1. Chapter 21 constitutes an
epilogue (final comments after pre-closing) to John’s gospel.
2. There are no early
manuscripts that lack this chapter and its penning is concluded to be of the
same author as the first 20 chapters.
3. John strategically met his
goal in this gospel in the first 20 chapters by providing eyewitness evidence
that the historical Person Jesus
indeed was the unique God/man of his introduction (Joh.1:1-18) and that He died
on the cross and was resurrected.
4. His stated purpose for
recording this evidence is to appeal to +V to exercise faith in Christ and
maximize in the realm of eternal life.
Joh.20:31
5. John’s conclusion of chapter
21 now focuses on the principle of faith by abstractly pointing out through
application a necessary ingredient to faith, obedience.
6. In turn, eternal life in
maximization, the result of obedience in faith, is abstractly represented under
the concept of blessing and grace in total accord to God’s will.
7. His chosen methodology
employed is by providing one final recorded post resurrection appearance by Jesus to certain of His disciples.
8. Through the extrapolation of
applications throughout this chapter, one sees John’s purpose for the extension
of the gospel beyond chapter 20.
9. That His disciples are in view constitutes
chapter 21 as a source of edification for believers Ph2 in contrast
to his gospel having mass appeal as a Ph1 evangelistic tool.
10. It is a personal documentary
by John that his gospel was written with intent of depth both theologically and
spiritually to edify even the most mature believer.
11. It denotes that John’s
gospel was not intended to solicit only partial faith, but to appeal to maximum
faith both Ph1 and Ph2.
12. This chapter in application
sets forth the underwriting principles necessary for the believer to continue
execution of their faith for Ph2 (obedience/application, love,
growing up spiritually and orientation and acclimation to one’s niche), while
highlighting the blessings and grace God provides in order for the believer to
execute their faith.
13. This recorded appearance is
the longest account of any in the gospels.
14. Chapter 21 is divided into
three main sections:
15. Some general concepts
attached to Ph2 faith in application include:
16. That John so closes his book
in this fashion, he emphasizes the primary ingredients accompanying faith in
conjunction with God’s plan, necessary to carry forth the mission of Christianity
into the world, as also emphasized in the first 3 Gospels.
17. This chapter emphasizes that
Ph2 faith necessary to exploit Ph1 faith with an
effective witness to it demands obedience in application of BD, under the
concept of love, underwritten by grace, with orientation to one’s niche,
resulting in maximum blessing for the believer.
18. That this chapter is set
apart in this fashion, many see it as a separate addendum to the gospel and not
part of the organized whole.
19. Many of these tend to take
advantage of its seeming aloofness in this regard and try to spiritualize the
events.
20. Rather than treat this as an
actual physical event that occurred and deal simply with the basic realities
and applications revealed, they seek to employ numerology, allegory and other
unprofitable exegetical practices to interpret these events and their
significance.
21. The literal events at hand
are not metaphorical in nature and their meaning is not veiled; though the
events by application reveal pertinent spiritual principles.
22. One derives their
interpretation of this chapter by the same means they have approached all
previous chapters.
23. The correct interpretation
of this chapter is ascertained by the normal exegetical method that is espoused
by the literal and historical school of interpretation of Scripture.
EXEGESIS VERSES 1 –
8:
GNT John 21:1 Meta. tau/ta evfane,rwsen e`auto.n pa,lin o` VIhsou/j
toi/j maqhtai/j evpi. th/j qala,sshj th/j Tiberia,doj\ evfane,rwsen de. ou[twjÅ
NAS John
21:1 After these
things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of
Tiberias, Meta. meta, (pa) tau/ta ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-p) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) evfane,rwsen fanero,w (viaa--3s;
"manifested/physically revealed")
e`auto.n e`autou/ (reflex. pro./am3s)
pa,lin (adv.; "again") toi/j o`
maqhtai/j maqhth,j (d.a. + n-dm-p) evpi, (pg; "at") th/j h` qala,sshj qa,lassa (d.a. + n-gf-s; "the
sea") th/j h`
Tiberia,doj\ Tiberia,j (d.a. + n-gf-s; the sea of Tiberias a.k.a. the sea of Galilee) and He manifested Himself in this way. de, (cc) evfane,rwsen fanero,w (viaa--3s; "He
manifested") ou[twjÅ ou[tw
(adv.;
"thus/in this way or manner")
GNT John 21:2 h=san o`mou/ Si,mwn Pe,troj kai. Qwma/j o` lego,menoj
Di,dumoj kai. Naqanah.l o` avpo. Kana. th/j Galilai,aj kai. oi` tou/ Zebedai,ou
kai. a;lloi evk tw/n maqhtw/n auvtou/ du,oÅ
NAS John
21:2 There were
together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in
Galilee, h=san eivmi, (viIPFa--3p) o`mou/ (adv.; "together";
both geographically and temporally) Si,mwn (n-nm-s) Pe,troj (n-nm-s) kai, (cc) Qwma/j (n-nm-s) o` lego,menoj le,gw (d.a. + adj. ptc./p/p/nm-s;
"being called") Di,dumoj (n-nm-s; "Didymus/the
Twin") kai, (cc) Naqanah,l (n-nm-s) o` avpo, (d.a.nms + pAbl; "the one
from") Kana, (n-Ablf-s) th/j h` Galilai,aj Galilai,a (d.a. + n-gf-s) and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of
His disciples. kai, (cc) oi` o` (d.a./nmp; "the men/the
sons") tou/ o`
Zebedai,ou Zebedai/oj (d.a. + n-gm-s; "Zebedee"; ref. John and James) kai, (cc) du,oÅ (card. adj./nm-p; "two") a;lloi a;lloj (adj-nm-p) evk (pAbl) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. Jesus) tw/n o` maqhtw/n maqhth,j (d.a. + n-Ablm-p)
GNT John 21:3 le,gei auvtoi/j Si,mwn Pe,troj( ~Upa,gw a`lieu,einÅ
le,gousin auvtw/|( VErco,meqa kai. h`mei/j su.n soi,Å evxh/lqon kai. evne,bhsan
eivj to. ploi/on( kai. evn evkei,nh| th/| nukti. evpi,asan ouvde,nÅ
NAS John
21:3 Simon Peter
*said to them, "I am going fishing."
Si,mwn (n-nm-s) Pe,troj( (n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p) ~Upa,gw u`pa,gw (vipa--1s; "I am
going") a`lieu,einÅ
a`lieu,w (inf. purpose/pa-; "to fish"; hapax) They *said to him, " We will also come
with you. le,gousin
le,gw (vipa--3p) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) h`mei/j evgw, (npn-1p +) VErco,meqa e;rcomai (vipd--1p; "We are
coming") kai, (adjunct.) su,n (pI; "together
with") soi,Å su, (npI-2s) "They
went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. evxh/lqon evxe,rcomai (viaa--3p; "They went
out") kai, (cc) evne,bhsan evmbai,nw (viaa--3p; "ascended
into/got into/embarked") eivj (pa) to, ploi/on( (d.a. + n-an-s; "the
boat") kai, (cc) evn (pL of time; "on";
incorporated into "that") evkei,nh|
evkei/noj (remote dem. pro./Lf-s) th/| h`
nukti. nu,x (d.a. + n-Lf-s; "night")
evpi,asan pia,zw (viaa--3p; "the seized/layed hold
of/caught") ouvde,nÅ
ouvdei,j (neg. card. adj./an-s; "nothing/not one thing")
GNT John 21:4 prwi<aj
de. h;dh genome,nhj e;sth VIhsou/j eivj to.n aivgialo,n( ouv me,ntoi h;|deisan
oi` maqhtai. o[ti VIhsou/j evstinÅ
NAS John
21:4 But when the
day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; de, (cc; "But/Now") h;dh (adv.; "already/by this
time"; incorporated into the temporal ptc. following in the English) genome,nhj gi,nomai (temp. circ. ptc./a/d/gf-s; gen.
absolute; "when becoming") prwi<aj
prwi<a (n-gf-s; "early morning"; hence, "when the day was now
breaking"; dawn before sunrise) VIhsou/j (n-nm-s) e;sth i[sthmi (viaa--3s; "stood") eivj (pa) to.n o`
aivgialo,n( aivgialo,j (d.a. + n-am-s; "the beach/shore"; used 6x) yet the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. me,ntoi (conj.;
"yet/nevertheless") oi` o`
maqhtai. maqhth,j (d.a. + n-nm-p) ouv (neg. +) h;|deisan oi=da (viPLUPFa--3p) o[ti (cc; intro. indir. disc.) evstinÅ eivmi, (vipa--3s) VIhsou/j (n-nm-s)
GNT John 21:5 le,gei ou=n auvtoi/j o` VIhsou/j( Paidi,a( mh, ti
prosfa,gion e;ceteÈ avpekri,qhsan auvtw/|( Ou;Å
NAS John
21:5 Jesus
therefore *said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do
you?" They answered Him, "No."
o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s)
ou=n (infer. conj.) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p; ref. the
disciples) Paidi,a(
paidi,on (n-vn-p; "Little children"; used as an affectionate term of
address; used of those of adolescence and younger) mh, (neg. +) ti ti.j (indef. pro/an-s; "not
any") prosfa,gion (n-an-s; "fish/food";
that which is eaten with bread, here fish)
e;ceteÈ e;cw (vipa--2p; "do you have?"; question
phrased as to expect a no answer) avpekri,qhsan
avpokri,nomai (viad--3p) auvtw/|(
auvto,j (npdm3s) Ou;Å ouv (neg.)
