Date
1-16-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Master of Arts in Biblical Languages (MA)
Chair
Sorin Sabou
Keywords
phileo, agapao, Peter's Restoration, John 21, love
Disciplines
Christianity | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
P'Pool, Steven J., "The Pragmatic Effect of Φιλέω and Αγαπάω in John 21:15-17" (2025). Masters Theses. 1265.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/1265
Abstract
The final chapter of John’s gospel is central to the New Testament in that it depicts the risen Jesus appearing to His disciples and sharing a meal with them, restoring Peter to his place as a leader among his brothers, and records John’s eyewitness testimony to the events reported. It is in verses fifteen through seventeen of chapter twenty-one that attention turns to Peter and John, with the latter eaves dropping on the conversation. John records the conversation in these three verses in which Jesus restores Peter from his trio of denials prior to Jesus’ crucifixion with three opportunities for Peter to affirm his love for his savior. Where the English translations of these verses repeat the same word love, the Greek text shows that there is more going on. In verse fifteen, Jesus asks the question to Peter using a form of the verb ἀγαπάω while Peter responds to Jesus using a form of φιλέω. In the exchange, the first two “do you love Me” asked by Jesus use a form of the verb ἀγαπάω with Peter answering with a form of φιλέω. Jesus’ third question is different, in that He now uses a form of φιλέω in asking Peter to affirm his love for Him, to which Peter continues to respond with φιλέω.
The unexpected use of language in these verses has presented a tempting puzzle throughout church history for those that would comment on them. The early church fathers saw no significant meaning in John’s use of synonyms, and this was the understanding until the late nineteenth century. It was during this time that the Greek word ἀγάπη came into fashion in the Christian community with a misunderstanding that it was a word of more weight than its linguistic cousin φιλέω. This solution is not linguistic but pragmatic, and is to be found in the gospel accounts of Peter’s denials. Peter’s third denial stands out for the egregious language, consequently Jesus uses a different verb in His third question to Peter to highlight the extent of the Apostle’s forgiveness.