In John Chapter 21, Verses 15-17 Christ asked Peter 3 times if he (Peter) loved Him and Peter said yes 3 times, in verse 17, it says Peter was grieved because Christ asked him 3 times if he loved him. On the surface if a husband or wife asked the other 3 consecutive times, we would be aggravated, no?
Let's insert the Greek words for love in the verses, to wit:
Agopi= All consuming stemming from Yahweh
Feleo: Love of a friend, parent, etc.
Christ asked Peter if he recognized Him with Agopi love;
Peter replied, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest everything, thou knowest that I feleo thee;
Christ asked him two times about Agopi love and Peter
answered with Friendship love;
The third time, Christ asked him if he loved Him as a friend and Peter walked away grieved because Christ had made him realize that at that point in time, Peter was lacking.
That's my take on it after discussing it with some people. I'm open minded about it, but, it makes sense.
Any comments
I agree that we no doubt loose some of the meaning when we translate, but don't you think God allowed for that?
If it hadn't been for the recorded words of the disciples, (Through the Holy Spirit) we wouldn’t have an accurate record of a thing Christ said in his ministry, so wouldn't he make sure those disciples heard exactly what he wanted them to hear?
Any confusion would surely have been straightened out when the Holy Spirit guided them in what they wrote down, otherwise finding salvation would be like finding the magic word that opens all doors to the finder only, and your lost if you aren’t one of the blessed few.
It's like a Church I heard of in West Virginia that called it's self by one of God's Hebrew names, and they argued that God didn't hear your prayers unless you used his secret decoder ring name.
Salvation is not hidden or cloaked from us, it is the simplest thing in the New Testament to figure out, it's when you go beyond salvation’s needs that we start to complicate things and picking at words and intent rather then simple salvation.
Peter replied, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest everything, thou knowest that I feleo thee;
Christ asked him two times about Agopi love and Peter answered with Friendship love;
Peter heard Christ ask him the same question three different times,(Strongs Greek word #5368 Phileo love) and he got upset over it but even today, we humans take three times before anything get's our full attention, similar to the story we were told in the Corps about three on a match. #1 gets your attention, #2 you look for it and aim in the direction, #3 you fire when it shows the third time. I'm sure that it stuck with Peter, asking himself, why did he do that.
Christ asked him two times about Agopi love and Peter answered with Friendship love;
If this were true, it was Christ that failed to communicate to Peter what he was really asking him, and as Peter said,"Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee."If Peter was confused, this response covered the whole matter, "thou knowest"