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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>John 21 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/john/21.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/john/21.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/john/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../john/">John</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../john/20.htm" title="John 20">◄</a> John 21 <a href="../acts/1.htm" title="Acts 1">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap"><span class= "bld">XXI.</span><p>[<span class= "bld">7. The Epilogue to the Gospel. The Link between the Past and the Future </span>(John 21).<p>(1)THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES (<a href="/context/john/21-1.htm" title="After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself.">John 21:1-8</a>).<p>(2)THE BREAKFAST. THE THIRD MANIFESTATION OF JESUS TO THE DISCIPLES (<a href="/context/john/21-9.htm" title="As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.">John 21:9-14</a>).<p>(3)THE TEST AND THE COMMISSION. ST. PETER AND ST. JOHN (<a href="/context/john/21-15.htm" title="So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.">John 21:15-23</a>).<p>(4)THE CLOSE OF THE GOSPEL. CORROBORATIVE WITNESS TO ITS TRUTH:<p>(a)<span class= "ital">By fellow disciples</span> (<a href="/john/21-24.htm" title="This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.">John 21:24</a>);<p>(<span class= "ital">b</span>)<span class= "ital">By an amanuensis</span> (<a href="/john/21-25.htm" title="And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.">John 21:25</a>).]<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-1.htm">John 21:1</a></div><div class="verse">After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he <i>himself</i>.</div>(1) <span class= "bld">After these things.</span>—Comp. the same expression in <a href="/john/5-1.htm" title="After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.">John 5:1</a>; <a href="/john/6-1.htm" title="After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.">John 6:1</a>; <a href="/john/7-1.htm" title="After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.">John 7:1</a>. It denotes not immediate succession, but rather an interval during which other events have taken place. Here it connects the events of this chapter with the Gospel which has been brought to a conclusion in <a href="/context/john/20-30.htm" title="And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:">John 20:30-31</a>. At a later period than the last-mentioned there, occurred the events to be mentioned here.<p><span class= "bld">Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">He manifested Himself again to the disciples.</span> The word “Jesus” is of uncertain authority, and has probably been inserted because a Church Lesson began at this place. (Comp. Notes on <a href="/john/6-14.htm" title="Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.">John 6:14</a>.) The pronoun connects the narrative immediately with that which has gone before.<p>The word rendered “shewed Himself” (<span class= "ital">manifested Himself</span>) is used elsewhere of our Lord’s appearance only in <a href="/mark/16-12.htm" title="After that he appeared in another form to two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.">Mark 16:12</a>; <a href="/mark/16-14.htm" title="Afterward he appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.">Mark 16:14</a>, where it is passive (see Note there), and in <a href="/john/21-14.htm" title="This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.">John 21:14</a> of this chapter. The argument that this chapter is not the original part of St. John’s Gospel cannot, however, be fairly said to be strengthened by this fact. The word occurs only once besides in the Synoptic Gospels (<a href="/mark/4-22.htm" title="For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.">Mark 4:22</a>), while it is distinctly a Johannine word (<a href="/john/1-31.htm" title="And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.">John 1:31</a>; <a href="/john/2-11.htm" title="This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.">John 2:11</a>; <a href="/john/3-21.htm" title="But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are worked in God.">John 3:21</a>; <a href="/john/7-4.htm" title="For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.">John 7:4</a>; <a href="/john/9-3.htm" title="Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.">John 9:3</a>; <a href="/john/17-6.htm" title="I have manifested your name to the men which you gave me out of the world: your they were, and you gave them me; and they have kept your word.">John 17:6</a>; <a href="/1_john/1-2.htm" title="(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show to you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;)">1John 1:2</a> (twice); <a href="/1_john/2-19.htm" title="They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.">1John 2:19</a>; <a href="/1_john/2-28.htm" title="And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.">1John 2:28</a>; <a href="/1_john/3-2.htm" title="Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.">1John 3:2</a> (twice), <a href="/1_john/3-5.htm" title="And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.">1John 3:5</a>; <a href="/1_john/3-8.htm" title="He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.">1John 3:8</a>; <a href="/1_john/4-9.htm" title="In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.">1John 4:9</a>; <a href="/revelation/3-18.htm" title="I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.">Revelation 3:18</a>; <a href="/revelation/15-4.htm" title="Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? for you only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before you; for your judgments are made manifest.">Revelation 15:4</a>).