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Wilbur A. Reid
Regent University
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 2
Abstract
The final chapter of the fourth gospel provides insights into the type of leadership that
Jesus modeled for his disciples. A socio-rhetorical analysis of John 21 shows Robbins’ inner
argumentative, and sensory-aesthetic sections. The dialogue between Jesus and Peter
exegesis shows that Jesus demonstrated a high-exchange, dyadic, transformational, and servant
leadership as he prepared the disciples for ministry and leadership after he left them. These
leadership styles can be seen as Jesus prepares breakfast and serves the disciples and can also
Jesus spent 3 years teaching and mentoring his disciples, some of which is recorded in
the four gospels. The disciple that Jesus loved wrote a biography of his savior and friend that
would later be divided into 20 chapters (Johnson, 1886). He concluded the original text by
stating that his purpose in writing the gospel was so that the readers “may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31,
New International Version). However, after some time had passed, it appears that John decided
that more of the story needed to be told, so the 21 st chapter of John was an addendum to the
original text (Morgan, 2004). This addendum of John 21 contains insights into the leadership
style of Jesus, and is the subject of this study. This study uses the inner textual analysis of
Robbins’ socio-rhetorical model of exegesis. Robbins identifies “five kinds of inner texture in
Background
Jesus appeared to his disciples twice in Jerusalem after his resurrection, and then
instructed them to wait for him in Galilee (Matt 28:7, 10). While they were waiting, seven of the
disciples decided to go fishing (John 21:3). The 21st chapter of John is the story of that fishing
expedition and the subsequent conversation after they came to shore. A key topic in this
chapter is the relationship between Jesus and Simon Peter. Based on Simon’s declaration that
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 4
Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 16:16), Jesus gave him the name Peter, which means rock (Matt
16:18). Peter had boasted at the Last Supper that “even if all fall away, I will not” (Mark 14:29).
Jesus replied that Peter would disown him three times before the rooster crows twice, but
Peter “insisted emphatically, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you’” (Mark
14:30). After the prophecy was fulfilled, Peter wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). There must have been
some concern in Peter’s mind about whether Jesus would accept him back after this disastrous
failure of support.
There seems to be a subtle rivalry between John and Peter. In the fourth gospel, which
John authored, there is a tendency to exalt the “disciple whom Jesus loved” at Peter’s expense
(Droge, 1990). John and Peter are cast a number of times as rivals in John’s gospel in episodes
that are not included in the synoptic gospels (DeSilva, 2004). Examples include (1) John
outrunning Peter to the tomb, seeing and believing (John 20:3-10), (2) Peter asking John to ask
Jesus who was going to betray him (John 13: 23-25), and (3) in the text of this study John
recognizes Jesus from the boat first (John 21:7), Peter responds impetuously (John 21:7), and
Jesus told Peter that it was none of his business what happened to John (John 21:20-23). Peter
solely on John’s account of the leadership interaction between Jesus and Peter may not be as
complete and unbiased as also considering texts from the synoptic gospels, Acts, and the
epistles.
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 5
Inner Texture
questions such as “What patterns emerge from the repetition of certain topics in the text? Is
there continual repetition of the same word throughout the unit, or is there slight modification
at almost every progressive stage?” (Robbins, 1996, p. 50). The text of Peter’s reinstatement in
John 21:15-17 may be used to illustrate repetitive-progressive texture. Table 1 shows the
Table 1
It is interesting to note that the name by which Jesus calls Simon Peter does not
progress. Jesus had given Simon the name of Peter, or the rock (Matt 16:18), and the narrator,
John, refers to him as Peter or Simon Peter throughout the chapter. However, all three times
that Jesus asked him if he loved him, he called him “Simon son of John” (John 21:15-17). To fully
understand the progression of this passage, it is important to understand the two Greek words
that are used for love in this passage. Agapao refers to an unconditional love or “higher,
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 6
spiritual devotion” (Butler, 1961, p. 454), while phileo refers to the “lower type of … brotherly
Jesus asked Peter if he loved him 3 times in John 21:15-17, but all 3 were slightly
different. The first two times that Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, he used the term agapao.
