Take, for example, Jesus’ words at the Last Supper in John 16:įor the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. Why? Because elsewhere these words are used interchangeably in John. Yet, I have to confess, it seems highly unlikely to me that the evangelist is making a big deal out of the fact that Jesus and Peter use different words for love here. (In Catholic theology, papal statements made in General Audiences are not viewed as infallible magisterial doctrinal definitions.) For example, his lengthy treatment of the date of the Last Supper in Jesus of Nazareth also omits a suggestion he had once made at a General Audience in 2006. This would not be the only time Benedict XVI’s explanations in his trilogy would depart from what he had said earlier in a General Audience. Notably, he studiously avoids this line of explanation in his treatment of John 21 in the second volume of his Jesus of Nazareth trilogy, which he later published in 2011. I must confess that I was quite surprised by it when I first read it. In a 2006 General Audience, for example, Benedict XVI offered this line of interpretation of this passage. It is often claimed that Peter is hurt because the last time Jesus puts the question to him, he asks, “Do you phileō me?” Peter is said to be grieved because even though he realizes that he has not yet matured to agapē love for Jesus, he is nonetheless saddened to think that Jesus doubts that he at least has philia love for him. Interpreters often make much hay out of the fact that the word for “love” is different the third time Jesus asks the question. You know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17 my translation You know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know all things. He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He sad to him, “Yes, Lord. When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord. The verbs are derived from the Greek nouns agapē and philia. Below I have provided a translation in which I provide the Greek verbs in brackets. It is often pointed out that the word for “love” changes the third time. Once they arrive on the land, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” He repeats the question three times. As the apostles are fishing, Jesus appears on the shore. There we read the story of the Risen Lord’s appearance to the disciples in Galilee. The romanticized take on Greek terms for love especially finds its way into treatments of John 21. Nevertheless, the notion that agapē refers to the highest form of love still gets applied incorrectly to passages in Scripture. When you read the New Testament in Greek, you discover–as all beginning Greek students quickly learn–that the distinction between agapē and philia does not hold up. Unfortunately, it greatly oversimplifies things. That Greek has clear words for different types of love sounds nice. Writing about agapē, Lewis taught: “This is our chief aim, the unconditional love of the Father given to us through his Son.” Lewis website sums up his views on this here. According to Lewis, agapē love can be distinguished from philia love in that the latter refers to the love of friendship, while the former denotes something more: unconditional divine love. Let me focus on two terms: agapē and philia. I will refrain from offering a full treatment. Lewis’ book, The Four Loves (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960). The notion that biblical Greek uses different terms for various kinds of love was popularized by C.
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