<p>The reflective expression, “manifested Himself,” is, moreover, in St. John’s style. (Comp. <a href="/john/7-4.htm" title="For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.">John 7:4</a>; <a href="/john/11-33.htm" title="When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.">John 11:33</a>.) The word “again” is another link with what has gone before, connecting this manifestation with that of <a href="/john/20-19.htm" title="Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the middle, and said to them, Peace be to you.">John 20:19</a>; <a href="/john/20-26.htm" title="And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the middle, and said, Peace be to you.">John 20:26</a>.<p><span class= "bld">At the sea of Tiberias.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/john/6-1.htm" title="After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.">John 6:1</a>. The name is found only in St. John.<p>(1) The impression that St. John would not die belongs to the period when the Second Advent was looked for as within the limits of lifetime. This period ceased with the first generation of Christians, and the mistake would therefore point to the close of the first century as a limit beyond which’ the date of the Gospel cannot be placed.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-2.htm">John 21:2</a></div><div class="verse">There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the <i>sons</i> of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus.</span>—It is most probable that we have here the names of all in the group of seven who were Apostles, and that the two unnamed persons were disciples in the wider sense in which the word is often used by St. John (<a href="/john/6-60.htm" title="Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?">John 6:60</a>; <a href="/john/6-66.htm" title="From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.">John 6:66</a>; <a href="/john/7-3.htm" title="His brothers therefore said to him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that your disciples also may see the works that you do.">John 7:3</a>; <a href="/john/8-31.htm" title="Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;">John 8:31</a>; <a href="/john/18-19.htm" title="The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.">John 18:19</a>). If they were Andrew and Philip, which has been supposed from <a href="/john/1-40.htm" title="One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.">John 1:40</a>; <a href="/john/1-43.htm" title="The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and finds Philip, and said to him, Follow me.">John 1:43</a>, it is not easy to understand their position in the list, or the absence of their names.<p><span class= "bld">Thomas</span> is not named by the other Evangelists, except in the lists of the Apostles. (Comp. <a href="/john/11-16.htm" title="Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.">John 11:16</a>; <a href="/john/14-5.htm" title="Thomas said to him, Lord, we know not where you go; and how can we know the way?">John 14:5</a>; <a href="/john/20-24.htm" title="But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.">John 20:24</a> <span class= "ital">et seq.</span>)<p><span class= "bld">Nathanael</span> is named only by St. John. (Comp. Notes on <a href="/john/1-45.htm" title="Philip finds Nathanael, and said to him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.">John 1:45</a> <span class= "ital">et seq.</span>) He is probably to be identified with the “Bartholomew” of the earlier Gospels; this latter name being a patronymic. (Comp. Note on <a href="/context/matthew/10-3.htm" title="Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;">Matthew 10:3-4</a>.) The descriptive note “of Cana in Galilee” is added here only.<p><span class= "bld">The sons of Zebedee </span>are not elsewhere given by St. John as a description of himself and his brother, but this is the only place in which he names himself and his brother in a list with others. In St. Luke’s account of the earlier draught of fishes, the “sons of Zebedee” are named as partners with “Simon” (<a href="/john/5-10.htm" title="The Jews therefore said to him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.">John 5:10</a>). Their position here agrees with the Johannine authorship of the chapter. In the lists in the other Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, James and John are uniformly prominent in the first group.<p>(2) The mistake having been made, the obvious correction after St. John’s death would have been simply to record that event. The correction of the text would place these words within his lifetime.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-3.htm">John 21:3</a></div><div class="verse">Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing.</span>—The words are the vivid representation by an ear-witness of what actually took place as they re turned to their ordinary work during the interval between the Passover and Pentecost. It does not express either an abandonment of their higher vocation, or an expectation of the presence of the Lord. The picturesque colouring of the whole scene is quite in St. John’s style, as is also the simple co-ordinate arrangement of sentences without connecting particles.<p><span class= "bld">And that night they caught nothing.</span>—Comp. for the fact <a href="/luke/5-5.htm" title="And Simon answering said to him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.">Luke 5:5</a>; but the words are different. The word here rendered “caught” occurs nowhere in the other Gospels, but is found again in this chapter (<a href="/john/21-10.htm" title="Jesus said to them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught.">John 21:10</a>), and six times in the earlier chapters of the Gospel (<a href="/john/7-30.htm" title="Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.">John 7:30</a>; <a href="/john/7-32.htm" title="The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.">John 7:32</a>; <a href="/john/7-44.htm" title="And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.">John 7:44</a>; <a href="/john/8-20.htm" title="These words spoke Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.">John 8:20</a>; <a href="/john/10-39.htm" title="Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,">John 10:39</a>; <a href="/john/11-57.htm" title="Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him.">John 11:57</a>). It occurs also in <a href="/revelation/19-20.htm" title="And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.">Revelation 19:20</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-4.htm">John 21:4</a></div><div class="verse">But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">Jesus stood on the shore.