GNT John 21:6 o` de.
ei=pen auvtoi/j( Ba,lete eivj ta. dexia. me,rh tou/ ploi,ou to. di,ktuon( kai.
eu`rh,seteÅ e;balon ou=n( kai. ouvke,ti auvto. e`lku,sai i;scuon avpo. tou/
plh,qouj tw/n ivcqu,wnÅ
NAS John 21:6 And He said to them, "Cast
the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch." de, (ch) o` (d.a./nms; "He") ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) auvtoi/j( auvto,j (npdm3p) Ba,lete ba,llw (vImp./aa--2p;
"Cast/throw") to, di,ktuon(
(d.a. +
n-an-s; "the net/fishing net"; general term for nets of all kinds;
used 12x) eivj (pa) ta. to, dexia. dexio,j (d.a. + a--an-p; "the
right") me,rh me,roj (n-an-p;
"side/part/portion") tou/ o`
ploi,ou ploi/on (d.a. + n-gn-s; "the boat")
kai, (cs) eu`rh,seteÅ
eu`ri,skw (vifa--2p; "you will find"; "a catch" supplied) They cast therefore, and then they were not
able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. e;balon ba,llw (viaa--3p; "They
cast") ou=n( (infer. conj.) kai, (cc) ouvke,ti (adv.; "then
not") i;scuon
ivscu,w (viIPFa--3p; "were powerful enough/strong enough/able/physically
capable"; used 28x) e`lku,sai
e[lkw (inf.
purpose/aa-; "to haul in/to drag/to pull") auvto. auvto,j (npan3s; ref. the net) avpo, (pAbl; "from/because
of"; interesting use of this preposition; denotes they were not able to
separate the fish from the water into the boat; hence, the sense of cause) tou/ to, plh,qouj plh/qoj (d.a. + n-Abln-s;
"multitude/large or great number")
tw/n o` ivcqu,wnÅ ivcqu,j (n-gm-p; "of the
fishes"; used 20x)
GNT John 21:7 le,gei ou=n
o` maqhth.j evkei/noj o]n hvga,pa o` VIhsou/j tw/| Pe,trw|( ~O ku,rio,j evstinÅ
Si,mwn ou=n Pe,troj avkou,saj o[ti o` ku,rio,j evstin to.n evpendu,thn
diezw,sato( h=n ga.r gumno,j( kai. e;balen e`auto.n eivj th.n qa,lassan(
NAS John
21:7 That
disciple therefore whom Jesus loved *said to Peter, "It is the
Lord." evkei/noj (remote dem. adj./nm-s) o` maqhth,j (n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) hvga,pa avgapa,w (viIPFa--3s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) tw/| o` Pe,trw|( Pe,troj (d.a. + n-dm-s) evstinÅ eivmi, (vipa--3s) ~O ku,rioj (d.a. + n-nm-s) And so when
Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was
stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
ou=n (infer. conj.; "And so/therefore") Si,mwn (n-nm-s) Pe,troj (n-nm-s) avkou,saj avkou,w (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "when
hearing") o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) evstin eivmi, (vipa--3s) o` ku,rioj (d.a. + n-nm-s) diezw,sato( diazw,nnumi (viam--3s; "he girded
himself/put around"; same as 13:4,5)
to.n o` evpendu,thn evpendu,thj (d.a. + n-am-s; "outer
garment/outer clothing"; hapax; contextually implies something to cover
one's self but not bulky or heavy) ga,r (explan. conj.) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s) gumno,j( (a--nm-s; "naked/scantily
dressed/stripped for work"; used 15x; Peter was probably just in a loin
cloth; does not have to refer to stark naked)
kai, (cc) e;balen
ba,llw (viaa--3s) e`auto.n e`autou/ (reflex. pro./am3s) eivj (pa) th.n h` qa,lassan( qa,lassa (d.a. + n-af-s; "the
sea")
GNT John 21:8 oi` de. a;lloi maqhtai. tw/| ploiari,w| h=lqon( ouv ga.r
h=san makra.n avpo. th/j gh/j avlla. w`j avpo. phcw/n diakosi,wn( su,rontej to.
di,ktuon tw/n ivcqu,wnÅ
NAS John
21:8 But the
other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the
land, de, (cc) oi` o` (dnmp +) a;lloi a;lloj (a--nm-p +) maqhtai. maqhth,j (n-nm-p; "the other
disciples") h=lqon(
e;rcomai (viaa--3p) tw/| o`
ploiari,w| ploia,rion (d.a. + n-In-s; "by the little boat/skiff"; dimin. of ploi/onv; indicates they had a fishing
boat and a smaller row boat or skiff towed with it) ga,r (explan. conj.) ouv (neg. +) h=san eivmi, (viIPFa--3p; "they were
not") makra,n (adv.; "far off in
distance") avpo, (pAbl) th/j h` gh/j gh/ (d.a. + n-gf-s; "the
earth/dry land") but about one hundred yards
away, dragging the net full of fish. avlla, (strong advers.) w`j (comp. adv.;
"about/approximately") avpo, (pAbl) diakosi,wn( diako,sioi (card. adj./Ablm-p; "two
hundred") phcw/n ph/cuj
(n-gm-p;
"forearms/cubit"; as a length of measure from the elbow to the tip of
the middle finger; about 1.5 feet/18 inches; hence 300 ft. or 100 yards) su,rontej su,rw (circ. ptc./p/a/nm-p; "while
dragging/pulling by force"; used 5x)
to, di,ktuon (d.a. + n-an-s; "the net") tw/n o` ivcqu,wnÅ ivcqu,j (d.a. + n-gm-p; "of
fishes")
1. The phrase in vs.1, “After these things” points to an
unspecified time lapse between the events of 20:24ff and the events now in Galilee.
2. The disciples were clearly still present in Judea following the
conclusion of the feast of unleavened bread.
3. Some time after that and
Jesus’ second appearance, they depart Jerusalem returning to their homes in Galilee, just as Jesus had directed.
Mat.28:7,10; Mar.16:7
4. Application: God has a geographical will for believers.
5. The post-resurrection
appearances of Jesus occurred as
follows:
1) To Stephen at his
death. Act.7:55-56
2) To Paul on the Damascus
road. Act.9:3-6; 1Cor.15:8
3) To John on Patmos. Rev.1:10-19
6. While the first five
appearances happened on resurrection Sunday, the subsequent appearances up
through point 4.K. occurred over a 40-day period. Act.1:3ff
7. John tells us that Jesus’ 3rd
appearance to the disciples as a
whole (vs.14) occurred when Jesus
manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
8. The Sea of Tiberias is a.k.a. the Sea
of Galilee, a.k.a. the Sea of Kinnereth.
9. It is John’s desire to give
particulars behind and accompanying the appearance as he so states in the
remainder of the verse, “and He
manifested Himself in this way”.
10. His purpose of emphasis in
this regard is to once again inform the reader that he was clearly an
eyewitness to the events recorded, a distinct mark of John’s gospel.
11. In addition, that John
emphasizes the manner of circumstance and situation in which this appearance
took place places the reader on notice to pay attention to the particulars at
hand and hence, the multitude of applications presented.
12. By placing the applications
in their correct spiritual perspectives, the student of God’s word will find
the primary force of intent for John’s inclusion of this chapter as outlined in
the introduction.
13. It is clear that some of the
eleven were not present on this occasion, as John lists those that were in
vs.2, “There were together Simon Peter,
and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His
disciples”.
14. John highlights by name Peter, Thomas and Nathanael as present
in that they have been previously introduced in the gospel.
15. He once again refers to
himself in the 3rd person, while providing the closest direct
identification himself in his gospel as being one of the sons of Zebedee.
16. His means for revealing
himself to this degree comes from taking advantage of the fact that his brother
James is also present and utilizes the circumstances to refer to himself and
family in his customary remote fashion.
17. The remaining unnamed two other disciples can be logically
concluded as two that John has not
mentioned specifically before.
18. It is not part of the
purpose of this gospel for John to identify specifically by name each of the 12
apostles.
19. The only other of the 12 disciples mentioned by name apart from
this verse include Judas Iscariot, Philip and Andrew.
20. It does not make sense that
Philip and Andrew would be the remaining two
in view now and that John would treat recording of their presence in an
omission of recognition, but yet specifically identify others he has previously
mentioned.
21. The mention of these two falls on the heels of a convenient
reference to the presence of his brother James with himself, whose specific
identifications on a first name basis is also omitted.
22. That it is not his goal to
provide a full listing, while keeping the number of 7 disciples present accurate, he simply notes the presence of two others, plus the 3 specifically named
and himself and brother referenced in general.
23. The style of his recording
in this fashion indicates that those left unnamed have no specific bearing to
this gospel as a reference, other than an accurate accounting of the number
present validating his presence as an eyewitness.
24. It appears that these 7 men
were hanging out together, while
biding their time waiting to see what the future held for them.
25. It also becomes apparent
that Peter can no longer sustain
patience in his current situation and in vs.3a he proposes a fishing trip, to which the others jump at the opportunity as “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going
fishing’. They said to him, ‘We will
also come with you’”.
26. Peter’s assertion has the
mark of spontaneity and is in fact a solicitation to the others for them to contemplate returning to their old
occupation. Cp. Mat.4:18,21
27. Their actions at this point
was the result of a failure to adjust to the new situation they are in now in
having lost the physical presence of Jesus.
28. They were men in a state of
limbo without purpose.
29. They were impatient and so
rather than wait on God to get things moving, they winged for some escapism.
30. Engaged in the energy of the
flesh, they find their endeavors to be totally blanked as vs.3b makes clear, “They went out, and got into the boat; and
that night they caught nothing”.
31. Application: God will frustrate the energy of the flesh to
help protect +V from diversion in running their course.
32. That their activity is seen
to be distinct from God’s will for their lives, is seen in the genitive
absolute in vs.4a, “But when the day was
now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach”.
33. This clause denotes that
Jesus’ appearing is set apart from the disciple’s current activities.
34. It is designed to show a
contrast in the spiritual reality of the situation verses the energy of the
flesh the disciples are engaged in,
in attempting to make things happen.
35. Jesus
has made it clear to these men that they have been set apart by Him to go out
as His emissaries.
36. But that fact alone is
insufficient for these men to faith-rest that God truly has all things under
control and that He will be the one that opens and closes doors for them.
37. Application: One of the first lessons of faith for the
believer is to faith-rest the words of God that they are indeed true and that
these things will come to fulfillment apart from our help.
38. Application: All the believer needs to do is hear His
words, apply them accordingly and wait upon God to vindicate them.
39. What these men should have
been doing was preparing themselves through prayer and studies to fulfill the
commission Jesus has placed upon
them as His emissaries. Cp. Act.6:4 after they came to that epignosis (full
knowledge of understanding).
40. Instead, they find
themselves frustrated as nothing could be more depressing than a fisherman to
catch nothing and even more critical since they would consider it essential for
their livelihood.
41. Just at daybreak, a man
appeared on the beach.
42. Like the previous
appearances, this manifestation has the flavor of Jesus supernaturally materializing out of thin air.
43. That they were some distance
from the shore and light is dim, John tells us that Jesus was unrecognizable in vs.4b, “Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus”.
44. Jesus
then calls out and therefore said to
them, “Children, you do not have any fish do you?” Vs.5a
45. He asks if they have caught
enough for a meal.
46. Jesus
obviously knows that they haven’t caught even one thing and we note the
implicit grace He employs of saving them from complete embarrassment.
47. Application: It is not necessary to “hammer” people in
their failings in all cases.
48. His term of address “Children”, was a familiar and
affectionate mode, similar to the Irish term “lads” or the English term “boys”.
49. It is a term John borrows in
his epistle to indicate +V believers.
1Joh.2:18
50. It is a parental analogy to
indicate the true affection spiritual authority is to have over those under
their charge.
51. It implicates the innocence
of the soul of +V, although maybe imperfect in application under weakness of
the flesh, he/she is intellectually honest and open before God in their
approach to life.
52. His question is phrased in
such a way as to anticipate a negative answer.
53. Their response is terse as they answered Him, “No.”, which is what
one might expect from a group of disappointed fishermen that have worked all
night and have come up empty-handed.
