Loving Jesus: Is Peter A Good Model?

I’ve been thinking a lot about Sunday’s Gospel (John 21:1-19) reading where the risen Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Yes He asks three times to mirror Peter’s earlier three denials, but there’s much more going on here that gets lost in the English translation.

As you may know Greek has several words for love, but we need only worry about two: agape and philia. Agape refers to the kind of love one has for family. But it is also generally considered the highest form of love because the New Testament often uses it to describe Jesus’ love for us. Philia on the other hand refers more to the love of friendship and loyalty.

So Jesus asks Peter the first time: “Do you love (agape) me?” To which Peter responds, “Yes Lord you know I love (philia) you.” Jesus asks again: “Do you love (agape) me?” And Peter again says, “Yes Lord you know I love (philia) you.” So finally Jesus changes the question: “Do you love (philia) me.” And Peter one last time says, “Yes, I love (philia) you.”

What does all this tell us? It tells us firstly that Jesus is always calling us to a higher love. He wants us to love like He loves – perfectly and purely. It also demonstrates how much patience Jesus has with us! Not only does He gently ask again, but the third time Jesus even acquiesces and asks the question differently. Instead of scolding the disciple, Jesus descends to the level of love Peter is willing to give.

The many stories of Peter’s, ummm…slip-ups, always renew my hope about the kind of change/growth that is possible with Jesus. After all, here is Peter, the supposed rock of the Church, and the best he can do is declare his philia-type love for Jesus. And yet by the end of Peter’s life we can safely say that he matured into or developed an agape-type love since the disciple gave up his life for Jesus. Peter’s martyrdom demonstrates agape, since after all, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

So the next time you feel like you’re not loving Jesus as you ought, just think of Peter and remember that when we live in Christ anything is possible!

Following Jesus Daily

Living out the Christian faith, tota tua