Simon Peter's Denial and Jesus' Commissioning Him as His Successor in John 21:15-19

Roger David Aus, Ph.D., is pastor emeritus of the Evangelische Luther-Kirchengemeinde Alt-Reinickendorf in Berlin, Germany. He is the author of twelve other books on the New Testament and a member of the Society of New Testament Studies, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftliche Theologie.

The great benefit of Aus’s work . . . is that it opens up perspectives too frequently neglected and so provides a rich resource for future investigation both of these passages and of the passion narrative as a whole.

• PrefaceSimplified Outline of the Inner Temple of JerusalemIntroduction I. The Priesthood, the Day of Atonement, and the High Priest 1. The Priesthood 2. The Day of Atonement 3. The High Priest 3.1 The High Priest as an / the Anointed One3.2 The High Priestly Garments and Blasphemy3.3 The Seamless Robe of the High Priest and Jesus (John 19:23)3.4 The Death of the High Priest and Atonement3.5 The Binding or ?Aqedah of Isaac by the High Priest Abraham at Mount Moriah / Jerusalem on the Day of Atonement3.6 The High Priest "Delivers" the Scapegoat to be "Led Away"3.7 Standing at a Distance and Beholding the Death of the Scapegoat 3.8 Jesus as the Scapegoat at his Rejection in Luke 4:16-303.8.1 Jesus' Appearing Alone in Nazareth3.8.2 The Scapegoat as Sent Out of the City3.8.3 "Leading Away" the Scapegoat to the Site of its Being Killed3.8.4 Jerusalem's Eminent Citizens Accompany the Scapegoat3.8.5 The Steep Precipice (S[oq), a Hill / Mountain3.8.6 Pushing the Scapegoat Headlong Down to its Death3.9 The Place Golgotha 4. Jesus' Last Meal with His Disciples with Day of Atonement Imagery 5. High Priest and Day of Atonement Imagery in Gethsemane5.1 The Seclusion of the High Priest Before the Day of Atonement5.1.1 A Secluded Place with the Name Gethsemane5.1.2 Sleep 5.1.3 Keeping Watch / Waking5.1.4 Sitting 5.1.5 Disciples 5.1.6 Weak 5.2 Fear of Death Before Making Atonement in the Holy of Holies5.3 High Priestly Prayer 6. All Eleven Disciples Abandon Jesus and Flee at His Arrest in Gethsemane 6.1 Mark 14:27 6.2 Luke 22:31-34 6.3 John 16:32; 17:12; and 18:8-9 6.3.1 John 16:32 6.3.2 John 17:12 and 18:8-9 II. Peter's Denial of Jesus in Mark 14:53-72 par. and John 18:15-27 in Light of Day of Atonement Imagery Introduction: The Setting Within Jesus' "Hearing" 1. Two Movements Within the Setting 1.1 Two Movements of Jesus in the Gospels1.2 Two Movements of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement2. The House of the High Priest 3. The Upper Room 4. The Courtyard 5. The Gate 6. The Guards 7. Warming Oneself, and Seeing 8. Cockcrow 9. Swearing, and Bystanders 10. Turning Aside and Weeping 11. Denying and Persecution 12. The Original Author and Language 13. The Meanings and Historicity of the Narrative 13.1 The Meanings 13.1.1 Two Scenes of Contrasting Behavior13.1.2 Echoes of Day of Atonement Imagery13.1.3 Confessing and Denying During Persecution13.2 The Question of HistoricityIII. The Threefold Commission of Simon Peter in John 21:15-19Introduction 1. The Commissioning of All the Disciples 2. The Commissioning of Simon Peter Alone in John 213. Simon Peter as the "First" Disciple 4. Peter in Acts 5. The Pauline Letters 6. First and Second Peter, and Hebrews 1. Jesus as the Messianic Davidic Shepherd 1.1 The Verbs for Feeding / Tending 1.2 Jesus as a / the Son of David, the Eschatological Messianic King and Shepherd 1.3 The Various Kinds of Sheep in John 21:15-172. Jesus as the Shepherd of Israel2.1 David 2.2 Moses 2.3 Jesus as the New Shepherd Moses 3. Joshua as Moses' Main Disciple, and Peter as Jesus' Main Disciple4. Num 27:12-23, Cant 1:7-8, and Joshua's Treatment of Individual Groups4.1 To Love 4.2 To Love More Than 4.3 To Know 4.4 The Threefold Question and Answer4.5 A Threefold Question and Answer Formula of Ordination 4.6 Three Different Kinds of Sheep4.7 Girding / Wrapping and Veiling Oneself 4.8 Being Young, Growing Old, and Stretching Out One's Hands4.8.1 Being Young and Growing Old4.8.2 Stretching Out One's Hands4.9 Follow Me 4.10 Simon Son of John 4.11 The Seat of Moses 4.11.1 The Testament of Moses 4.11.2 Sifre Pinh@as140 on Num 27:194.11.3 Petirat Mosheh 5. The Original Language and Provenance of John 21:15-196. The Question of the Historicity and Unity of John 21:15-19 7. The Genre 8. The Meanings of John 21:15-198.1 Feeding the Sheep8.2 Forgiveness and Rehabilitation of a Penitent8.3 The Criterion of Love 8.4 The Fulfillment of Prophecy8.5 The Tenure of Simon Peter's Commission 8.6 Moses' Commission of Joshua in Judaic Tradition, and Jesus' Commission of Simon PeterSources and Reference WorksAuthor IndexIndex of Sources CitedAbout the Author