54. Jesus
then barks out orders for them to make an adjustment in their angler attempts
in vs.6a, “And He said to them, ‘Cast
the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch’”.
55. His directive is to face the
starboard side of the ship in their
casting and they will find success
in their endeavors.
56. After working all night they
do not hesitate and in obedience “they
cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great
number of fish”.
57. Some have attempted to
denigrate the actual miracle, suggesting that Jesus simply had a better vantage point and could see the school of
fish more clearly from the shore.
58. While that is possible, and
there are recorded instances of fishermen using the advice of a guide on the
shore, the fact is that they were about 100 yards away (vs.8) and
the light would not be conducive to seeing under the water at that time.
59. The reality is that Jesus knew exactly where the school of fish was and told them where to cast.
60. The catch was tremendous as
John tells us the actual number caught of being 153 fish. Joh.21:11
61. In addition, they were not
minnows or small perch as the combined weight was so heavy that 7 healthy
experienced fishermen were not able to drag them into the boat.
62. Even a weak male could pull
100 lbs. dead weight and with 700 lbs. of combined pulling power could manage
to haul in fish averaging around
4.5-5 lbs. each, though 10+ lbs. each (@ 1500+ lbs. total) is more likely their
capability.
63. The large haul was not made possible by luck or
good fortune, but was made possible by obedience to the Son of God.
64. In spite of the disciples’
continued weakness and orientation to the POG for their lives, we observe that
God now explicitly supplies grace and blesses them in contrast.
65. No matter their previous
frame of mind and misapplications, an immediate orientation to Jesus’ directive
will in the matter brought a solution to their problems.
66. Application: All believers fail in life, but the grace of
God is ever present for our deliverance and continually provides amply blessing
to us in time, even in the midst of our failures.
67. Application: While deliverance’s even come without
orientation to BD, the preferred method of deliverance for the +V believer is
through orientation.
68. Application: Sure deliverance from our failures is
accessible anytime the believer determines to be obedient to the directive will
of God in any matter.
69. Application: This does not mean deliverance will always be
immediate physically as in the case of our passage, however, the principle
remains and our very orientation to BD is a deliverance in and of itself
spiritually and mentally if not overtly.
70. Application: In any case, orientation to BD holds the
solutions to all of the believer’s problems, failures and tests in life.
71. Application: God will provide the right words of direction
and guidance at the proper time and all one really has to do is listen and
obey.
72. In conjunction with hearing
the voice of Jesus and the miracle
complete, even though physically His appearance cannot be determined as to
identity, John is able to discern who it is on the beach as he makes clear in vs.7a, “That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the
Lord’”.
73. Keeping true to John’s
character as being observant and astute in matters, he is able to put two and
two together.
74. The physical evidence
provided is sufficient for him to once again come to an understanding of the
reality and truth at hand.
75. However, apart from the
obedience employed to Jesus’ command, this evidence would not have been
available to him.
76. Application: Obedience to the POG is to be initiated by
faith and not based on sight or physical evidence as to its validity and
veracity.
77. Application: For those believers that will apply in
faith, God in turn will provide the physical evidence necessary to confirm the
reality of the BD in which they have placed their faith.
78. And as the typically
impulsive one of the group, Peter
now reacts to John’s insight in vs.7b, “And
so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on
(for he was stripped for work), and
threw himself into the sea”.
79. There is some debate as to
the significance of the word translated “stripped
for work”.
80. The word can refer to actual
nakedness or to one scantily or poorly dressed.
Cp. Jam.2:15 (“without clothing =
insufficient but not necessarily total lack of”)
81. The NAS’s translation
indicates the proper sense denoting that Peter
was stripped
down to a loin cloth ready to get wet.
82. He ties his outer garment around him and jumps in
to swim to shore.
83. In lieu of his enthusiasm,
he leaves the burden of hauling in the catch to the rest of the men as vs.8
points out, “But the other disciples
came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one
hundred yards away, dragging the net full
of fish”.
84. The others stick to their task at hand, employ a small skiff being
towed with the larger fishing vessel and float the entire catch behind it dragging it to shore.
85. It is the combination of
Peter’s impetuous actions of instigating the fishing expedition and now abandoning his responsibilities to
others to accentuate his enthusiasm for the
Lord that clearly defines his mindset as to his present approach of service
to God.
86. It highlights the energy of
the flesh that these men are under and now epitomized in Peter’s actions.
87. Peter
becomes the main focal point of application and interaction with Jesus in the remainder of the scenario
at hand.
88. He will serve to represent
all believers that have experienced substantial failures in their Christian
lives as revealed previously in his denials of Christ, and in turn engage in
energy of the flesh as an attempt of penitence in order to placate or impress
upon God their love for Him.
89. As we will see, this
approach does not impress God and is simply an overreaction to STA failures and
true restoration comes from grace and obedience to BD.
GNT John 21:9 w`j ou=n avpe,bhsan eivj th.n gh/n ble,pousin
avnqrakia.n keime,nhn kai. Ovya,rion evpikei,menon kai. A;rtonÅ
NAS John
21:9 And so when
they got out upon the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid, and fish placed on it, and bread. Ou=n (infer. Conj.) w`j (temp. conj.; “when”) avpe,bhsan avpobai,nw (viaa—3p; “they went away
from/got out of the skiff”) eivj (pa) th.n h` gh/n gh/ (d.a. + n-af-s; “terra firma/the
land”) ble,pousin ble,pw( vipa—3p) avnqrakia.n avnqrakia, (n-af-s; “a charcoal fire/heap
of burning coals”; same as 18:18) keime,nhn
kei/mai (adj. Ptc./p/d/af-s; “already laid/in place”) kai, (cc) ovya,rion (n-an-s; “food/meat/food eaten
with bread”; here likely fish since the same word is used in vs.10 that
contextually demands fish in view) evpikei,menon
evpi,keimai (adj. Ptc./p/d/an-s; “laying on/placed on it”; same as 11:38) kai, (cc) a;rtonÅ a;rtoj (n-am-s; “bread”)
GNT John 21:10 le,gei auvtoi/j o` Vihsou/j(
Vene,gkate avpo. Tw/n ovyari,wn w-n evpia,sate nu/nÅ
NAS John
21:10 Jesus *said
to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” O` Vihsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa—3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p; ref. the
disciples) Vene,gkate
fe,rw (vImp.aa—2p;
“bring/carry/bear”) avpo, (pAbl; “from”; sense is “some
of”) tw/n o` ovyari,wn ovya,rion (d.a. + n-Abl.n-p; “the
meat/fish”) w-n o[j (rel. pro./Abl.n-p) evpia,sate pia,zw (viaa—2p; “you all have
seized/caught”) nu/nÅ (adv. “now/at the present”)
GNT John 21:11 avne,bh
ou=n Si,mwn Pe,troj kai. Ei[lkusen to. di,ktuon eivj th.n gh/n mesto.n ivcqu,wn
mega,lwn e`kato.n penth,konta triw/n\ kai. Tosou,twn o;ntwn ouvk evsci,sqh to.
di,ktuonÅ
NAS John
21:11 Simon
Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and
fifty-three; ou=n (infer. Conj.; “Therefore”; not
translated in NAS) Si,mwn (n-nm-s) Pe,troj (n-nm-s) avne,bh avnabai,nw (viaa—3s; “went up/ ascended”;
he stepped up into the boat) kai, (cc) ei[lkusen e[lkw (viaa—3s; “drew/forcibly
dragged”) to, di,ktuon (d.a. + n-an-s; “the net”) eivj (pa) th.n h` gh/n gh/ (d.a. + n-af-s; “the land”) mesto.n mesto,j (a—an-s; “full/filled”) mega,lwn me,gaj (comp. A—gm-p; “large/big”) ivcqu,wn ivcqu,j (n-gm-p; “fish”) e`kato,n (card. A-gm-p; “one
hundred”) penth,konta (card. A-gm-p; “fifty”) triw/n\ trei/j (card. A-gm-p; “three”) and although
there were so many, the net was not torn.
Kai, (cc) o;ntwn eivmi,
(concess.
Circ. Ptc./p/a/gm-p; “although there were”)
tosou,twn tosou/toj (correl. Pro./gm-p; “so many/so much/as many
as”) to, di,ktuonÅ (d.a. + n-nn-s; “the net”) ouvk ouv (neg. +) evsci,sqh sci,zw (viap—3s; “torn/split”)
GNT John 21:12 le,gei auvtoi/j o` Vihsou/j( Deu/te
avristh,sateÅ ouvdei.j de. Evto,lma tw/n maqhtw/n evxeta,sai auvto,n( Su. Ti,j
ei=È eivdo,tej o[ti o` ku,rio,j evstinÅ
NAS John
21:12 Jesus *said
to them, “Come and have breakfast.” O` Vihsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa—3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p; ref. the
disciples) Deu/te (adv. Of interjection when
followed by the imperative; “Come!”) avristh,sateÅ
avrista,w (vImp.aa—2p; “eat breakfast” used 3x) None of
the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the
Lord. De, (cc; “Now/but”; not
translated) ouvdei,j (neg. card. Adj./nm-s; “None/Not
even one”) tw/n o`
maqhtw/n maqhth,j (d.a. + n-gm-p) evto,lma tolma,w
(viIPFa—3s;
“were bold enough/dared/had the courage/ventured”; used 16x) evxeta,sai evxeta,zw (compl. Inf./aa-; “to
question/carefully inquire/examine diligently/seek for depth of answer”; used
3x) auvto,n( auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Jesus) ti,j (interr. Pro./Pred.n/m2s;
“Who?”) ei=È eivmi, (vipa—2s) Su. Su, (npn-2s) eivdo,tej oi=da (circ. Ptc./PF/a/nm-p; “while
knowing”) o[ti (intro. Indir. Disc.) evstinÅ eivmi, (vipa—3s) o` ku,rioj (d.a. + n-nm-s)
GNT John 21:13 e;rcetai
Vihsou/j kai. Lamba,nei to.n a;rton kai. Di,dwsin auvtoi/j( kai. To. ovya,rion
o`moi,wjÅ
NAS John
21:13 Jesus *came
and *took the bread, and *gave them, and the fish likewise. Vihsou/j (n-nm-s) e;rcetai e;rcomai (vipd—3s) kai, (cc) lamba,nei lamba,nw (vipa—3s; “took/received”) to.n o` a;rton a;rtoj (d.a. + n-am-s; “the
bread”) kai, (cc) di,dwsin di,dwmi (vipa—3s; “gave”) auvtoi/j( auvto,j (npdm3p; ref. the
disciples) kai, (cc) to, ovya,rion (d.a. + n-an-s; “the
meat/fish”) o`moi,wjÅ (adv.; “likewise/similarly”)
GNT John 21:14 tou/to h;dh tri,ton evfanerw,qh
Vihsou/j toi/j maqhtai/j evgerqei.j evk nekrw/nÅ
NAS John
21:14 This is now
the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised
from the dead. Tou/to ou-toj
(near dem.
