Peter had denied the Lord three times and apparently continues to be despondent over his failure. Jesus gives him three opportunities to declare his love for him, but Peter has gotten more cautious. Jesus asks for agape (a love of devotion and service) and Peter offers phileo<\/em> (the love of a close and dear friend). Still, Jesus gives him tasks that will build his faith. He tells Peter to feed his lambs, to tend his sheep, and to feed his sheep.<\/p>\nJesus’ sheep are all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles (John 10:14-16). Jesus is the Shepherd and we follow him. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Lambs are young sheep, so lambs well represent new Christians. “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby<\/em>” (I Peter 2:2). Peter’s job was to teach God’s word to help new Christians to grow.<\/p>\n He was also to tend the sheep. Again, this imagery was used before. “He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands<\/em>” (Psalms 78:70-72). It is true that this is a job of elders. “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock<\/em>” (Acts 20:28-29). Peter did fill the role of an elder along with being an apostle. “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away<\/em>” (I Peter 5:1-4).<\/p>\n Peter was not being placed at the head of the other apostles. Such counters what Jesus had long taught them. They had always fought over who would be greatest and thus missed the point. “There arose also a contention among them, which of them was considered to be greatest. He said to them, “The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves. For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn’t it he who sits at the table? But I am in the midst of you as one who serves<\/em>” (Luke 22:24-27). In John 21, Jesus was giving Peter instructions on how to serve, not to rule. And this Peter did. “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior” (II Peter 1:12-21).<\/p>\n The apostle Paul wanted to preach in the Roman providence of Asia when the Holy Spirit told him no, Paul tried to go to Bithynia instead but was again told no (Acts 16:6-7). Eventually, Paul went to Macedonia and later to Achaia. Why not go to Asia and Bithynia? Notice I Peter 1:1. It appears that Peter was working in those regions.<\/p>\n The supposition that Peter was in Rome is based on “She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son” (I Peter 5:13). Babylon is used as a representation of a city given over to sensuality and worldly pleasures (Isaiah 47:5-15). In the book of Revelation, the city of Rome is called Babylon (Revelation 17:3-6, 9, 15, 18). Thus, if Peter is using the same symbolism, he is forwarding greetings from the church located in Rome (the “she” who is elect together with other Christians) and from John Mark.<\/p>\n Other evidence is:<\/p>\n Some argue against this conclusion. There is no reason that Peter could not be speaking literally of Babylon in I Peter 5:13 and assume that a church existed there. Josephus does mention that were Jews in Babylon during this time period [Antiquities of the Jews<\/em>, XV.II.2] and it makes sense that the apostle to the Jews would visit areas where the Jews had a strong presence. This does not eliminate that Peter could have been in Rome at another point in his life.<\/p>\n It does seem likely that Peter was in Rome and probably died there. This does not prove that he founded the church there or that he established a succession of bishops there that lead to the first pope.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Lives of the Apostles\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Feeding the Sheep Peter had denied the Lord three times and apparently continues to be despondent over his failure. Jesus gives him three opportunities to declare his love for him, but Peter has gotten more cautious. Jesus asks for agape (a love of devotion and service) and Peter offers phileo (the love of a close…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":59828,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-60276","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66060,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-good-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":60276,"position":0},"title":"The Good Shepherd (Gospel Accounts)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Good Shepherd Reading Assignment: John 10:1-21 Did you understand what you read? What is the difference between a thief and a shepherd? Whom will sheep follow? Whom will they not follow? Did this illustration clarify things for Jesus' listeners? What did Jesus mean by calling himself the door? What\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65149,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/jesus-final-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":60276,"position":1},"title":"Jesus’ Final Words","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jesus' Final Words Text: John 21:15-25 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After the breakfast that Jesus prepared for his disciples, Jesus asks Peter a question \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He asked, \u201cDo you love me more than these?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The statement doesn\u2019t translate well. Jesus is using the word for a devoted love. One that continues to give even though\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-good-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":60276,"position":2},"title":"The Good Shepherd (John)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Good Shepherd Text: John 10:1-21 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The beginning of chapter 10 is a continuation of the answer Jesus made to the Pharisee\u2019s question in John 9:40 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The question was, \u201cAre we blind?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus uses the illustration of a sheep stockade. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The owner of a flock of sheep has no need\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20850,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/by-the-sea-of-galilee\/","url_meta":{"origin":60276,"position":3},"title":"By the Sea of Galilee","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By the Sea of Galilee Reading Assignment: John 21:1-25 \u00a0 Did you understand what you read? Who was present at the Sea of Tiberius (the Sea of Galilee)? What did they decide to do? How successful were they? Who met them when they returned? What caused them to recognize him?\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53497,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/discipleship-and-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":60276,"position":4},"title":"Discipleship and Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Discipleship and Salvation Reading Assignment: Luke 14:25-15:32 \u00a0 Did you understand what you read? What cost may be involved in being a disciple of Jesus? Why must the cost of being a disciple of Jesus be considered? 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\nWe aren’t talking about physical sheep, so also the action of feeding is not a physical one. Jesus is instructing Peter to give spiritual nourishment. It is an imagery God has used often. “And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding<\/em>” (Jeremiah 3:15).\n\n