Do You Love Me?

Throughout the Gospel of John Jesus poses a series of questions: "What are you looking for?" "Do you want to be healed?" "Why do I speak to you at all?" as well as the most poignant, addressed to Peter, "Do you love me?" Michael Crosby's reflections on these questions take us into the heart of John's gospel. He highlights an important theme: the tension between a model of the church that gives emphasis to the Petrine principle of apostolic authority and a model of the church -- characterized by the Beloved Disciple -- that gives greater emphasis to loving service and discipleship. As Crosby shows, it is in balancing the roles of both Peter and the Beloved Disciple that the church best reflects the spirit of Christ.