AGAPAO in John 21 and "the third time"

Gary S. Shogren (gshogren@voicenet.com)
Fri, 14 Feb 1997 17:48:00 -0500 (EST)

I have enjoyed the discussion on synonymity, and believe it highly likely
that GJohn is using variation for its own sake in ch. 21 - and elsewhere.
Nor did the apostle whom Jesus loved get demoted to being the apostle whom
Jesus liked in Jn 20:2.

Ken Anderson mentioned this -- that the "third time" clause seems to mean:

View A. Peter is grieved because Jesus keeps after him despite his
avowals of love, the three-fold questioning being an echo of Peter's denials.

But what of the other view...

View B. Peter is grieved that Jesus condescended to Peter's choice
of verb, and the third time used PHILEO rather than the "higher" verb

Can anyone speak to whether A or B is a better reading of TO TRITON based on
grammatical considerations? Does it pin Peter's grief to Jesus asking this,
or asking this with PHILEO?