The “more than these” is another painful memory for Peter. Before Jesus was arrested, Peter swore that though other disciples could deny Jesus, he, Peter, would not (see Jn 13:37-38; Mk 14:29-31). So, Jesus’ question could mean, “Do you love me more than the rest of the disciples do?” This question reminds Peter that he failed to love Jesus as he promised. The “these” could also mean all the fish for which Peter ended his discipleship. “Do you love me more than these fish?” or “Do you love discipleship more than your former life?” All these bitter memories force Peter to consider himself unworthy of loving Jesus with an agapaō meaning.

Jesus realizes that Peter struggles to relate to him in a vertical love (agapaō), yet he charges him with caring for his people. The narrator uses two verbs for care, “feed” and “tend,” and two nouns for Jesus’ people, “lambs” and “sheep.” The lambs are the young sheep and represent all beginners in faith, while the sheep represent believers who are more mature in faith. To “feed” means to care gently, while to “tend” means to care strictly. Jesus’ first command, “Feed my lambs,” signifies that Peter should provide the “beginners in faith” with simple and gentle care as they are fragile in faith. Jesus’ second statement is, “Tend my sheep.” Here, Peter is instructed to apply stricter care to the believers who are mature in faith. In his last command, Jesus switches the verb and noun, declaring, “Feed my sheep.” This indicates that Peter sometimes needs to offer the believers who are mature in faith gentle care because they can also become fragile and stop believing in Jesus.

(2) In vv. 18-19, Jesus foretells Peter’s crucifixion. “When you were younger” alludes to Peter’s life before discipleship, and “when you grow old” refers to Peter’s life during discipleship and after accepting to oversee Jesus’ Church. Thus, before discipleship, Peter was the master of his life, but after becoming Jesus' disciple, especially after taking charge of Jesus’ Church, Jesus became the one to lead Peter. Here, Jesus foretells how Peter will “feed” and “tend” Jesus’ “lambs” and “sheep” with the supreme love (agapaō) of sacrificing his life for Jesus’ Church and God’s people. The scene ends with Jesus telling Peter, “Follow me” (v. 19b). This recalls the first time Jesus called Peter while walking by the Sea of Galilee (see Mt 4:18-22). At the same Sea, Jesus renews his call to Peter.

 

  1. Synthesis

The disciples are disappointed and confused because their Master, Jesus, whom they had followed for three years, has died. Everything seems over, and they find themselves as the losers in this scenario. Consequently, they decide to abandon their discipleship and return to their former fishing life. They catch nothing for the entire night. Jesus appears to them at daybreak, but they do not recognize him. He instructs them like a coach to cast their net on the right side and promises they will catch something. The fishermen obey and catch many fish. Through this miracle, the “disciple whom Jesus loved" recognizes Jesus and tells Peter, “It is the Lord.” With mixed emotions, Peter, lightly clad, jumps into the sea.

The scene continues with Jesus inviting the disciples for breakfast, alluding to the Christian Eucharistic celebration. The disciples do not dare to question Jesus about his identity, as they all recognize him. The narrator states that the fish the disciples caught numbered one hundred fifty-three. This number is interpreted in various ways: it could relate to the disciples’ universal mission, the 153 species of fish documented by Greek zoologists (St. Jerome’s position), or the sum of the numbers from 1 to 17. Other biblical scholars believe that this number invokes Ez 47:10.

After breakfast, the focus shifts to the one-on-one conversation between Jesus and Peter. This dialogue centers on Jesus’ three-time question to Peter about whether he loves him as Lord. Jesus discovers that Peter loves him not as God, but as a human Master. Peter confesses his struggle with his relationship with Jesus. He wishes to relate to Jesus as his Lord, but various painful memories, such as his recent departure from discipleship and his denial of Jesus three times during Jesus’ arrest, compel him to admit that he is not worthy of loving Jesus in the agapaō sense. Despite Peter’s feelings of unworthiness, Jesus entrusts him with the care of his Church and people. He predicts that Peter will eventually love him in the agapaō sense, sacrificing his life for Jesus’ Church and people. The story concludes with Jesus renewing his call to Peter, “Follow me.”

 

B.     Pastoral Implications

 

1.      Liturgical Context

The era of the Church will soon arrive when Jesus ascends to heaven and sends the Holy Spirit upon his disciples. Before that occurs, in today’s second part of the Gospel, which resembles a job interview, Jesus wants to ensure that Peter, who will lead his Church, loves him as God and with a love that entails sacrifice for his Church and God’s people. The sacred author of our first reading explains how Peter and the other disciples demonstrated their love for Jesus before the Sanhedrin, who strictly forbade them from teaching in Jesus’ name. All the second readings of this Easter Season (from the second to the sixth Sundays) are taken from the book of Revelation. The vision we heard today attests that Jesus is alive and seated on the throne in heaven.