</span>—Comp. <a href="/john/20-19.htm" title="Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the middle, and said to them, Peace be to you.">John 20:19</a>; <a href="/john/20-26.htm" title="And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the middle, and said, Peace be to you.">John 20:26</a>. The words express the sudden appearance without any indication of His coming. He was then standing in the midst, or on the shore, but no one knew whence or how.<p><span class= "bld">The disciples knew not that it was Jesus.</span>—Comp. <a href="/john/20-14.htm" title="And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.">John 20:14</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-5.htm">John 21:5</a></div><div class="verse">Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Children, have ye any meat?</span>—The word rendered “Children” (or, as the margin has it, <span class= "ital">Sirs</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> is used in addressing others only by St. John among the New Testament writers (<a href="/1_john/2-13.htm" title="I write to you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.">1John 2:13</a>; <a href="/1_john/2-18.htm" title="Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.">1John 2:18</a>). It is not the word used in <a href="/john/13-33.htm" title="Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek me: and as I said to the Jews, Where I go, you cannot come; so now I say to you.">John 13:33</a>, where we have an expression denoting His affectionate tenderness for the disciples, which would not have been appropriate here, for He does not at once reveal His identity to them. It is a word which, indeed, may express His love for them (comp. <a href="/john/4-49.htm" title="The nobleman said to him, Sir, come down ere my child die.">John 4:49</a>), but which appears also to have been used as an address to workmen or inferiors, not unlike our own words “boys” or “lads.” They seem to take it in this sense, as though some traveller passing by asked the question because he wished to purchase some of their fish.<p>The word rendered “meat” occurs here only in the New Testament. It means anything eaten with bread, and was used as equivalent to the fish which was the ordinary relish. (Comp. Note on <a href="/john/6-9.htm" title="There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?">John 6:9</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-6.htm">John 21:6</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">Cast the net on the right side of the ship.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/luke/5-6.htm" title="And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.">Luke 5:6</a>. Here the special direction is to cast the net on the right side. We must suppose that the net was cast on the left side, and that they think the speaker who stands on the shore sees some indication of fishes on the other side, for He is still as a stranger to them, and yet they at once obey Him.<p><span class= "bld">They were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.</span>—That is, they were not able to draw it up into the boat. In <a href="/john/21-8.htm" title="And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.">John 21:8</a> they are described as dragging it to the shore.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-7.htm">John 21:7</a></div><div class="verse">Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt <i>his</i> fisher's coat <i>unto him</i>, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter.</span>—Comp. <span class= "ital">Introduction,</span> p 375. The traits of character which have before met us are exactly preserved here. John, true to the life of contemplation, is first to trace in the present draught of fishes an analogy with the earlier one, and to discern that the Master who spoke then is present now. Peter, true to the life of action, is first to rush into that Master’s presence when he is told that it is the Lord.<p><span class= "bld">He girt his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was naked).</span>—That is, as the words in the original clearly imply, he put on, and girded round his body the garment which workmen customarily used. This seems to have been a kind of linen frock worn over the shirt, and the Talmud has adopted the Greek word here used to express it. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and the rendering “fisher’s coat” probably gives a correct idea of what is meant.<p>The common usage of the Greek and Hebrew words answering to the English word “naked,” makes it probable that St. Peter was wearing some under-garment, and that reverence for the Lord, into whose presence he is about to go, led him to add to this the outer frock. (Comp. <a href="/acts/19-12.htm" title="So that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.">Acts 19:12</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-8.htm">John 21:8</a></div><div class="verse">And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">And the other disciples came in a little ship.</span>—Better. . . . <span class= "ital">in the boat.</span> The two words “ship” and “boat” (<span class= "greekheb">πλοῖον </span>and <span class= "greekheb">πλοιάριον</span>) are interchanged here, as in <a href="/john/6-17.htm" title="And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.">John 6:17</a> <span class= "ital">et seq.</span><p><span class= "bld">For they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits.