And it came to pass, when they were at dinner, that Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon Jonah! Do you love Me more than they do? Peter said to Him, "So. God! You know I love You. Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." Again he said to him another time: Simon Jonah! Do you love Me? Peter said to Him, "Yes, Lord! You know I love You. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." He said to him for the third time: Simon Jonah! Do you love Me? Peter was grieved that he had asked him for the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to Him, Lord! You know everything; You know I love You. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself and went whither thou wilt; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you up and lead you whither you do not want to. And he said this, giving to understand by what death Peter would glorify God. 

Since the meal had His purpose, He entrusts to Peter the care of the sheep of the whole world, entrusting the care to none other than him, first, because He was the chosen one of all and was the mouth of all the Apostles; Then, in order to show that he must have boldness, since his renunciation has been erased. He does not remember the renunciation, does not blame it for it, but says: if you love Me, take care of your brethren and now prove that ardent love for Me, of which you said that you were ready to die for Me. He asks him three times, partly in order to show that He cares so much for believers and loves His sheep so much, that caring for His sheep is a sign of love for Himself; In part, by threefold questioning and confession, he heals the threefold renunciation, and with words corrects the fall that was in words. From then on, there was a custom - from those wishing to be baptized, they demanded a triple confession. After the first and second questions, Peter calls Himself as a witness, Who knows hearts; he no longer relies on himself, does not answer in haste, but each time he adds: "You know." When Peter was questioned for the third time, he was troubled whether he was not mistakenly thinking of himself that he loved, while perhaps in fact he did not love, because he had already thought much about himself and his strength, but the consequences refuted him. And now he was afraid of the same thing. That is why he answers with reverence: "Lord! You know everything", both present and future; Thou knowest that I love Thee now, as it seems to me, but whether my love will endure for a time to come, Thou knowest, and I do not stand up for myself. The Lord, having told Peter about his love for Himself, also foretells him about the torment that he will endure. He says this in order to show that if He asks him about love, He asks not out of distrust of him, but out of confidence that he loves, for how can he not love who will be martyred for Him? He asked in order to reveal the love of Peter himself and to teach all the others that if we wish to love Him, we must prove our love for Him by caring for the brethren. How does martyrdom foretell him? Listen. "When you were young, you girded yourself," and so on. Since, he says, thou lovest Me, and hast more than once promised to lay down thy life for Me in danger, be calm; I will grant your wish, so that what you did not suffer in your youth, you will endure in your old age. He reminds him of his former life, in order to show that the spiritual and the carnal are in an inverse relationship. In the affairs of life the young are useful, and the old are useless; In spiritual matters, on the contrary, podvig is more brilliant when old age comes. He says this in order to arouse his love and inflame him to martyrdom. He also hints to him that he too will be crucified. For the words: "Thou shalt stretch out thy hands, and another shall gird up," indicate nothing else but the prostrate on the cross and the bonds. With the words, "When thou wast young," and again, "And when thou art old," he shows that Peter was then neither young nor old, but a perfect man. Why did the Lord tell him that "another will gird you up and lead you whither you do not want"? Although Peter desired martyrdom, and he ardently desired it, the words of the Lord indicate the sympathy of our nature for life and the fact that the soul is reluctant to be separated from the body. For God has arranged it in this way, and has arranged it for good, that we should not kill ourselves. For this reason, no one, even if he be holy, lays aside the body impassibly. The Evangelist, according to his custom, adds in explanation of the words: "And he said this, giving to understand by what death Peter would glorify God." Jesus, he says, said to Peter, "Thou shalt stretch out thy hands," and so forth, to understand that he would suffer punishment for Him. He calls Peter's death the glory of God, because suffering for Him unto death is truly the glory of God. For if the soul is not fully convinced that He is the true God, then man will not die for Him. And therefore the death of the saints is a confirmation of the glory of God. Another, perhaps, will find a difference between the names: "lambs" and "sheep", between the words: "feed" and "feed". By "lambs" is perhaps meant beginners, and by "sheep" are more perfect. Thus, whoever loves Christ must have care for the lambs and the sheep, must "feed" the lambs, that is, have a simpler supervision over them, and "feed" the sheep, which indicates a higher leadership. Sometimes, however, even the most perfect need tender care, and the stewards of the sheep must feed them. "To shepherd" expresses a stricter supervision, and "to nourish" is more gentle. What then shall we render to the Lord, Who has so loved us that He has made it a sign of love for Himself to care for His sheep?

     And having said this, he said to him, "Follow me." And Peter, turning, saw the disciple coming after him, whom Jesus loved, and who at supper, bowing down to His breast, said: Lord! who will betray you? When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord! And what about him? Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what does it matter to you?" thou shalt follow me. And this word spread among the brethren, that the disciple would not die; but Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, "If I want him to remain until I come, what does it matter to you?" 

