Peter's Restoration

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Chapter twenty-one of St. John's Gospel is what is called a redaction or an emendation. It was not contained in the original version of the Gospel. Chapter twenty ends with a statement that clearly indicates that the author is bringing his document to a close. The addition of this chapter clearly indicates that the experience of the community plays an important role in the composition of the Gospel.

Chapter twenty-one includes the famous reconciliation scene between Peter and Jesus. Having denied Jesus three times on the night before his death, Peter is asked three times by Jesus if he loves him. The story concludes with Jesus renewing the call to follow him, the call which he first made on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when Peter was fishing with his father. Interestingly, the call in the twenty-first chapter comes while Peter is once again fishing, this time after the resurrection.

Springing as it does from the community of the Beloved Disciple, most probably located in Ephesus, this Gospel has consistently favored the Beloved Disciple over Peter. Although Peter manages to come off as impetuous and often sticks his foot in his mouth in the other Gospels as well, the fourth Gospel is the most critical of Peter. For instance, it is in the fourth Gospel that Peter initially refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet. The fourth Gospel does not include the famous statement by Peter regarding Jesus when he asks his disciples what the people think of him. In the fourth Gospel, no mention is made of those special moments when Jesus singles out Peter, James and John such as the scene we call the Transfiguration.

At the same time, the Beloved Disciple gets special treatment in this Gospel, most notably when he is found standing at the foot of the cross with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

This indicates that the community of the Beloved Disciple was a rival to the Jerusalem and Roman communities of Peter. However, as history unfolded in the first century after the death of Jesus, it became evident that the community of Peter would eventually become the more important of the two and would solidify Peter's primacy among the disciples. Even though Peter has long since died by the time chapter twenty-one is written, it became necessary for the sacred author to acknowledge that primacy. He does so through the reconciliation effected in this chapter.

Rivalries are not new and are still common in our world and in the world of the Church, a very human institution. Once again, this story reminds us that we are not to be about building our own kingdoms but the kingdom of God, not to be about praising our own names but to be praising God's name.