Verse 13. And Jesus came, and took the bread, and gave it to them, and the fish as well. Now Jesus Christ no longer looks to heaven and does nothing else that He did before on similar occasions, as a man, showing His disciples that He Himself arranged everything that was before their eyes with a special all-wise purpose.

Verse 14. Behold, Jesus appeared as His disciple for the third time, having risen from the dead... 7 The first time Jesus Christ appeared in the evening on the same day on which He was resurrected (John 20:19), the second time – eight days after that (John 20:26), and the third time now. It is obvious that after this the disciples went to the mountain where Jesus commanded them to go, precisely after they had again received instruction from the Lord (Matt. 28:16). Jesus Christ appeared to the women, who were, as it were, His disciples, and to the two who are mentioned in the Evangelist Mark (16:12), and to Peter, and Cleopas with his companion (Luke 24:18) – but together to all the disciples He appeared now for the third time (Now He no longer lived with them permanently. whether Jesus Christ Himself ate food; it seems to me that the Evangelist Luke points to this in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in the place where Peter says: "With Him is poison and, after His resurrection from the dead" (Acts 10:41)).

Verse 15. And when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter: "Simon Jonah, do you love me more than these? She said to Him, "Yes, O Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."1 Jesus Christ asks Peter alone about this, as the eldest of the disciples. And why He asks about what He knows – we will say later.

Verse 15... And she said unto him, Feed my lambs. Jesus Christ calls His disciples His Lambs, as their Shepherd; then He also calls them sheep. Thus, Jesus Christ demands of Peter, as a proof of love for Himself, care for His disciples, and desires that He lay down His life, which Peter promised to lay down for Him, for His disciples.

Verses 16-17. And she said to him the second thing: Simon Jonah, do you love me? She said to Him, "Yes, O Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." And she said unto him, Feed my sheep. And the third saith unto him, O Simon Jonah, hast thou loved me? And Peter was offended, for a third said unto him, Lovest thou me; And she said to Him, Lord, Thou art all weighing: Thou art weighing, for I love Thee. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."2 By asking the same thing three times and commanding the same thing three times, Jesus Christ wants to show that He places a very high place on the primacy among the disciples and considers it more important than any other ministry. But Peter, embarrassed by the threefold question, and supposing that it only seemed to him that he loved Jesus Christ, but in fact did not love Him, just as it had seemed to him before that he would never renounce Jesus Christ, but nevertheless denied it, Peter, confused by this, was saddened and frightened. His former ordeal had now made him more moderate and prudent. Now he stands up as a witness to Jesus Christ Himself, as knowing all things before they come to pass, and says: Thou art all things, both present and future, as God – Thou knowest that I love Thee now with all my soul. Peter says nothing more now, because he cannot know the future, and since a little earlier, having expressed a contradiction, he was already exposed that it was in vain that he was so sure of himself. The disciples are called lambs and sheep because of their kindness and willingness to be sacrificed, first as lambs, as less perfect, and then sheep, as more perfect. Thus, Jesus Christ returns to Peter the right to shepherd the faithful, since he had previously washed away the stain of denial with bitter tears, and now, instead of three times of renunciation, he pronounced a threefold confession, and thus, first by deed, and now by word, corrected the fall that was in words. Then Jesus Christ also predicts to Peter the manner of his death, namely, that he too will die on the cross, showing that all that He said to Peter did not say because He did not know what He was asking, and not because He did not believe him...

Verse 18. Amen, amen I say unto thee: When thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself and walked, as thou wouldst have... 3 When you were more imperfect under the law of Moses, then you did what you wanted and lived as you wanted.

Verse 18. And when thou art old, lift up thy hands, and let thee know and lead, though thou wilt not.1 And when thou hast become a perfect man, and attain to the measure of spiritual stature (Ephesians 4:13), being under the perfect law of the Gospel, thou shalt stretch out thy hands on the cross, and another shall nail thee with nails, and lead thee to death, whither thy nature does not want to go, though thou hast made up thy mind to go. The soul by nature has compassion for the body, and when it hears of death, it turns away from it. In this way, God wisely arranged for our own benefit, so that in times of adversity people would not take their own lives, as has already been said. If even now, when our soul suffers greatly from separation from the body, the enemy often inclines us to suicide, then, of course, many would have resorted to suicide even more quickly if this were not the case.

Verse 19. And this is what he said, signifying by which death he will glorify God... 2 A martyr's death is a glory not only for the dying disciple, but also for God, for the dying one, because he dies for God, and for God, because He has such a disciple.

Verse 19... And these rivers said to him, "Follow me." By this Jesus Christ again shows Peter that He is again calling him to the apostleship... or: Walk after Me, i.e. be ready to endure the same death as Me on the cross.

Verse 20. Turn then to Peter in the form of a disciple, whom Jesus loved, following ... 3 Who walks behind Peter; it so happened that John at that time walked closest to Peter.

Verse 20... Who also reclined on His face at the supper, and said: Lord, who is Thy betrayal?4 This was during the Last Supper. The Evangelist mentions the reclining at the Last Supper and the question in order to show how bold Peter had become by repenting of his denial. During the Last Supper, he did not dare to ask the Lord and used the help of his beloved disciple for this, and now he boldly asks about the beloved disciple himself.

Verse 21. When Peter saw this, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what is this this?5 And he will not follow you? Will he not follow the same path of death with us? Will he not be subjected to the same death as we are? Peter understood the meaning of the words, "Follow me," and, loving John dearly, desired that he also should be vouchsafed the same death; but since John did not dare to ask the Saviour, Peter himself asked, and thus repaid John for his former service. What about Jesus Christ? Not paying attention to their particular mutual love and teaching them not to inquire more than what they need to know, Jesus Christ shows that they are predestined to have an unequal fate (When Peter heard (some interpret) that he would die for Jesus Christ, he said, "But what about John? Will he also die?" Jesus Christ, of course, did not deny this, because everyone who was born, he will die, but only said, "If I had willed that John should remain until the end of the world, and then bear witness to Me, what has it to you?" On this basis, some say that John lives, and in the time of the Antichrist, together with Elijah and Enoch, he will be killed for preaching about Jesus Christ. And if his tomb is shown, what of it? He entered it alive and was taken from there like Elijah and Enoch. The Evangelist, on the other hand, refutes the false opinion of those who assume that this disciple of Christ will not die, since it is indeed false to suppose that John is immortal. Enoch and Elijah, though they are not dead, are mortal; so also this disciple, although he is not dead, will die yet. It is false not that John did not die, but that the assumption that he is immortal is false. Others assert that John died, and the expression, "If I will, let him abide, until I come," is understood to mean that John must remain in Judea until Jesus Christ comes against the Jews to smite them at the hands of the Romans, and that, therefore, Peter had to part with John in order to preach in various places for greater profit. We have, therefore, given here all the opinions, so that those who are interested in this subject may know everything. Moreover, those who say that John died, convey it in this way: they dug a pit, they say, and surrounded it with stones; Then they lowered it there and closed it. A few days later they examined this pit and did not find him; but since he was still put there, they say that he died).

Verse 22. Jesus said to him, "If I will, let him abide, until I come to you..." 1 If I want him to live until my second coming, what does it matter to you?

Verse 22... Thou comest after Me... 2 Think of thy death, not inquiring what kind of death awaits John.