Peter responded with a disappointing “you know that I phileo you” (John 21:15-16). In the first
question, Jesus added the phrase “more than these” (John 21:15) to allow him to reaffirm his
love after his boasts at the last supper that he would be faithful, even if the others that were
sitting with him were not (Mark 14:30). When Jesus asked the question the third time, he
seems to lower the bar and simply ask if he loves him like a brother (John 21:17). In response to
the first two questions, Peter responds with exactly the same answer: “Yes Lord, you know that
I love (phileo) you” (John 21:15, 16). In response to the third question, Peter is hurt, and
perhaps frustrated, when he adds the phrase “you know all things” (John 21:17). After Peter
confirms his phileo love three times, Jesus follows with a command that is very similar in all
three cases, but slightly different each time. First he says “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15), then
“Take care of my Sheep” (John 21:16), and finally “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Therefore,
there is a progression in the words of Jesus in how he asks Peter if he loves him and his
The frequency of the use of certain words can also provide insight into the text. In the
New International version of John 21, the most frequently used words are: you (29
occurrences), Jesus (21), said (17), Peter (11), him (10), Simon, (8), fish (8), lord (8), love (7), and
disciples (6). With the top five words containing two proper names, two pronouns, and the
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 7
action verb said, it is clear that there is a dialogue. The entire 21st chapter of John can be
mapped to evaluate the repetitive-progressive structure. Table 2 shows the mapping of the
chapter:
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 8
Table 2
Jesus Reinstates
Peter
Simon Peter,
Simon son of eating, said, love, when they
15 Jesus, Lord John they, these lambs feed finished eating
Simon son of said, love, take
16 Jesus John sheep care of
Simon son of love, hurt, know,
17 he, me, Lord John, Peter all things sheep Feed
Evidence of
Gospel
these things, testifies, wrote,
24 disciple testimony know
things, whole
world, room, did, written
25 Jesus books down
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 9
Opening-Middle-Closing
John 21 can be neatly divided into three sections: an opening, a middle, and a closing.
The opening is the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the shore and helping them with
a miraculous catch of fish, in John 21:1-14. In this opening, Jesus was able to show his power by
enabling the miraculous catch of fish (John 21:6), his friendship by inviting them to breakfast
(John 21:12), and his servant leadership by serving breakfast to them (John 21:13). The end of
the breakfast is the transition to the middle section of the text, which is the conversation
between Jesus and Peter (John 21:15-23). In addition to the discussion of Jesus asking Peter
three times if he loved him as described in the section on repetitive-progressive, Jesus also told
Peter about his death (John 21:18, 19). Perhaps one of the reasons that John added this chapter
to his gospel some time after the original writing was to clear up the misconception mentioned
in verse 23: “Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this brother would not
die” (John 21:23). The purpose of the closing section for this chapter is to provide
overwhelming evidence to confirm the validity of the entire gospel (Butler, 1961). The closing
section is only two verses (John 21:24, 25), and ends with hyperbole.
Narrational
The apostle John provides the narrative for the text based on his eyewitness account of
the activities of that day (John 21:24). Table 3 shows the dialogue of John 21, including the
Table 3
John 21
A John 21:1-14
B John 21:15-23
C John 21:24, 25
Although the general scene for all of John 21 is “by the sea of Tiberius” (John 21:1), the
The plot of the narrative of John 21 provides additional insight into the resurrected Christ by
showing his interaction with his disciples and his restoration of Peter. The plot of the story
begins with the disciples going fishing while they are waiting for Jesus to meet them. After a
frustrating night with no fish being caught, Jesus guides them to a miraculous catch and invites
them to breakfast. After they finished eating breakfast, Jesus has a conversation with Simon
Peter. By giving Peter the opportunity to affirm his love for Jesus, he was able to reinstate him
to a life of service. John also took the opportunity to correct an incorrect rumor that he would
not die.
Argumentative Texture
The argumentative texture of John 21 is best illustrated by the discussion between Jesus
and Simon Peter in the 15th through 17th verses. The argumentative dialogue follows the same
The tension in this dialogue must have been building with each successive question and
command of Jesus. John notes that this style of questioning hurt Peter. The tension was also
high for Peter because this discussion was being held within the hearing of John, and perhaps
the other disciples. This could have been an embarrassing scene for Peter, especially since the
lead question asked if he truly loved Jesus “more than these” (John 21:15). This must have
made Peter and the others remember Peter’s boast in the upper room when he claimed that he
would follow Jesus, even if all of the other disciples fell away (Mark 14:30). The things that
Jesus did not say are also important to consider. It would have been natural for Jesus to ask
Peter about what happened the last evening they saw each other and to demand an apology.
It is interesting that Jesus told the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The sensory
experience of the fishermen to return home among the boats and nets must have been strong.