Pro./an-s; “This”) h;dh (adv.; “now/already”) tri,ton tri,toj (ord. Adv.; “the third
time”) Vihsou/j (n-nm-s) evfanerw,qh fanero,w (viap—3s; “was manifested/became
visible”) toi/j o`
maqhtai/j maqhth,j (d.a. + n-dm-p) evgerqei.j
evgei,rw (circ. Ptc./a/p/nm-s; “after having been raised/resurrected”) evk (pAbl) nekrw/nÅ nekro,j (ap-gm-p; “physically dead”)
1. Once the disciples row their catch to shore,
they find a meal already in progress as John continues the scenario in vs.9, “And so when they got out upon the land,
they saw a charcoal fire already
laid, and fish placed on it, and bread”.
2. Whether or not Peter arrived before them is not
explicitly stated and due to this omission the most natural conclusion is that
he did.
3. It is only natural that a
single swimmer could swim 100 yards faster than 6 men trying to tow a half-ton
plus of fish behind them rowing in a small boat.
4. Upon their arrival, the men
disembark and see a small fire with breakfast already cooking on it.
5. It becomes obvious that Jesus did not engage in the miracle at
hand because it would have been otherwise impossible to supply a meal for
Himself and those at hand.
6. This points to the fact that
the miracle was designed to emphasize that God is not limited to nor dependent
upon the human efforts of men in order to provide the necessities of life in
fulfillment of His plan.
7. The fact is, if Jesus had appeared under other
circumstances in which these men were not fishing and food was not otherwise
available through that means, He still could and would have provided.
8. Application: While application of BD is of necessity in
fulfilling God’s plan for our lives, the believer must always keep in focus
that it is God that is behind the provisions for all of our needs.
9. Application: Our applications or even misapplications do
not effect God in His ability to fulfill His word in accordance to His
directives and as He sees fit.
10. Application: God is not limited in His provision for us.
11. The lesson in front of the disciples is that they need to learn to
disengage from the energy of the flesh and rely totally on the power of God and
His grace for provision of all things.
12. The combined miracle and the
provision of food apart from having to utilize the resources of the miraculous
catch point to the fact that God’s plan is a grace proposition and not designed
to help those that can help themselves, but to help those that cannot. Heb.4:16
cp. Mat.9:10-13
13. In spite of the fact Jesus has food already cooking, He then
invites them to also contribute to the meal in vs.10, “Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have now caught’”.
14. We note that Jesus gives acknowledgement to the fact
that even though He made the provision for their catch, it was indeed by their
efforts that that provision was apprehended.
15. The reality behind their
miraculous catch was due to their obedience to Jesus’ command of vs.6.
16. Their apprehension is an
example of application of God’s directive will.
17. That a contribution is
acceptable to Christ under these terms points to the fact that it is obedience
in application of BD that is acceptable before God in lieu of the energy of the
flesh.
18. Application: The prescription to avoid energy of the flesh
is to prioritize and center on the application of sound BD.
19. It points to the fact that
men can be “blessed” under the system of the cosmos or they can be blessed by
God, through orientation to BD.
20. And it is only the latter
that God deems acceptable as a true contribution to His plan for men.
21. Application: Believers only contribute to God’s plan
through application of BD, as His Word/word is self-sufficient in the
fulfillment of His plan.
22. Immediately at Jesus’
command, Peter once again
impulsively acts for the group as seen in vs.11a, “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a
hundred and fifty-three”.
23. Peter,
who is on the shore with the rest, now ascends back into the boat in order to
get the net that would be somehow attached in the boat keeping the fish secure while still being kept
fresh in the water.
24. There can be little doubt as
to Peter’s exceptional strength as he alone drags the entire catch up onto dry land.
25. Just as he impulsively
corrected and rebuked Jesus during
the incarnation, Peter continues in
the scenario at hand to manifest the same impulsive behavior that characterized
him before the crucifixion.
26. The difference between then
and now is now he is acting in order to try and impress Jesus through His actions rather than an arrogant approach in
trying to correct Him.
27. There can be no doubt that
all of these men have been greatly humbled in any misperceptions they may have
held regarding Christ, His death and resurrection and on top of that Peter is still living with the fact of
his gross failure of denying His Lord.
28. Peter
is representative of believers that have failed in life and in turn try to work
their way back into God’s good grace through impulsive acts of the energy of
the flesh.
29. God is not impressed by
impulsive actions designed to impress Him or others; He is impressed by His
word and the internal possession and application of it.
30. John notes the specific
number of large fish and the fact
that they were counted.
31. The number of fish, 153, has sparked many into trying
to spiritualize numerically some hidden meaning.
32. Such approaches to this
verse are fruitless and the number has no spiritual significance; the reason
they counted the fish is purely
physical.
33. This counting is what one
might expect from a group of fishermen that caught such a large number in one catch.
34. Secondly, it is normal to
assume that these seven men would want to divide the catch among them and that
would not be possible apart from numbering it.
35. There is a similar event
that occurred during Jesus’ ministry recorded in Luk.5:4-11, but these events
are completely different and should not be confused.
36. In that event, Jesus specifically attached a lesson to
the situation to note that as God blessed them in their physical endeavor, He
would bless them in their spiritual endeavors of evangelizing (Luk.5:10).
37. What is glaringly missing in
our scenario is any specific lesson verbally attached.
38. Again, this points out that
any spiritual issues at hand are simply extracted through applications as the
event unfolds.
39. In addition, in the Luke
account, the nets began to tear from the weight, where in our account as noted
in vs.11b, “and although there were so
many, the net was not torn”.
40. That John so mentions this
denotes that under normal circumstances one would expect the net to not be able to hold such a
strain of so many large fish.
41. It is designed to remind the
reader of the miraculous nature behind this event and to reemphasize that God
has complete control over creation, circumstances and situations in life.
42. Application: God’s blessings include the capacity and
where with all to enjoy the blessing and not to fear its loss.
43. When the meal was ready, Jesus invites them to eat in vs.12a, as
He said to them, “Come and have breakfast”.
44. That everything is now
prepared in accordance to Divine design, these men are free to enjoy their
fruits of labor.
45. John does not record the
fact that they ate, but rather a peculiar attitude that permeated the
atmosphere in vs.12b, “Now none of the
disciples ventured to question Him, ‘Who are You?’ knowing that it was the Lord”.
46. The fact that they wanted to
question Jesus about His identity
and did not since they recognized Him
has confused many.
47. Part of the solution is
found in the phrase “ventured to
question” that denotes a fear on their part to make a thorough inquiry into
His Person.
48. The other part of the
solution is to note that the emphasis of this chapter is on application and
therefore the disciples’ actions reflect a personal application on their part.
49. The answer simply is that
even though the disciples have many
questions as to the nature of Christ, His existence in a resurrection body and
all that that entails, they refrained from asking because at the same time they
had a real and full understanding that He was indeed God in the flesh.
50. Vs.12b is a commentary by
John on the spiritual advancement that these men have undergone in spite of any
glaring failures still present.
51. For the first time in these
men’s association with the Christ, they now are starting to have a complete
appreciation for Who and What He is.
52. The resurrection has really
opened the eyes spiritually for these men.
53. Even though they still have
many things yet to learn, they have at least now come to accept Jesus in Person truly on the level as
God.
54. In contrast to a consistent
rejection of BD and taking issue with Jesus
in His teachings previously, as some are prone to do with human communicators,
these men are now truly seeing Jesus
in the light of the perfect and all powerful God that He is.
55. They are reflecting a real
Ph2 fear of the Lord, are
learning patience and realizing that as God, He will provide for them
spiritually just as He has now done physically.
56. They are coming to a real
appreciation that as God, Jesus
knows their thoughts and minds as well as their needs and that under true fear
of God, all of these needs will be supplied according to His desire and perfect
timing.
57. They are beginning to
faith-rest the fact that there is no need to question Jesus any further knowing
that as God He will supply all of the answers based on their heart’s desires.
58. That God is indeed a servant
to +V in this regard is seen in the silent but overt response of application by
Jesus in vs.13 as He then came and took the bread, and gave them, and
the fish likewise.
59. In response to their fear of
God, Jesus abstractly acknowledges
their +V by now literally serving them with breakfast as their Lord
and Savior.
60. Application: God not only provides the +V believer’s needs
in time, but will ensure proper administration of these needs in His service to
them.
61. In vs.14, John records the
fact that “This is now the third time
that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead”.
62. The sense and force of the
verse denotes that it has taken at least two previous visits by Christ in
post-resurrection appearance before these men have finally really started to
come to grips with the ramifications of all that has happened.
63. Though it is His third appearance in a corporate fashion
to the 11, it is actually His 7th appearance overall:
GNT John 21:15 {Ote ou=n
hvri,sthsan le,gei tw/| Si,mwni Pe,trw| o` VIhsou/j( Si,mwn VIwa,nnou(
avgapa/|j me ple,on tou,twnÈ le,gei auvtw/|( Nai,( ku,rie( su. oi=daj o[ti
filw/ seÅ le,gei auvtw/|( Bo,ske ta. avrni,a mouÅ
NAS John
21:15 So when they
had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, " Simon, son of John, do you love Me more
than these? ou=n (infer. conj.;
"So/Therefore") {Ote (temp. conj.;
"when") hvri,sthsan
avrista,w (viaa--3p; "they had ate breakfast/finished breakfast") o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) tw/| o` Si,mwni Si,mwn Pe,trw|
Pe,troj (d.a. + n-dm-s + n-dm-s) Si,mwn (n-vm-s) VIwa,nnou( VIwa,nnhj (n-gm-s; "son of
John") avgapa/|j
avgapa,w (vipa--2s; "do you love"; ref. Divine love) me evgw, (npa-1s; ref. Jesus) ple,on polu,j (comp. adj.; a/n/s; "more
than") tou,twnÈ
ou-toj (near
dem. pro./Abl/m/p) "He *said to Him," Yes, Lord; You
know that I love You. le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) Nai,( (part. of affirmation;
"Yes/Certainly") ku,rie(
ku,rioj (n-vm-s) su, (npn-2s; emphatic; ref.
Jesus) oi=daj oi=da (viPFa--2s) o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) filw/ file,w (vipa--1s; "love";
ref. to love of affection) seÅ su, "He *said to him," Tend My lambs.