 

2.      What the Church Teaches Us Today

From the first part of our Gospel (21:1-14), we learn that sometimes, through our sufferings, we abandon Jesus and return to our sinful lives, believing we can find a better life on our own, as Peter and his companions did. These fishermen in our Gospel did not catch anything during the entire night because they chose to live without involving Jesus. This teaches us that we will not find success and true happiness when we distance ourselves from God through sin. Our Gospel tells us that Jesus appears to these unfaithful disciples, even though they abandoned him. Despite our sins, Jesus seeks us daily and desires to reconcile us with God. When Peter and the other disciples allowed Jesus to be part of their lives again, leading and instructing them, they caught many fish. Success comes only through Jesus. Let us allow our Risen Lord to “instruct” and lead us, and then we will find true happiness. After the miracle scene, Jesus invites his disciples to eat breakfast with him (v. 12a). Similarly, Jesus continues to invite us today to partake in the Eucharistic meal, his Body and Blood, at each Mass we attend. Whenever we come to Church for Mass, we respond to Jesus’ invitation. Let us not miss these opportunities.

From the second part of our Gospel (vv. 15-19), we learn that faith involves love for God and his people. This love is agapaō love, which enables us to relate to Jesus as our Lord and to care for God’s people, even to the extent of sacrificing our lives.

Peter confesses that he loves Jesus not with agapaō but with phileo love. This means he does not relate to Jesus as his Lord but merely as a human master. He would love to rise to agapaō love, but the painful memories hurt him. First, if he loved Jesus as God, he would not have ended his discipleship and returned to his former life. Second, the charcoal fire he saw in Jn 21:9 reminds him of the last time he stood by a fire made of coals when he denied Jesus (see Jn 18:18, 25). Third, the “more than these” that Jesus added in his question (21:15) is another painful memory for Peter. Before Jesus was arrested, Peter swore that though the other disciples could deny Jesus, he, Peter, would not (see Jn 13:37-38; Mk 14:29-31). Thus, Jesus’ question could mean, “Do you love me more than the rest of the disciples do, as you promised?” The “more than these” could also refer to all the fish for which Peter ended his discipleship. Jesus’ question can be interpreted this way: “Do you love me more than these fish?” or “Do you love discipleship more than your former life?” All these bitter memories force Peter to consider himself unworthy of loving Jesus in an agapaō sense.

We, too, likely carry painful memories of the wrongs we committed in the past, which continue to make us feel unworthy of loving Jesus as we should. Do we love Jesus and his Church as promised when we were baptized? Do we love Jesus and his Church more than our family members, friends, jobs, and businesses? Here, the Church wants us to understand that Jesus has not given up on us. He persistently seeks us out, offering us a second chance to repent and return to him.

Jesus realizes that Peter struggles to relate to him in a vertical love (agapeō); yet he charges him to care for his people. Despite our human weaknesses, Jesus continues to commission us (priests and laypeople) to care for his Church and God’s people. The narrator employs two verbs for care: “feed” and “tend,” along with two nouns for Jesus’ people: “lambs” and “sheep.” The lambs are the young sheep, representing all beginners in faith, while the sheep symbolize believers who are more mature in faith. To “feed” means to care gently, whereas to “tend” indicates caring strictly. Jesus first commands Peter and us to feed his lambs, which means we should provide the “beginners in faith” with gentle and straightforward pastoral care, as they are spiritually fragile. Next, Jesus asks Peter and us to tend his sheep, which requires us to apply stricter pastoral care to believers who are mature in faith. In his third command, Jesus switches the verb and the noun when he says, “Feed my sheep.” This means we should sometimes provide the believers who are mature in faith with gentle pastoral care, as they can become fragile.

In vv. 18-19, Jesus foretells how Peter will “feed” and “tend” Jesus’ “lambs” and “sheep” with the supreme love (agapaō) of sacrificing his life for Jesus’ Church and people. He first declares that before discipleship, Peter was the master of his life; but after he accepted the task of following him and overseeing his Church, Jesus became the one to lead him. The story we heard in our first reading fulfilled what Jesus said here. Although the Jewish religious leaders forced the disciples to stop teaching in Jesus’ name, Peter and the other apostles did not cease their efforts. They courageously and openly stated that they must obey God rather than men. In our baptism, we, too, have accepted to follow Jesus, serve him through our brothers and sisters, and allow him to lead our lives. Despite all our daily difficulties that may tempt us to abandon our Christian commitment, let us imitate Peter and the other disciples and continue our mission with courage.

The scene ends with Jesus calling Peter and each of us to follow him (v. 19b). May the liturgy of this Mass enable us to love Jesus with an agapaō love and be ready to care for his lambs and sheep, no matter our daily trials. Amen.

Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD

Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS &

SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator

     

 



[1] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John: Sacra Pagina Series vol. 4 (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1998), 546.

[2] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, 545-546.

[3] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, 549.

[4] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, 549.

[5] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, 551.

[6] NABRE, note to John 21:11.

[7] NABRE, note to John 21:14.

[8] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John: Sacra Pagina Series vol., 551.

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