21:15 Who or what are "these" Jesus refers to here?
21:15 Who or what are "these" Jesus refers to here?
This is a somewhat obscure question by Jesus here and there are divided opinions among Christians as to whom, or what, He refers. Some believe Jesus is enquiring of Peter whether He loves Him more than the other disciples love Him.
They believe Jesus had in mind here Peter's boast at the Last Supper that although all the other disciples might forsake Jesus, he himself would remain true, implying that he loved Jesus more than they did (CP Mt 26:33-35). Others believe "these" refer to the fish the disciples had just caught, representing Peter's professional career as a fisherman, because Peter had gone back to fishing while waiting for Jesus (CP Jn 21:3-11).
Still others believe that Jesus' reference is to Peter loving Him above all else.
Although it is highly unlikely that this is really what Jesus is referring to in Jn 21:15, it is nonetheless what He demands of His disciples, and so we should not concern ourselves too much with looking for other meanings (CP Mt 10:37; Lu 9:23-25; Col 3:1-2; 1Jn 2:15-17).