The Strand Study Bible

JOHN

JOHN

1768

1. To better help the reader understand: * who God is ( Gen 1:1c ) * why God created us ( Gen 2:17a , Ezk 28:12 , Rev 12:12 , Isa 6:2 and Jere 9:2 ) * what God expects from our life (Mt 4:19 & 28:18-20) 2. To expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning the Messiah , thus pointing both sinner and saint to Christ ( Lk 24:27 ) 3. To make the Scriptures more accessible and comprehensible ( I Cor 2:13 ) 4. To put an end to all the fighting that goes on amongst born again believers concerning: non-Heaven and Hell issues (secondary doctrines - Gen 1:2c ); and to unify as many believers as possible to work towards one end –reaching the lost via the Gospel of Christ ( Phil 1:18 and Lk 9:50 ) 5. To keep speaking even after I’m dead ( Heb 11:4 ) NOTE – The beauty of The STRAND Study Bible is that it was not written with any particular Christian denomination in mind. It was not compiled to appeal to a certain “clientele” within Christendom. 21:15-17a Jesus asked Peter in verse 15: Do you ’ DJDSD9 ( agape - God-like love) me ? Peter responded: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I MLOZ ( phileo - have affection for) thee . He then asked Peter the same question again in verse 16: Simon, son of Jonas, ’ DJDSD9 ( agape - God-like love) thou me ? Peter responded with the same answer: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I MLOZ ( phileo - have affection for) thee . Christ then used Peter’s own word for “love” in verse 17 and asked: Simon, son of Jonas, MLOHL9 ( philo - have affection for) thou me ? Peter, grieved because of his lack of God-like love ( agape ) for Jesus, admitted that he only had a fondness ( phileo ) for Him. Jesus responded to Peter in verse 17: Peter, I’ll take your fondness (phileo) for now and pray that it will turn into God-like love (agape) later ( I Cor 13:13 ). 21:17 b Jesus ended up saying to Peter in verse 17: If you love (phileo - have affection for; fondness) me, feed ( EοσNH - pasture; feed) my sheep . But that is not how Jesus started out with Peter. He said to Peter back in verse 15: If you love ( agape - God-like love) me, feed ( EοσNH - pasture; feed) my lambs . He then added in verse 16: If you love ( agape - God-like love) me, feed ( 3οLPDLQH - pastor; shepherd; lead) my sheep . In other words, Jesus wanted Peter to love ( agape ) Him to the point that he would both “feed” and “lead” the sheep. Those who grow to God-like love ( agape ) can both “feed” ( EοσNH - pasture) and “lead” ( 3οLPDLQH - pastor) the sheep. However, if all we can come up with is a fondness ( philo ) for the Lord, then we are asked, at least, to “feed” ( EοσNH - pasture) the sheep (vs 17). NOTE - The difference between pasturing ( EοσNH - vs 15) the sheep and pastoring ( 3οLPDLQH - vs 17) the sheep is that one makes sure they’re fed while the other makes sure they’re led . Although Christ would rather we did both, if we can’t lead ( 3οLPDLQH them, we should at least feed ( EοσNH them. 21:22 John’s future was no ones business but Christ’s ( what is that to thee ). No one should become distracted over someone else’s future. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: You get what you get so don’t pitch a fit 21:25 Not everything Jesus “ did ” while He was on earth was recorded in the Bible ( Deut 29:29 ). Only what we needed to know in order to live was recorded for us. Thus John the Beloved closed his Gospel with the hope that an intelligent person convinced of that fact, would accept Christ and be saved, so escaping eternal death and gaining life everlasting. READ NEXT - Matthew 28:16-20