The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: S. John
Anagogically, S. Cyril says, In like manner after the labours of this life, by which we fish souls for God, Christ will prepare a heavenly dinner, in which we shall eternally feast with Him in Divine delights, according as it is written, That ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom (Luke xxii. 30).
And none of them that sat at meat; Gr. μαθητῶν, i.e. of His disciples. Whence Jansen thinks we ought to read discentium, disciples, instead of discumbentium, those who sat at meat: but the Roman copies read discum., which seems more suitable to the context.
Durst ask Him, &c. Because, as Chrysostom observes (Hom. 86), Christ was not, as yet, presenting Himself to them in His own proper appearance and form, but in one more august, from which they were hesitating whether it were really Jesus Himself, and were wishing to ask Him, Who art Thou? Yet from His features, from what He did and said, they recognised that it was Jesus Himself, so that at length they could no longer doubt. Wherefore, partly from reverence for Christ, and partly from the confidence of their recognition, they dared not to ask Him.
Less happily, S. Augustine interprets the expression to ask by to doubt. For these differ as effect and cause.
Ver. 13. — And Jesus came and took bread, &c. That is, when the disciples by the command of Jesus had sat down at the table, He also came, and sat down with them.
Ver. 14. — This is now the third time, &c. That is to say, reckoning those appearances which took place when several of the Apostles were present, for of such only S. John here makes mention. For of such this was the third. Otherwise, if we enumerate all the other appearances of which the other Evangelists make mention, this was the seventh in order, as I have shown on Matt. xxviii. 10, where I have enumerated them all in order.
Ver. 15. — When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter —“Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” When Christ was about to go away into heaven, He here appoints Peter His vicar upon earth, and creates him Chief Pontiff, that the one church might be ruled by one shepherd. Christ had promised the same thing to Peter — Matt. xvi. 18 — but in this place He confers the gift, and constitutes him prince and ruler of the whole Church, lest any one, on account of Peter’s threefold denial, should say that Christ had changed His decree concerning him. So Cyril. Mystically, Alcuin here says the Hebrew Simon means — obedient. John is grace. Peter is thus spoken of as obeying the grace of God; because, indeed, he embraces Him with a burning love — the effect, not of human merit, but of a Divine gift.
Lovest thou Me more than these? First, because this office of feeding and ruling all the faithful which I design to confer upon thee demands the very greatest love of Christ and of the faithful.
“Love,” says S. Augustine, “is asked, and labour is commanded, because where love is there is no labour.”
Secondly, that Christ may show how greatly He loved His sheep, forasmuch as He was unwilling to entrust them to any but to one who loved Himself, and consequently His sheep, with a supreme love. Thus S. Chrysostom, Hom. 87, “That which especially gains for us the divine favour is the care of our neighbour. Now the Lord, passing over the others, speaks to Peter concerning such things, for he was the chief of the Apostles, and the mouth of the disciples, and the head of the college. Whence also He commits to him precedence over his brethren, as much as to say, The life which thou saidst thou wouldst lay down for Me, this give for My sheep.”
Thirdly, because Peter, a little before, had thrice denied Christ, and this triple denial had been forgiven him on his repentance by Christ; hence He rightly demands greater love from him on whom He had bestowed greater indulgence. “For to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” Luke vii. 47. So Cyril.
Moreover, Jesus asks, though He knew that Peter loved Him more than they all, says S. Augustine, for although John loved Jesus more tenderly, yet Peter loved Him with a stronger and more ardent love, as is plain from all his deeds and words about Jesus. Thus parents love their little children with a tender love, but those who are youths, or grown up, with a stronger and more solid love; whence also they give greater gifts to them than to the little ones. Listen to S. Augustine (Serm. on the Passion): “When the Lord died, Peter feared and denied; the risen Lord rekindled his love, drove away his fear. He denied fearing to die — when the Lord had risen again why should he fear? Since in Him he found death had died.”
He saith unto Him , Yea , Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. “ Hence it is plain,” says S. Augustine, “ ‘ amo’ and ‘diligo’ here signify the same thing, although in Latin amo means more than diligo, Peter does not dare to say, I love Thee more than the others do, but I love Thee ; both because he did not know the hearts of the others — secondly, because his fall had made him more modest and cautious. For he had put himself before the others when he said, ‘ Lord, although all should be offended in Thee, yet will I never be offended,’ and yet a little afterwards he fell more shamefully than the others, and denied Christ, which they did not.”
He saith unto him, ‘Feed My lambs.’ Feed , like as a shepherd feeds sheep by leading them to pasture, and by feeding them, rules and guides them that they may not stray from the flock, nor approach noxious pastures, nor be seized by the wolf. Hence to feed in Scripture signifies to rule, and kings are called shepherds , because, if they would rightly rule their subjects, they ought to do what shepherds do when they feed their sheep. Whence — Psalm xxii. 1 — where the Vulgate has ‘the Lord rules me,’ the Hebrew is Adonai roi, i.e. the Lord is my shepherd , or feedeth me . Wherefore it goes on, ‘ He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.’ Thus David, from a keeper of sheep, was made by God a king of men —to feed , i.e . to rule , Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance. (Ps. lxxviii. 71.) Thus Cyrus is called a shepherd , i.e. a prince and king appointed by God — Is xliv. 28 — that saith of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd.’ And Ps. ii. 9, ‘ Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron.’ Hebrew Tirem , i.e. thou shalt feed them. And generally speaking, the Hebrew raa, the Greek ποιμαίνω, and the Latin pasco, signify ‘to rule,’ as may be seen from Mic. v. 2; Act. xx. 28 ; Rev. ii. 7, and xii. 5, xix. 15. Thus Homer calls the Grecian king Agamemnon ποιμένα λαῶν, i.e. a shepherd of the people.
My lambs. Christ, as the first Shepherd of the sheep, calls here His faithful people at one time sheep, at another, more tenderly, lambs. And that — Firstly, because of the newness of their life, for being regenerate by Baptism they are made as it were young lambs of God. Secondly, because of their lamblike innocence, which by baptism they have obtained, and also on account of their following Christ, who was called by John the Baptist, “ the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.” Therefore the word sheep signifies that Christ is the Shepherd of Christians ; the word — lambs— signifies that Christ is their Father, yea indeed their Mother, forasmuch as they are those whom He hath by baptism begotten unto God, and adopted as His own children. Jansen says lambs and sheeps are the same. Whence the Æthiopic version, instead of lambs, has sheeps repeating sheep thrice. Theophylact adds that they are called lambs in order that the very name might indicate those recently converted, and who were tenderer in the faith, of whom there was about to be a great multitude, when the Apostles began to preach. And because these would require greater care, and must be brought up and nourished with greater labour, therefore the Lord saith twice (according to the Vulgate), “ feed My lambs,” that by this repetition He might show that He wished Peter to bestow the very greatest care upon them : but those who were stronger in the faith He calls sheep . Again, by lambs He understands simple, faithful souls; by sheep — teachers, pastors, bishops, and apostles, who are, as it were, mothers of the faithful. Thus Bellarmine.
From this place then it is plain that S. Peter and his successor, the Roman Pontiff, is the head and prince of the Church, and that all the faithful, even bishops, patriarchs, and apostles, are subject to him, and ought by him to be fed and ruled. We gather this, first because Christ here interrogates Peter only, and this thrice, as the chief and mouth of the Apostles. So SS. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius. Moreover Christ here tacitly signifies that Peter loved Him more than the other Apostles, and therefore that he was worthy to succeed Him in the love and care of the flock — that is, of the Church and the faithful. For that power which is not founded upon love comes to naught.