" (npa-2s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Jesus the
subject) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) Bo,ske bo,skw (vImp/pa--2s;
"Tend/Feed"; looks at the actual feeding by the shepherd; used
9x) mouÅ evgw, (npg-1s; ref. Jesus) ta. to, avrni,a avrni,on (d.a. + n-an-p; "little
lambs"; dimin. of arnoj/sheep; used 30x and only by John; used 29x in
Revelation)
GNT John 21:16 le,gei auvtw/| pa,lin deu,teron(
Si,mwn VIwa,nnou( avgapa/|j meÈ le,gei auvtw/|( Nai,( ku,rie( su. oi=daj o[ti
filw/ seÅ le,gei auvtw/|( Poi,maine ta. pro,bata, mouÅ
NAS John
21:16 He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Jesus the
subject) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) pa,lin (adv.; "again") deu,teron( deu,teroj (ord. adv.; "a second
time") Si,mwn (n-vm-s) VIwa,nnou( VIwa,nnhj (n-gm-s) avgapa/|j avgapa,w (vipa--2s) meÈ evgw, (npa-1s) He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I
love You." le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Peter the
subject) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) Nai,( (part. affirm.) ku,rie( ku,rioj (n-vm-s) su, (npn-2s) oi=daj oi=da (viPFa--2s) o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) filw/ file,w (vipa--1s) seÅ su, (npa-2s) He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Jesus the
subject) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) Poi,maine poimai,nw (vImp/pa--2s;
"Shepherd"; encompasses all the duties of a shepherd; used 11x) mouÅ evgw, (npg-1s) ta. to, pro,bata, pro,baton (d.a. + n-an-p;
"sheep/flock"; looks at the domestic sheep vs. wild sheep)
GNT John 21:17 le,gei auvtw/| to. tri,ton( Si,mwn
VIwa,nnou( filei/j meÈ evluph,qh o` Pe,troj o[ti ei=pen auvtw/| to. tri,ton(
Filei/j meÈ kai. le,gei auvtw/|( Ku,rie( pa,nta su. oi=daj( su. ginw,skeij o[ti
filw/ seÅ le,gei auvtw/| o` VIhsou/j( Bo,ske ta. pro,bata, mouÅ
NAS John
21:17 He *said to
him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Jesus the
subject) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) to, tri,ton( tri,toj (ord. adv.; "the third
time") Si,mwn (n-vm-s) VIwa,nnou( VIwa,nnhj (n-gm-s) filei/j file,w (vipa--2s; note, Jesus switches
verbs for love here) meÈ evgw, (npa-1s) Peter was grieved because He said to him
the third time, "Do you love Me?"
o` Pe,troj (d.a. + n-nm-s) evluph,qh lupe,w (viap--3s; "was
grieved/made sorrowful") o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) to, tri,ton( tri,toj (d.a. + ord. adv.; "the
third time") Filei/j
file,w (vipa--2s) meÈ evgw, (npa-1s) And he said to Him, "Lord, You know
all things; You know that I love You."
kai, (ch) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s; Peter the
subject) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) Ku,rie( ku,rioj (n-vm-s) su, (npn-2s; emphatic) oi=daj( oi=da (viPFa--2s; emphasizes the
extent or amount of knowledge/information)
pa,nta pa/j (ap-an-p; "all things") su, (npn-2s) ginw,skeij ginw,skw (vipa--2s; emphasizes the depth
of understanding/discernment based on one's knowledge) o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) filw/ file,w (vipa--1s) seÅ su, (npa-2s) Jesus *said to him, "Tend My
sheep. o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) Bo,ske bo,skw (vImp./pa--2s;
"Tend/Feed") mouÅ evgw, (npg-1s) ta. to, pro,bata, pro,baton (d.a. + n-an-p;
"sheep/flock")
1. Vss.15-19 constitute a
personal reinstatement by Jesus of Peter in that his commission as an
apostle and communicator remains intact.
2. It is Peter that is the central character of the disciples present and is
representative of all of these in
their past failures concerning Christ.
3. While Peter’s failures may
have been the most dramatic and public of all in view, it does not diminish the
fact that all of these men have to a notable degree rejected the teaching of
Christ and reacted in great fear at his arrest, trial, crucifixion, etc.
4. It is Peter’s 3 denials that
is the most notable of his personal failings and Jesus’ conversation with him
is not designed to give Jesus
information He did not possess but must be understood in light of his denials.
5. In vs.15, John lets us know
that that the food was enjoyed by all concerned before the following
conversation took place, “So when they
had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter”.
6. The implication was that breakfast was consumed in the mode of
silence previously described in vs.12b.
7. Jesus
then specifically pinpoints Peter as
the target for the following lesson that will develop.
8. As has been revealed, Peter has made somewhat of a spectacle
of himself by throwing himself out of the boat, swimming alone to shore and
then by rushing to pull the heavy net full of fish to shore by himself.
9. One might conclude that this
demonstrated Peter’s great love and
admiration for the Lord, but Jesus is not fooled nor impressed with
his overt displays of loyalty.
10. While Jesus knows the heart of Peter,
He also knows that Peter is now also
trying to ingratiate Himself under energy of the flesh and now will give him
the correct application of doctrine in its stead.
11. Some have attempted to
suggest that Jesus took Peter off alone away from the others to
have their conversation in privacy.
12. On the contrary, there is no
evidence to suggest this and it was done in front of all now present, as it was
very important for the entire group.
13. That they all have failed to
some degree, plus the fact that Peter
has assumed a place of leadership among the group (cp. vs.3), and the others
will hold leadership positions as apostles, it is therefore necessary to see
how Jesus handles the situation and
leave no doubt to His position concerning this issue.
14. Jesus
breaks the silence and begins the conversation by solemnly employing Peter’s
full name in vs.15b, “Simon, son of John”.
15. Rather that employing his
nickname Jesus previously gave him,
he denotes his earthly parental means of existence.
16. By addressing Peter in this fashion, Jesus is declaring the nature of his
humanity and as a man brought into the world through procreation, is a man that
has an STA/OSN.
17. Essentially Jesus’ address
is a recognition of the weakness of the flesh and thus the reality of failure
in one’s life (Eccl.7:20) and could be rendered in application, “Simon, son
of sinful flesh and blood”.
18. It is a title to denote that
Jesus fully understands the flesh of
man and hence all men, even believers, will engage in the weakness of the
flesh.
19. Jesus
then directly asks Peter, “do you love Me more than these?”
20. The question Jesus poses is able to be interpreted
in at least tree ways due to the ambiguity of the Greek:
21. Very few have taken the second choice to be the meaning of His words and is the most easily dismissed.
22. While the 3rd
choice has some significance, since fishing was his way of life and Jesus may have been asking him about
his future plans, this concept would be secondary to the real force behind love.
23. This is seen in that the love manifested is to be towards one
another (13:34) and towards His sheep,
i.e., believers.
24. While some have objected to
the 1st interpretation stating that Jesus would never invite one of His followers to compare their love for Him with someone else’s love, it must be remembered that Peter had on at least two occasions
professed a greater love for Christ
than his peers. Mat.26:31-33;
Mar.14:27-31; Joh.13:37
25. Peter’s general demeanor
throughout Jesus’ ministry tended to suggest that he considered himself more
loyal to Christ than any of the others.
26. Jesus
question is not designed to question Peter’s motives in this regard, it is
designed to place his motives in a correct spiritual perspective.
27. It denotes that while
believers may have good intentions regarding the POG, their intentions are
fruitless unless accompanied with application of sound BD.
28. Jesus
uses the verb avgapa,w for the term “love” that
emphasizes Divine love.
29. His question centers on
whether Peter’s love for Him is
based on righteous attributes placing the object of love above His own interest and therefore characterized by
self-sacrifice. Cp.Joh.15:13
30. In other words, His question
is one of commitment and therefore to what degree Peter is willing to sacrifice beyond even his peers under the
umbrella of God’s plan.
31. That Jesus proposes Divine love
as possible for Peter unequivocally
states that Divine love
experientially is always within reach in spite of the existence of the STA and
personal failings in life.
32. That Peter’s failings are so
fresh in his mind, he is not willing to answer Jesus’ question to its fullest
intent as he said to Him, “Yes Lord; You
know that I love you”.
33. While Peter affirms a love for
Jesus, he does not respond with
agapao love, but rather affirms his love with the verb file,w that simply emphasizes his
personal affection for Christ.
34. It denotes that he embraces
Christ for Who and What He is, but does not consider himself qualified as
adequate to return a level of love
equal to the love that he knows
Christ has for him.
35. That Peter responds in such fashion points to the fact that the failures
in his life have impacted him sufficiently.
36. He is not now willing to
approach Jesus with his previous
arrogant attitude that “he knows it all”, but only answers in a way that he
honestly is sure of regarding himself.
37. That there is no doubt of
Peter’s true affection for Christ is seen in Peter’s statement that declares
that Jesus knows this fact.
38. In addition, we note the
fact that Peter completely avoids
any comparison of his stated love
with any of the others.
39. In spite of Peter’s
continued shortcomings, the reader can see a distinct adjustment in Peter’s
thinking and approach to Christ and his own personal life.
40. He is learning true
humility, starting to shed his competitive nature and is now employing
intellectual honesty to the matter.
41. Application: Failures in life have a tendency to humble +V
believers and through orientation to our failings help us in our adjustments to
the CWL.
42. Jesus
neither acknowledges nor condemns Peter’s use of term for love and simply said to him,
“Tend My lambs”.
43. That Peter’s response is acceptable
to Christ in spite of Peter’s change of verbs denotes that in some fashion
agapao and phileo love are
considered synonymous by Jesus.
44. The common denominator
between the two loves is found in Jesus’ response, “Tend My lambs” i.e., obedience of BD in application.
45. And the beginning of the
believer’s application of BD must be through humility, which Peter has evidenced in his term for love.
46. Jesus’ response is designed
to emphasize that in order for true love
to exist between the believer and God, whether Divine love or affectionate/personal love,
the evidence of that love will be
found in the believer’s obedience to God’s directive will with a humble
attitude of submissiveness.
47. The term “tend/bo,skw” or “pasture” focuses on
that aspect of shepherding in which the Shepherd
is responsible to lead the flock to their nourishment and could be translated,
“feed”.
48. The term “lambs/avrni,on” is a diminutive of “sheep”
and literally means “little lambs”
and looks at the youngest of the flock.
49. Jesus’ command is literally
“Feed My young/little lambs”.
50. It emphasizes those of the
flock that are in the most need of food and care and illustrates +V that is
dependent upon their Shepherd for
spiritual nourishment.
51. That it is Peter’s
commission to be an Apostle, the evidence of his love for Jesus will be
seen in the administration of his shepherding duties to those allotted to his
charge. 1Pet.5:3
52. In addition, Jesus’ command
points to the fact that:
53. Jesus
repeats His question in vs.16 excluding the reference to “more than these” and Peter
answers verbatim his first response; “He
said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son
of John, do you love Me?’ He said to
Him, ‘Yes Lord; You know that I love You’”.
54. That Jesus omits His reference to the others by implication states He
acknowledges Peter’s state of humility and orientation to the fact that he does
not now consider himself to be any better spiritually or more loyal than our
author John or any of the other disciples.
55. That that degree of humility
is in place, Peter has given
evidence of qualification to pursue his office in its fullest degree as Jesus now expands his responsibility of
office and said to him, “Shepherd My
sheep”.
