“Follow me!” These words seem odd at the end of this week’s gospel reading.
Jesus has just asked Peter three times if Peter loves him, and after each of Peter’s affirmative responses, Jesus implores Peter, “Feed my sheep.” Then at the end of the reading, Jesus commands Peter to follow him. Can one tend sheep and follow another shepherd at the same time? The narrator in John’s Gospel seems to feel this strange juxtaposition of commands, too. John suggests that the second imperative (“Follow me!”) does not need immediate action. Rather, it is a foreshadowing of the end of Peter’s ministry; he will die a martyr’s death as Jesus did.
John does this often throughout the gospel. He tells the reader how to put Jesus’ words and actions into a larger framework of their own faith and action. For example, John tells readers that Jesus foreshadows his own death and resurrection in his conversations with the temple leadership after wreaking havoc on the merchants (2:22). John’s narrative voice is interpretively self-aware. Since some of Jesus’ words are clear only once we know the end of the story, John helps the reader interpret his stories.