The Lord entrusted Peter with the care of all believers. For if James received the throne in Jerusalem, then Peter received the throne in the whole world. After this, the Lord said to him: "Follow Me," showing His care for him and His great disposition towards him. By following the understanding here is diligence in all deeds and words. For those follow Him who follow in the footsteps of His life and imitate His correctness in all things. Perhaps He commands Peter to follow Himself sensually, showing, as I have said, His special disposition towards him. For we make our followers those who are close to us. When Peter heard this, and was vouchsafed that the universe would also be entrusted to him, and that he would be crowned with martyrdom; then, out of great love for John, he asks also about him: "And what about him?" Will he not also be a partaker in the care and care of the sheep? For the words, "Follow me," mean almost the same as go, receive the sheep, go forth into the world. Knowing that Peter cares for John and does not want to be separated from him, the Lord, in order to put an end to their untimely union and affection for each other, says: "You have been entrusted with a task; do it, and follow me, when I bring you out to preach, when I commit to you the whole world. But if I want him to remain here in the region of Galilee, and do not want to send him with you, what has it to you? - The words: "until I come" were understood by some in this way: until I come against the Jews who crucified Me, to punish them through the Romans and to destroy their city. For it is said that this apostle (John) was in the highlands almost before the reign of Vespasian, preaching and dwelling there, and before the capture of Jerusalem he withdrew from there. And so, since they were entrusted with the great task of preaching, they were no longer to be together with one another, but to go separately one to the one and the other to the other. - Why does the evangelist mention that he bowed to his chest and asked who would betray You? Not simply or accidentally, but to show that even after his renunciation Peter had boldness before the Lord. For he who before the Cross did not dare to ask about the betrayer, but entrusted the question to another, namely John, to him is now entrusted the care of all, and not only does he not entrust the question of himself to another, but also to the very disciple who enjoyed special love before all, he asks the Lord and becomes, as it were, an intercessor before Him. Perhaps consider the modesty of the Evangelist, with which he corrects the erroneous understanding of many who did not understand what the Lord said about him, but thought that he would not die. This did not happen, the Lord said not that he would not die, but that he would not preach at the same time as Peter, but would remain after him. "Until I come," that is, until I want to bring him out to preach. I now bring you out to take care of the universe, and you follow me, and let him remain here until I come again and bring him out like you. - And some understand this: Peter, hearing that he would die for Christ, said, "What then is John? Will he not also die? Christ did not reject this, for everyone who is born will die, but said: if I want him to remain, that is, to live until the end of the world, and then to become a martyr for Me. From here they say that he is alive, but will be killed by the Antichrist when he begins to preach Christ together with Elijah. If they point to his coffin, what is the matter? he entered into it alive, and then passed away as Enoch and Elijah. Thus, the Evangelist refutes the false opinion of those who thought that this disciple would not die, but would be immortal: for it is a sheer lie that man should be immortal. Although Enoch and Elijah did not die, they are mortal. In the same way, although he is not dead, he will die. Therefore, the understanding of the word "will not die" in the sense that he will be immortal is false. Others say that he is dead, and the words, "If I will that he should remain," are understood as we have explained above. We have expressed all our opinions, so that none of them will be unknown to the curious. In our opinion, the words: "that he may abide until I come" are better understood not about life, but about separation from Peter, as the glorious and chrysostom John understood it.

     This disciple also bears witness to this, and wrote this; and we know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things; but if we were to write about this in detail, then, I think, the world itself would not be able to contain the books that have been written. Amen. 

Of the other evangelists, not one testified about himself. It is said that he began to write the Gospel after everyone else, having been moved and stirred up to this by Christ. For this reason he constantly mentions His love for himself, showing the reason why he began to write, and that Christ entrusted this task to him whom He loved more than others. And I know that he speaks the truth, that is, "What I have written, I have written with full confidence, for I have been with all things, in deeds and words, in sufferings and circumstances after the resurrection. Wherefore I boldly say of myself that I am true, and I call upon you to consider and examine each event separately." We human beings, when we are absolutely certain of the truth, are in the habit of not renouncing our own testimony to it. Thus also the Apostles said: "We are witnesses to Him in what we speak, and the Spirit which He has given to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:32). How can it be seen that I speak the truth, and not to please the Teacher? From the fact that I have left much behind, it is evident that I did not want to please Him. For I have exposed all that is reproachful, not concealing the fact that He was called a lawless and deceiver, and even possessed by demons. Obviously, I wasn't trying to please Him. For he who flatters does the opposite: he omits the shameful, and exposes the glorious. - Do not be surprised at what has been said that if books were written about the works of Jesus, the world would not contain them; but think about the ineffable power of God the Word and accept what is said with faith. For just as it is easy for us to speak, so it is easy for Him, and even much easier, to do what pleases Him. Some say that according to the custom of Scripture this is said hyperbolically; for it is the custom of the Scriptures to use hyperbole. For example: "we saw cities reaching to heaven", "we saw men, and were before us like locusts" (Num. 13:29. 33:34) and the like. In the same sense, it is said here that the world could not contain written books. - Otherwise, by "world" is meant a person who philosophizes worldly things; but the divine and mysterious works performed by Jesus in the invisible and visible world, and in the economy of the end times, which is full of mysteries, the worldly man cannot understand, because of what is said: "I have many things to say to you, but now you cannot bear it" (John 15:12). "But let us pray that the works and words of the Lord may never be forgotten among us, but that we may always open this book of the Beloved, and seek out the treasure which is contained in the miracles and teachings of Jesus; that we, having been purified in word and life, may be counted worthy on the day of revelation the most ineffable works and mysteries, which now, being in the world, we cannot contain, and be made perfect in Christ Himself, Who loved us, and through His beloved disciple enlightened us with theology and the knowledge of Him, the Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory forever.

Amen.