56. This command encompasses in
its fullest sense all of the pastoral responsibilities to their sheep as can be derived from a
shepherding analogy.
57. This command denotes that it
is the responsibility of the communicator to not only teach BD to +V, but to
ensure their spiritual care and well being by protecting them from any hazard
jeopardizing the function and execution of the church.
58. In addition, the term “sheep” indicates that the shepherd’s
responsibility is not isolated to only those obviously +V in appearance, but to
any that will adhere to the ministry of the church, no matter their spiritual
level and maturity.
59. Obviously by direct
application for Peter, he will need
to maintain sufficient humility in order to interact appropriately with all the
levels of believers under his charge.
60. A communicator or spiritual
authority cannot be arrogant in his approach to believers, expect to be
successful in understanding their needs, failures, etc., and apply the
appropriate grace necessary towards them.
61. One more time Jesus poses the question to Peter in vs.17, “He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’”
62. Jesus
now adopts Peter’s term for love/phileo
to condescend to Peter’s own assessment of his love for the Lord.
63. In so doing He puts Peter, as well as all believers, on notice
that even one’s own affection for God must come under Divine restraints in
order for God to accept and embrace our love
for Him.
64. The pressure Peter is now under manifest itself as “Peter was grieved because He said to him
the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’”
65. Peter
is not hurting because of Jesus’ change of terms for love, he is under sorrow because the reality is hitting him that
Jesus’ 3 questions coincide with his 3 denials.
66. Peter is
now primed with total humility, through reflection upon his failure, of his
preceding arrogance in approach to God and the need for grace and mercy.
67. This is seen in his final
response, “And he said to Him, ‘Lord,
You know all things; You know that I love You’”.
68. His third reply lacks the immediate affirmative, but provides a fuller
statement of Jesus’ knowledge.
69. He employs two verbs for the
term “know”, “oi=da – emphasizing degree/amount
of knowledge”, and “ginw,skw – emphasizing depth of understanding”.
70. It is Peter’s full
acknowledgement that Christ as God is omniscient and that He knows the very
depth of his heart and soul.
71. His response in essence is
his way on throwing himself upon the mercy and grace of God and that God knows
whether Peter is +V and has true love for Him or not.
72. Jesus
once again commissions Peter to “Tend My sheep” combining the term for
feed/pasture from the first command with the term for sheep from the second command.
73. Though Jesus condescends to Peter’s own assessment of his loyalty, Jesus’
repeated command puts Peter on
notice that no matter even if one is +V, the evidence of their +V and true love for God still comes through
obedience and application of BD.
74. No matter what God may know about the believer regarding their
affection and love within for Him,
this does not negate the necessity for the believer to apply BD as the
confirmation and proof that indeed they are +V.
75. God’s plan is a constant in
His directive will for believers and no matter what He knows regarding us, that
fact does not impact His plan for us in the necessity of hearing and doing His
words. Joh.14:15,21,23-24; 15:10
76. The issue of love in and of itself for the believer
regarding God is not dependent upon what God knows about us (omniscience is not causative), but is dependent
upon the believer’s application of BD.
77. Application: Affection for Jesus without application of BD is hollow and typifies the fundy
approach to God under the energy of the flesh.
78. Jesus’ final statement
provides the antidote for Peter in
His commission as an Apostle and authority in the church to truly manifest his love for Christ and help protect him
from any future terminal failures spiritually.
79. As a Shepherd-teacher, his preoccupation and focus must not be on self,
but in occupation with the Word of God and taking care of his allotted charge.
80. Though Peter has experienced an amount of grief, which is normal in one’s
contemplation of STA failure in light of the grace provided, there can be
little doubt that the whole conversation was designed to restore Peter in his own mind and the minds of
the others present.
81. Jesus
demonstrates the truth that past failures, even very significant ones, do not
in and of themselves disqualify a believer from future service to God.
82. He has inexplicably related
that the antidote for our failures is a continued orientation to BD in running
our course and in addition to that primary concept the necessary grace and
mercy will be included regarding our failures.
83. The truth is that this
doctrine must be extended to those that are in positions of leadership as well.
84. While we have a high
standard set in the NT for church leaders under the Godliness code, and rightly
so, they must be accorded the same grace that any believer would desire to have
if they failed.
85. The grace provided by God
for all believers in addressing our failures, is to honor our RB and
acknowledge our integrity to God’s word in fulfilling His plan for our lives.
86. Even significant failure
does not mean the end of +V for any believer or else Abraham, Moses, David,
Solomon, Peter and innumerable others must be written off.
87. The fact that Jesus does know all things and knows the hearts of all men allows Him, and Him
alone, to judge whether or not they are worthy of service in His plan.
88. The overt evidence that
indeed He continues to support men is seen in their continuous application of His
word.
89. We must be very careful to
blend our righteous standards with sufficient grace or we will fall into a
pharisaical approach to the CWL that dismisses any that have had significant
failure.
90. Often, those that fail only
disturb us because it is not an area in which we fail and we have the
confidence that we would never do that.
91. However, there are areas in
which we fail that do not disturb us but tends to scandalize others that are
not weak in that area.
92. In short, believers must
allow for failure, manifest a grace oriented spirit, allow God and the P-T to
deal with the sheep and concentrate
on their own applications and shortcomings while praying for those for whom
they are concerned.
93. Talking to others about the
failures of some believer is generally not profitable for anyone involved and
if one is truly concerned, they should commit the matter to God in prayer.
94. We must all be very careful
of the common trap of building your righteousness on the unrighteousness of
others.
95. In near context, the essence
of Jesus’ conversation with Peter is
that he can jettison the energy of the flesh as a means of reconciliation with Jesus and that all that is required for
his future spiritual well-being is orientation and acclimation to BD.
GNT John 21:18 avmh.n avmh.n le,gw soi( o[te h=j
new,teroj( evzw,nnuej seauto.n kai. periepa,teij o[pou h;qelej\ o[tan de.
ghra,sh|j( evktenei/j ta.j cei/ra,j sou( kai. a;lloj se zw,sei kai. oi;sei
o[pou ouv qe,leijÅ
NAS John
21:18 "Truly,
truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk
wherever you wished; avmh,n (part. +) avmh,n (part.) le,gw (vipa--1s; ref. Jesus as the
subject) soi( su, (npd-2s; ref. Peter) o[te (temp. conj.; "when/at
which time") h=j eivmi, (viIPFa--2s) new,teroj( ne,oj (comp. adj./nm-s; "newer/of
age = younger") evzw,nnuej
zwnnu,w (viIPFa--2s; "gird/put on your belt"; looks at the act of
completing getting dressed in preparation for work, travel or battle; used
2x) seauto.n seautou/ (reflex. pro./am2s;
"yourself") kai, (cc) periepa,teij peripate,w (viIPFa--2s; "walk
about") o[pou (cs;
"where/wherever") h;qelej\
qe,lw (viIPFa--2s;
"you wished/willed/chose") but when
you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you,
and bring you where you do not wish to go." de, (ch) o[tan (temp. conj.; "when/at the
time that") ghra,sh|j(
ghra,skw (vsaa--2s; "you grow old/mature/become aged"; used 2x ) evktenei/j evktei,nw (vifa--2s; "you will
stretch forth/stretch out") sou( su, (npg-2s) ta.j h` cei/ra,j cei,r (d.a. + n-af-p;
"hands") kai, (cc) a;lloj (ap-nm-s; "another/someone
else") zw,sei
zwnnu,w (vifa--3s; "will gird") se su, (npa-2s) kai, (cc) oi;sei fe,rw (vifa--3s;
"bring/carry/bear you") o[pou (cs; "where") ouv (neg. +) qe,leijÅ qe,lw (vipa--2s)
GNT John 21:19 tou/to de. ei=pen shmai,nwn poi,w|
qana,tw| doxa,sei to.n qeo,nÅ kai. tou/to eivpw.n le,gei auvtw/|( VAkolou,qei
moiÅ
NAS John
21:19 Now this He
said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. de, (cs) tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-s) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) shmai,nwn shmai,nw (circ. ptc./p/a/nm-s;
"signifying/indicating"; same as 12:33; 18:32) poi,w| poi/oj (a-Im-s; "by what kind
of/sort of/nature of") qana,tw|
qa,natoj (n-Im-s; "death") doxa,sei
doxa,zw (vifa--3s; "he would glorify")
to.n o` qeo,nÅ qeo,j (d.a. + n-am-s)
And when He had spoken this, He
*said to him, "Follow Me!" kai, (cc) eivpw.n le,gw (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "when
or after he had spoken") tou/to ou-toj
(near dem.
pro./an-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s; ref. Peter) VAkolou,qei avkolouqe,w (vImp.pa--2s;
"Follow") moiÅ evgw, (npd-1s; "ref. Jesus)
1. Following Peter’s
reinstatement of commission as an apostolic shepherd to the flock, Jesus makes
a prophetic statement in regard to Peter’s future.
2. Looking back in time, we can
certainly observe that Peter took the commission to lead the flock seriously by
his later commands to other under-shepherds to do the same. 1Pet.5:1-4
3. Jesus introduces this
prophecy with a solemn double amen, “Truly,
truly, I say to you”, to underscore the especially important points He is
about to make.
4. In the prophecy, Jesus does
not speak of Peter’s present position or spiritual condition as much as He
contrasts the nature of Peter when he was younger
with his nature and destiny for the future.
5. As John’s gospel has made
clear to include chapter 21, Peter is seen to possess a very impetuous
personality.
6. As a young man, he is
characterized by a very independent spirit that would get up each day and do,
as he determined.
7. This is the sense and force
of the remainder of the 1st clause in vs.18, “when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you
wished”.
8. He was the type that did not
spend much time considering the will of God in matters but plowed ahead and
dealt with life head on.
9. This wild nature that is
very self-assured and self-willed must be tempered with wisdom and tamed under
the working of the H.S. and BD in order to become more valuable in God’s plan.
10. He is pictured as getting up
each morning and putting on his belt and going where he wanted to and doing
what he wanted to do.
11. That this attitude still
exists to some degree has been made clear in this chapter.
12. Jesus skips over any
transition Peter is currently undergoing in this regard and leaps ahead to his
future in the remainder of vs.18, “but
when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird
you, and bring you where you do not wish to go”.
13. There is a natural sense in
which all normal people mature and lose some of the vigor and headstrong nature
of youth and become dependent upon others to assist them in life.
14. However, in Peter’s case,
the maturing process will be accomplished by spiritual growth and commitment to
the will of God rather than his own will.
15. His later life was
characterized by a dependency and commitment to God’s plan and the willingness
to go and do whatever that plan called for.
16. The prophecy by application
points to the necessity of making the MAJG in order to have a successful Ph2.
17. The prophecy is overall
vague and enigmatic and does not specifically give particulars regarding Peter’s ultimate
success in fulfilling his course to the end.
