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Background
The resurrected Jesus
appeared to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, to two disciples who
did not recognize Him, and to the Eleven Disciples (some of whom
had doubts).
According to John, Jesus also appeared to a group of seven disciples who had been on an overnight fishing trip. Jesus appeared on shore, helped them be successful at fishing, and then hosted a breakfast of fish and bread on the shore. None of the disciples dared ask Him "
Who are you?". This study picks up as a continuation of that appearance.
Damage Control
The Gospels, as we know them today, came into their final forms decades after Jesus had died. Decades. Besides making it challenging to memory to recall exactly what was said, when, where, and by whom, this time lapse also created other problems, and opportunities, for advancing the Christian cause. As the Gospel of John wraps to a close, we come to a couple examples of how this lag was leveraged for advantage.
Peter's Fate
After a beach breakfast of bread and fish,
John 21:15-17 recorded that Jesus had a conversation with Peter, where Jesus famously asked Peter if he loved Him and told him to feed His sheep three times. This appears to be granting Peter special significance among all of the other Disciples. This is similar to, yet very different from, how
Matthew 16:17-19 granted that significance to Peter, which you may remember from a
previous study.
In John 21:18-19, Jesus continued on to tell Peter:
"I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, "Follow Me!" NIV
It does seem odd that this information is juxtaposed next to Jesus' instructions to feed His sheep, as it would be difficult to feed anyone's sheep when you are dead, and hardly sounds like a reward for all of that sheep feeding! ;-)
More significant, though, is that the language used here, that extra clarification of what Jesus meant, suggests a "fulfilled prophesy", not one that was yet to be fulfilled. In other words, Peter was likely already dead by the time that the author wrote those words. The other three Gospels were also likely written after Peter's death, at least in the form we recognize them today.
Based on the
information available, it appears that Peter was killed around 64 AD, and that he likely died on a cross as well, but upside-down. The legend is that Peter requested that configuration, but soldiers carrying out crucifixions were known to occasionally nail people up in non-standard ways as a form of twisted entertainment for themselves. Regardless of which reason is more likely, we should recognize that it is entirely possible that Peter was crucified upside-down.
In looking back over the Gospels, and even ahead into Acts and some of the Epistles, Peter's prominence permeates the pages more so than any other Disciple, except, perhaps, for the later addition of Paul. I believe that it is important to consider this in attempting to piece together the puzzle of early Christianity. To that end, I submit the following theory:
Peter was a zealous believer. He did not "die for a lie", because he wholeheartedly believed in the resurrected Jesus without a trace of doubt. His zeal and confidence were inspirational to other believers, especially the new ones who had not witnessed Jesus personally. However, Peter was not the brightest light in the chandelier. He may have been a "fool for Christ" in a couple senses of the words.
So we find that the story of Peter assembled after his death becomes a tale of him acting and speaking rather foolishly at times while he was with Jesus in the Gospels, but eventually portrayed more as a champion of the faith after the Resurrection, and particularly after the receiving of the Holy Spirit. While Peter was (in my opinion) a real person, his story became that of a mythologized martyrdom; a flawed and foolish soul who became purified and perfected through faith in Jesus and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Peter became the banner, the rallying cry, that we mere mortals could hope to become like when the perfections of Jesus seemed a little too out of reach. His story was powerful, inspirational, and effective, and John leveraged that tool to persuade and encourage his flock of believers.
It should be noted that, while, in Peter's mind, he did not "die for a lie", that does not mean that it was true, especially given the
other disciples' doubts after seeing the resurrected Jesus. Peter may have just been credulous, especially if his foolish nature recorded in the Gospels bears any resemblance to what was his true character. As it happens from time to time in life, we sometimes discover that that which we had resolved as real turns out to be a product of our own delusion.
The Beloved Disciple's Fate
As the story continues in
John 21:20-23, it seems that that "Follow Me!" command Jesus gave Peter was literal, not figurative. They started walking somewhere, and Peter noticed that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. Peter mentioned that to Jesus, but Jesus deflected his concern in an awkward, problem-creating way. In John 21:23, we read:
Because of [how Jesus replied], the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; He only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" NIV
This is an interesting verse for a several reasons.
First, we should consider that this rumor was strong enough that John felt the need to explicitly counter it in the Gospel.
Next, given the rumor's strength and the need to counter it, this beloved disciple was likely dead, or pretty close to being so, by the time that this Gospel was written. Based on
available information, it appears that John died in 100 AD, and, as it happens,
most scholars believe John to have been written in the 90-100 AD time frame.
Following those lines of thought, we should ask how it would be possible for a rumor to be that strong after so much time when it would have had plenty of chance for correction by the Disciples? A possible, if not probable, answer is that everyone thought that the rumor was a true statement, but the events of time forced John to re-evaluate reality to curtail the damage to the faith that this beloved disciple would enact upon his death.
Finally, we need to consider the divine aspect here. Jesus, if He was God and had omniscience, would have known how His words would be misconstrued to cause this rumor to be circulated. So for Jesus to have given that reply makes Him appear negligent with His word choices.
Summary
When you consider this claim of Peter's death as prophesy and a passage that would mitigate the damages potentially caused by the beloved disciple's death, it appears that John is making an effort to handle the delayed Second Coming to the best of his advantage. Without any of the other three Gospel to back him up, there are doubts as to whether or not this event happened, or if John simply dreamed up this scenario to bolster the faithful and to control a once-promising, now-damaging, "rumor".