After the troubling events that they had just been through in Jerusalem, the sights, sounds and
smells of Galilee would have been comforting. The darkness of the night matched the
frustration of fishermen fishing all night without catching anything, but the rising sun in the
morning also paralleled their enthusiasm of joining Jesus. The experience of catching the 153
large fish (John 21:11) may have reminded the disciples of when Jesus first called them as
disciples. Luke 5:1-11 records the story of Jesus instructing Peter to let down the nets after a
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 13
fruitless night of fishing and the resulting catch of fish that almost broke the nets. Since it was
early morning (John 21:4) and the boat was a hundred yards off shore (John 21:8), the disciples
did not recognize Jesus (John 21:4). However, when they experienced that familiar miracle with
the fish, John realized who was on the shore (John 21:7).
Jesus as Leader
The interaction between Jesus and Peter in John 21 correlates to three contemporary
Leader-Member Exchange
The conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter shows a high-exchange dyadic
relationship in the leader-member exchange model (Yukl, 2006). Peter was in the inner circle of
the followers of Jesus and would be one of the great leaders of the New Testament church after
Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 2). As such, he was privy to insights and counseling that most
followers of Jesus could only imagine. In this text, he was able to walk and talk with Jesus. Jesus
used the opportunity to reinstate Peter and concluded the conversation by saying twice “Follow
me” (John 21:19, 22). Jesus used that high-exchange relationship with Peter on several
occasions to mentor him to grow to become a great leader in the early church. These occasions
include walking on the water (Matt. 14:29), the transfiguration (Matt. 17:2), and catching a fish
In addition to the specific direction that Jesus gave to Peter to feed his sheep, leaders of
the 21st century church can also heed the command that Jesus gave. “Jesus' words to Peter in
John 21:15-19 remind us that we are intimately and inseparably connected to Jesus in what we
do, and that the work we do is the work that Jesus started (9:4; 14:12)” (Lewis, 2008).
Transformational Leadership
while transformational leaders appeal to their moral values (Burns, 1978). Transformational
leaders instill “trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect toward the leader, and they are motivated
to do more than they originally expected to do” (Yukl, 2006). When Peter denied that he knew
Jesus three times, his relationship with Jesus may have been irreparably damaged, as Judas’
relationship with Jesus was destroyed (Matt 27:3-5). However, Peter desired to restore the
relationship and Jesus used the opportunity on the lake shore to transform Peter’s life. Peter’s
loyalty to Jesus changed the world. The transformation in Peter’s life can be seen in other New
Testament texts. Peter is the one that led the preaching on the first day of the church on the
day of Pentecost, which resulted in three thousand baptisms (Acts 2). He healed the sick (Acts
3:1-10), provided leadership for the church (Acts 15, 1 Peter, 2 Peter), and boldly spoke about
Servant Leadership
The life of Jesus exemplified the nature of being a servant (Wright, 2008). Servant
leaders establish trust “by being completely honest and open, keeping actions consistent with
values, and showing trust in followers” (Greenleaf, 1977). Paul instructed the Philippians that
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 15
their “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in the very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking
the very nature of a servant” (Phil 2:5-7). As the ministry of Jesus was coming to a conclusion,
John records two occasions that Jesus was with his disciples and modeled servant leadership.
The first was in the upper room at the last supper when Jesus demonstrated servant leadership
by washing his disciples’ feet (John 13). He then instructed them to do likewise (John 13:14). In
John 21, Jesus invited the disciples breakfast on the shore and once again demonstrated
servant leadership by preparing breakfast and serving it to them (John 21:12, 13). The
leadership that Jesus modeled for the disciples was revolutionary for his time (Agosto, 2005),
but his disciples learned from him and this small group of men changed the world by
Conclusion
John 21 provides a glimpse into the transformational and servant leadership of Jesus,
specifically as it relates to his high-exchange dialogue with Peter. The inner textual analysis of
this text illustrates the style that John used to tell the story and provides insights into fully
understanding Jesus’ mentoring of the disciples on his last days of earth. Though the culture of
the 1st century is significantly different than the culture of the 21 st century (Okaiwele, 2009),
there is much that we can learn from the restoration of Peter to the point that he was a
significant positive impact on the church and the world (Acts 2). Jesus continued utilizing the
servant leadership that he had modeled for the disciples throughout his ministry on earth (Phil
Jesus as Agent of Change and Guiding 16
2), as well as transformational leadership that caused his followers to “feel trust, admiration,
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