18. We are indebted to John for
giving us the intent of Jesus’ words indicating that they include a reference
to the type of death Peter would
experience and thus reveals he would indeed hold to the end.
19. This is the force of vs.19a,
“Now this He said, signifying by what
kind of death he would glorify God”.
20. While it is not expressly
stated, the death in view is
crucifixion.
21. While there are many
traditions passing down stories on how his martyrdom came to realization,
through this prophecy, we know that it ended in the very posture denoting a crucifixion
execution.
22. The stretching out of the hands looks at the normal picture of a crucified individual.
23. That the verb “stretch out” is active and not passive
indicates that Peter at that time will willingly accept the death sentence issued by the government
and not resist, knowing that it is the POG for his life.
24. He would be attached to the
crossbeam and lead out to the place of execution, much as Jesus was in John’s
account.
25. While the verbs “will stretch out”, “will gird” and “bring” are all future, the final verb “you do not wish” is present.
26. This indicates that at the
present, Peter is not at this level of maturity and is yet unwilling to die in
such a submissive way.
27. Again, his denials in fear
and aggressiveness during the arrest all indicate that he is not passive in
nature.
28. However, with time and
spiritual growth, the time would come when he would not resist even his own death.
29. And just as John has made it
plain that this prophecy points to the type of death Peter would face, he makes it plain that Peter would do so in
line with the truth and glorify God
in his death.
30. At the time of writing, John
is very likely the only apostle still alive and he is well aware of the fact
that this verse had already been fulfilled.
31. Application: Success of the believer’s Ph2 not
only requires the MAJG, but to hold to the end.
32. While it did not occur in
the fashion that Peter imagined, he finally did fulfill his boast that he would
lay down his life for the Lord.
Joh.13:37
33. In 2Pet.1:14, Peter reflects
upon and makes it clear that he is aware that his death is imminent in the fashion of this prophecy and that there is
no trace of bitterness, rejection, fear, etc., but of quiet, calm and matter of
fact acceptance.
34. In old age Peter was brought
to the place in which he was more intent on the POG than his own plans; a place
that he would have resisted in his youth.
35. John then tells us in the
remainder of vs.19 that “when He had
spoken this, He said to Peter.
‘Follow Me!’”
36. Jesus imperative carries
with it irony and has both spiritual and physical application:
GNT John 21:20 VEpistrafei.j o` Pe,troj ble,pei to.n
maqhth.n o]n hvga,pa o` VIhsou/j avkolouqou/nta( o]j kai. avne,pesen evn tw/|
dei,pnw| evpi. to. sth/qoj auvtou/ kai. ei=pen( Ku,rie( ti,j evstin o`
paradidou,j seÈ
NAS John
21:20 Peter,
turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; o` Pe,troj (d.a. + n-nm-s) VEpistrafei.j evpistre,fw (circ. ptc./a/p/nm-s;
"having turned around"; used 36x)
ble,pei ble,pw (vipa--3s) to.n o`
maqhth.n maqhth,j (d.a. + n-am-s) o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) hvga,pa avgapa,w (viIPFa--3s; "Divine
love"; IPF looks at Jesus' application of love towards John all
encompassing of God's will) avkolouqou/nta(
avkolouqe,w (circ. ptc./p/a/am-s; "following behind") the one who also had leaned back on His breast at
the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" o[j (rel. pro./nm-s; "the one
who/whom"; ref. John) kai, (adjunct.) avne,pesen avnapi,ptw (viaa--3s; "leaned
back/reclined") evpi, (pa) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. Jesus') to, sth/qoj (d.a. + n-an-s;
"breast/chest"; same as 13:25)
evn (pL) tw/| to,
dei,pnw| dei/pnon (d.a. + n-dn-s; "supper/dinner/passover supper") kai, (cc) ei=pen( le,gw (viaa--3s; ref. John as the
subject of verb) Ku,rie(
ku,rioj (n-vm-s) ti,j (interr. pro./nm-s;
"who?") evstin eivmi,
(vipa--3s) o` paradidou,j paradi,dwmi (adj. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "the one
who betrays") seÈ su, (npa-2s; ref. Jesus)
GNT John 21:21 tou/ton
ou=n ivdw.n o` Pe,troj le,gei tw/| VIhsou/( Ku,rie( ou-toj de. ti,È
NAS John
21:21 Peter
therefore seeing him *said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this
man?" o` Pe,troj (d.a. + n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) ivdw.n o`ra,w (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s;
"seeing") tou/ton ou-toj (near dem. pro./am-s; "him/ this
man") le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) tw/| o` VIhsou/( VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-dm-s) Ku,rie( ku,rioj (n-vm-s) de, (cc; "and/now") ti,È ti,j (interr. pro./nn-s; "what
about/what thing?") ou-toj (near dem. pro./nm-s; "this
man")
GNT John 21:22 le,gei auvtw/| o` VIhsou/j( VEa.n
auvto.n qe,lw me,nein e[wj e;rcomai( ti, pro.j se,È su, moi avkolou,qeiÅ
NAS John
21:22 Jesus *said
to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow
Me!" o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s; ref. Peter) VEa.n eva,n (part. intro. 3rd class cond.) qe,lw (vspa--1s; "I wish/will/want") auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. John) me,nein me,nw (compl. inf./pa-; "to
remain") e[wj (temp. conj.;
"until/till") e;rcomai(
e;rcomai (vipd--1s) ti, ti,j (interr. pro./nn-s; "what
thing/what is that") pro,j (pa; emphasizes Peter's own
person) se,È su, (npa-2s) su, (npn-2s; emphatic; "you
yourself") avkolou,qeiÅ
avkolouqe,w (vImp./pa--2s; "follow!") moi evgw, (npd-1s)
GNT John 21:23 evxh/lqen ou=n ou-toj o` lo,goj eivj
tou.j avdelfou.j o[ti o` maqhth.j evkei/noj ouvk avpoqnh,|skeiÅ ouvk ei=pen de.
auvtw/| o` VIhsou/j o[ti ouvk avpoqnh,|skei\ avllV( VEa.n auvto.n qe,lw me,nein
e[wj e;rcomai( ti, pro.j se,È
NAS John
21:23 This saying
therefore went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; ou-toj (near dem. pro.nm-s;
"This") o` lo,goj (d.a. + n-nm-s;
"saying/word") ou=n (infer. conj.) evxh/lqen evxe,rcomai (viaa--3s) eivj (pa;
"into/dispersed/among") tou.j o`
avdelfou.j avdelfo,j (d.a. + n-am-p; "the brothers")
o[ti (conj. intro. indir. disc.) evkei/noj (remote dem. pro./nm-s;
"that"; John is viewing himself back in time) o` maqhth,j (d.a. + n-nm-s;
"disciple") ouvk ouv (neg. +) avpoqnh,|skeiÅ avpoqnh,|skw (vipa--3s; "would not
die/undergo physical death") yet Jesus
did not say to him that he would not die,
de, (cc; "yet") o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) ouvk ouv (neg. +) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) ouvk ouv (neg. +) avpoqnh,|skei\ avpoqnh,|skw (vipa--3s; "he would not
die") but only, "If I want him to remain
until I come, what is that to you?" avllV( avlla,
(strong
advers.) VEa.n eva,n (intro. 3rd class cond.; maybe
yes, maybe no) qe,lw (vspa--1s; "I
want/wish") auvto.n
auvto,j (npam3s) me,nein me,nw
(compl.
inf./pa-; "to remain") e[wj (temp. conj.;
"until") e;rcomai( e;rcomai
(vipn--1s) ti, ti,j (interr. pro./nn-s; "what
is that?") pro,j (pa) se,È su, (npa-2s)
1. It becomes apparent that
Jesus’ command for Peter to follow Him in vs.19 has a
practical/physical application and he is now following Jesus.
2. Spatially, Jesus is leading the way, Peter is behind Him and John is following Peter.
3. Peter
becomes aware of someone behind him and turning
around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. Vs.20a
4. Typical of John, he does not
identify himself directly but uses the common appellation/label as previously,
“the disciple whom Jesus loved”.
5. That it is Divine love in view denotes John’s reflection
upon Jesus’ perfect and all encompassing application of God’s will towards him
throughout Jesus’ ministry.
6. John then further identifies
himself in the remainder of vs.20, “the
one who also had leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who
is the one who betrays You?’” Cp.
Joh.13:21-25
7. His purpose for further
identification in this regard is two-fold:
8. John’s dual designation of
being loved by Jesus and that in
spite of his own failings, is his subtle way to inform the reader that he too
is a recipient of God’s grace.
9. While Peter and his failings are used to dramatize/emphasize the grace
lesson by Jesus, John too
acknowledges that he was no where perfect and has just as much to learn about
growing up spiritually as Peter
does.
10. As Peter observes that John is following
them, his curiosity is steeped
and therefore seeing him said to Jesus,
“Lord, and what about this man?”
Vs.21
11. Not to over judge Peter’s
intentions of asking since his question is general and not specific, it must be
understood in light of the preceding reconfirmation and proclamation by Jesus that his commission is intact and
he is going to be ok in the long haul.
12. Therefore, knowing Peter’s personality, his question can be construed to include
a twinge of arrogance, though obviously greatly tempered from before this
chapter.
13. That his question is not
totally innocent in its intent is confirmed in vs.22 as Jesus rebukes his inquiry and said
to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
14. Jesus
refuses to accommodate Peter’s curiosity and basically tells him that it is not
his concern.
15. Using a 3rd class
condition He tells him that if it is
His will that John remain until His coming at the rapture, that
is none of Peter’s business.
16. While this chapter reflects
major adjustments in Peter’s thinking and spiritual growth, his actions now
reflect his continued weaknesses.
17. It points to the fact that
under Jesus’ prophecy is the realization that Peter’s growth that will result
in maturity and getting the prize will occur over the long haul of life.
18. Application: Spiritual growth to maturity does not occur
in one Bible class or even a few, but demands a persistent and consistent
application of BD throughout the entirety of one’s life.
19. Jesus
lets Peter, as well as the others,
know that they should concern themselves with their own niche and commission
and not worry about what others may be doing.
20. God’s plan for one believer
is not necessarily the same for another believer.
21. The constant in running
one’s course is God’s directive will for them in the niche established for
them.
22. God’s will for Peter is to be crucified; God’s plan
for John is to live to a much older age and die a non-violent death.
23. The issue for all believers
is to acclimate and orient to their individual niches and apply BD throughout
their niche.
24. It is impossible to
effectively follow the Lord if you are preoccupied with the
lives of others and what they are doing.
25. This is the force behind
Jesus’ command at the end of vs.22, “You
follow Me!”
26. Our preoccupation must be
with Christ and BD and not on people or things per se.
27. This is the significance of
the spatial orientation seen in this event that is set to illustrate that you
must keep your focus straight ahead on the prize and not on others around you.
28. Other believers, even other
+V believers, can distract us from the most important thing in our lives –
making the MAJG and holding to the end.
29. Like the athletic analogy,
the runner must look toward the proper goal and not be distracted by peripheral
issues. 1Cor.9:24-27
30. That Jesus’ rebuke is seen
to be emphatic in this regard is seen in the emphatic use of the pronoun “You yourself follow Me!!”
31. In vs.23a, John records the
fact that a misconception arose among believers based on Jesus’ words that “This saying therefore went out among the
brethren that that disciple would not die”.
32. He now takes opportunity to
set the record straight as he takes issue with this misnomer in vs.23b, “yet Jesus did not say to him that he would
not die”.
33. That fact that John was
still alive is obvious, since his death just as obviously would have brought an
end to this nonsense.
34. John then repeats Jesus’
words exactly what He did say in vs.23c, “but
only, ‘If I want him to remain until
I come, what is that to you?’”
35. John in essence is now
rebuking all of those that have distorted Jesus’ words to quit taking them out
of context and to listen to exactly what was said.
36. Perhaps their misconceptions
was a result from other doctrinal distortions such as the rapture was imminent
at that time in history and promoting that some of the eyewitnesses to Jesus would live until the
rapture. Cp. 2Tim.2:18
37. Whatever the reason, this
propaganda was in error and John wants to clarify this issue before he actually
does die.
38. Contextually fitting into
the principle of acclimation and orientation to ones niche, we observe by
application that we are:
GNT John 21:24 Ou-to,j
evstin o` maqhth.j o` marturw/n peri. tou,twn kai. o` gra,yaj tau/ta( kai. oi;damen
o[ti avlhqh.j auvtou/ h` marturi,a evsti,nÅ
NAS John
21:24 This is the
disciple who bears witness of these things, and wrote these things; Ou-to,j (near dem. pro./nm-s; "This
one"; ref. John) evstin eivmi,
(vipa--3s) o` maqhth,j(n-nm-s) o` marturw/n marture,w (d.a. + adj. ptc./p/anm-s;
"who bears witness/testifying")
peri, (pg; "of/concerning") tou,twn
ou-toj (near
dem. pro./gn-p; "these things")
kai, (cc) o` gra,yaj
gra,fw (adj.
ptc./a/a/nm-s; "who wrote") tau/ta(
ou-toj (near
dem. pro./an-p; "these things") and we
know that his witness is true. kai, (cc) oi;damen oi=da (viPFa--1p; "we know";
change from singular subject to 1st person plural) o[ti (conj. intro. indir. disc.) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. John) h` marturi,a (d.a. + n-nf-s;
"witness/testimony/declaration")
evsti,nÅ eivmi, (vipa--3s; "keeps on being") avlhqh,j (pred. a--nf-s;
"true/accurate/trustworthy/reliable/genuine/real")
GNT John 21:25 :Estin de. kai. a;lla polla. a]
evpoi,hsen o` VIhsou/j( a[tina eva.n gra,fhtai kaqV e[n( ouvdV auvto.n oi=mai
to.n ko,smon cwrh/sai ta. grafo,mena bibli,aÅ
NAS John
21:25 And there
are also many other things which Jesus did,
de, (cc; "Now/And") :Estin eivmi,
(vipa--3s) kai, (adjunct.) polla. polu,j (a--nn-p; "many/numerous") a;lla a;lloj (pro.-nn-p; "other things
of like kind") a] o[j (rel. pro./an-p; "which
things") o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) evpoi,hsen poie,w (viaa--3s;
"did/performed") which if they *were written in detail, I
suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books which *were
written. a[tina o[stij
(indef. rel.
pro./nn-p; "which being so numerous" ) eva,n (part. 3rd class cond.) gra,fhtai gra,fw (vspp--3s; "they might be
written") kaqV kata, (pa +) e[n( ei-j (card. adj./an-s; "according
to one thing/in detail") oi=mai
oi;omai (vipd--1s; "I suppose/think/presume"; 1st time John has
referred to himself in the 1st person) ouvdV ouvde, (adv.; "not
even") to.n o`
ko,smon ko,smoj (d.a. + n-am-s) auvto.n
auvto,j (npam3s; intensive/emphatic) cwrh/sai
cwre,w (compl.
inf./aa-; "could make room/leave space"; hence,
"contain") ta. to, (d.a.; serves both noun and
ptc.) bibli,aÅ bibli,on (n-an-p; "the books") grafo,mena
gra,fw (adj.
ptc./p/p/an-p; "having been written/which were written")
1. The final two verses
constitute John’s concluding remarks.
2. Vs.24 contains a direct note
of authentication as to the veracity of John’s recording in manuscript and
vs.25 contains authentication based on the real evidence supplied from which he
derived the historical accounts of his gospel.
3. John identifies the disciple
whom Jesus loved of vs.20-23 as
being one and the same as the author of the gospel in vs.24a, “This is the disciple who bears witness of
these things, and wrote these things”.
4. He once again refers to
himself in the 3rd person and acknowledges that it is indeed him
that penned this gospel.
5. The fact that John “bears witness of these things” denotes
his role as an eyewitness to the events recorded and/or recipient of 1st
hand information regarding the events.
6. That he “wrote these things” denotes his role as
taking upon himself the responsibility and work to record this gospel with all
the integrity that one should expect from an eyewitness.
7. He then states in vs.24b
that there is at least another, if not others, that collaborates with him
regarding his integrity and denotes
“we know that his witness it true”.
8. Some have concluded that
John did not do the actual penning of these
words in chapter 21 and that they were appended later by an anonymous author.
9. They base their assumption
on the fact that the author switches from the plural “we know” to the singular “I
suppose” in vs.25.
10. Others have countered this
argument to note that 1The.2:18 contains a similar shift in person and there is
no question of Pauline authorship.
11. However, contextually and
grammatically, the initial argument has no grounds to begin with.
12. The singular use in
reference to John, whether in the 3rd person or 1st
person, is the person that wrote these
things.
13. The plural of “we know” is not an issue pertaining to
who wrote these words; it is an
issue as to the knowledge of the veracity of John’s words.
14. The plural is intended to be
an oratorical/dramatic use of “we”
addressing others to emphasize that his claim to integrity does not stand on
his witness alone, but is inclusive
of others that can and do corroborate his veracity.
15. The verb “to know/oi-da” indicates those with a
depth of understanding and discernment regarding the information recorded,
sufficient to validate that John has indeed written only truth.
16. John calls upon these
additional witnesses to stand on his behalf in defense of the truth.
17. The “we” addressed that has the depth of knowledge necessary to validate
John’s very integrity in this regard is all inclusive of:
A. The Godhead, with emphasis
on the Holy Spirit that supernaturally attended John’s penning of the gospel
through inspiration.
B.
Each and every character referred to in the gospel that were apart of
any account recorded to include Jesus
Christ Himself.
C. Any person alive with John
at the time of writing familiar with his apostolic office being executed with
personal integrity and knew that he was in fact a disciple of Christ in His
ministry and that he was an eyewitness to these things.
D. Every +V student of the
Gospel of John that has or ever will exegete his gospel in its entirety using
the correct hermeneutics of interpretation.
18. It is this company of
Johannine associations that can proclaim together with him that “we know his witness is true”
19. In vs.25a, John calls upon
his star witness, Jesus, whom is the subject of his
gospel to further substantiate his veracity of recording and states, “And there are also many other things which
Jesus did”.
20. John denotes that he has not
told us all that he knows about Jesus
and his activities and works during the incarnation.
21. He is proclaiming that those
things recorded validating Jesus as
the Christ, is only a fraction of the hard evidence that could be given.
22. It is a proclamation that
His star witness ensured for him (as
well as the other gospel writers) more that adequate evidence to pass on to
others as to the veracity of Jesus’ claims.
23. Therefore, his statement in
essence suggests there is no reason for John to lie about anything, since his
primary goal per the introduction of the gospel is to prove that The Word
became flesh and he only had to tap a fraction of the evidence provided.
24. It notes that it was no
strain on his memory to recall all of the actual events recorded in his gospel
and therefore logic demands that what has been recorded is truly in no danger
of error.
25. The pool and wealth of
information John could have drawn from to prove Jesus as Messiah was so vast that the trickle of information
recorded for us in John’s recall of these events was like dipping a cup of
water out of a full barrel.
26. Even in human terms, John
was not restricted as to what he had to remember and therefore what he chose to
record were things that he could most easily recall the exact details.
27. John is ensuring the reader
that what he did record was perfectly remembered and to exhaust his recall in
that regard is essentially impossible during his life span.
28. That hard evidence was
essentially inexhaustible for possible recordings is made clear in the final
clause of vs.25b, “which if they were
written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the
books which were written”.
29. John employs another
literary device known as hyperbole, sanctified exaggeration, to emphasize that
the information he could have drawn upon for his gospel was essentially
limitless.
30. That the depth of
information that John could have drawn upon is so deep correlates directly with
the very reality of his gospel theologically and spiritually.
31. That there is so much more
information that he could have provided with what he knew and saw reflects upon
all of the spiritual information yet left behind that could be additionally
extracted with a repeat study of John by the student of God’s word.
32. Just as John could have
written accounts of Jesus throughout the entirety of his life and never exhaust
his resources, so one could continually approach the gospel of John and never
exhaust their find of the silver, gold and precious stones hidden within.
33. It is in this final clause
that for the first time and only time in the gospel that John refers to himself
in the 1st person as seen in the verb “I suppose”.
34. His reference to himself now
in this fashion sets himself apart in some way as the author that has recorded
in the 3rd person throughout the gospel and the author that has made
this final statement.
35. And that division is seen in
his use of the hyperbole to note his perception of the amount of activity and
works by Christ he perceived occurred during His ministry.
36. In other words, his final
statement of vs.25b is considered by John to be simply his own opinion and
perception of this fact.
37. While it is a true opinion,
he wants his readers to be well aware of that it is indeed his opinion, as
opposed to all of the rest of the gospel that is not based on opinion, but on
actual historical events of truth.
38. It is in itself an
exaggerated emphasis to state that apart from the final clause at the close of
his book, he has totally refrained from given any personal opinions regarding
that which he has written and has told only and nothing
but the truth as expected from any righteous eyewitness.
39. It is quite fitting to bring
the study of John to a close with the reminder that our knowledge is still
limited.
40. It is a fitting ending for
this particular chapter as it reminds us that spiritual growth as believers is
never ending in time.
41. We cannot exhaust the truth
of God’s word in our endeavors to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ.
42. We should be exceedingly
grateful for the working of God the Holy Spirit that has provided all that is
necessary for us to understand what we have studied in John.
43. He is the unseen author,
revealing the truth to John that made certain that the truth was recorded.
44. He is the unseen teacher to
the pastor and congregation making real and evident to us the content of the
truth.
45. Review the Doctrine of Grace.
46. Review the Doctrine of the Importance of Bible Doctrine.