</span>—That is, about 100 English yards. The shortness of the distance explains how they were able to drag the net in tow. The Greek preposition used with “cubits” (literally, “two hundred cubits <span class= "ital">off”</span>) is used of distance only by St. John (<a href="/john/11-18.htm" title="Now Bethany was near to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:">John 11:18</a> and <a href="/revelation/14-20.htm" title="And the wine press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.">Revelation 14:20</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Dragging the net with fishes.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/john/21-6.htm" title="And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.">John 21:6</a>. The Greek is more exactly,. . . . <span class= "ital">with the</span> (literally, <span class= "ital">of the</span>)<span class= "ital"> fishes</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> those with which the net had been filled (<a href="/john/21-6.htm" title="And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.">John 21:6</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-9.htm">John 21:9</a></div><div class="verse">As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">They saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.</span>—In the original the tenses are present, describing the scene as it was impressed on the mind of the writer. <span class= "ital">They saw a fire of coals and fish lying thereon, and bread,</span> or, perhaps,. . . . <span class= "ital">and a fish lying thereon, and a loaf.</span><p>For “fire of coals” comp. Note on <a href="/john/18-18.htm" title="And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.">John 18:18</a>.<p>For the word rendered “fish,” comp. <a href="/john/21-10.htm" title="Jesus said to them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught.">John 21:10</a>; <a href="/john/21-13.htm" title="Jesus then comes, and takes bread, and gives them, and fish likewise.">John 21:13</a>, and Notes on <a href="/john/6-9.htm" title="There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?">John 6:9</a>; <a href="/john/6-11.htm" title="And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.">John 6:11</a>. In this passage and in <a href="/john/21-13.htm" title="Jesus then comes, and takes bread, and gives them, and fish likewise.">John 21:13</a> only it occurs in the singular, but it seems clear that it may be collective, as our word “fish.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-10.htm">John 21:10</a></div><div class="verse">Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.</span>—Comp. Note on last verse. It is implied that they did so, and thus furnished part of the meal of which they are about to partake.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-11.htm">John 21:11</a></div><div class="verse">Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">Simon Peter went up.</span>—The better reading inserts “therefore”: <span class= "ital">Simon Peter therefore went up—i.e.,</span> because of Christ’s command. He went up into the ship now lying on the shore with one end of the net fastened to it, and drew the remainder of the net to the shore.<p><span class= "bld">Full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three.</span>—The greatness and the number are dwelt upon because in any ordinary haul of fish a large proportion would be small and valueless, and be cast into the lake again (Comp. <a href="/matthew/13-47.htm" title="Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:">Matthew 13:47</a> <span class= "ital">et seq.</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> These were all “great,” and their size and number led to an exact account being taken of them. This would be talked of among the Apostles and their friends and fellow-craftsmen, and is, with the picturesque exactness which is characteristic of St. John, recorded here.<p>We have no clue to any mystical interpretation of this number, and it is probably not intended to convey one. The various meanings which men have read into it, such as that it represents one of every kind of fish known to the natural history of the day; or that one hundred represents the Gentile nations, fifty the Jews, and three the Trinity; or that there is a reference to the 153, 600 proselytes of <a href="/2_chronicles/2-17.htm" title="And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.">2Chronicles 2:17</a>; or that it expresses symbolically the name of Simon Peter, take their place among the eccentricities of exegesis from which even the latest results of criticism are not free. Still, as all the more spiritual interpreters, from St. Augustine downwards, have seen, the differences between this and the earlier miracle (<a href="/context/luke/5-1.htm" title="And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed on him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,">Luke 5:1-11</a>) are too striking to be unintentional. That represents the visible Church, containing good and bad; the net is cast without special direction as to side; the net was broken and many escaped. This represents God’s elect, foreknown by Him; all are good; the net is brought to shore, and none are lost. (See Notes on the parable of the Draw-net in <a href="/context/matthew/13-47.htm" title="Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:">Matthew 13:47-50</a>, and comp. especially Trench, <span class= "ital">Notes on Miracles,</span> §§ 3 and 33.)<p><span class= "bld">Yet was not the net broken.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/luke/5-6.htm" title="And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.">Luke 5:6</a>. This is again one of the details which point to an eye-witness as the writer.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-12.htm">John 21:12</a></div><div class="verse">Jesus saith unto them, Come <i>and</i> dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/john/21-15.htm" title="So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.">John 21:15</a> and <a href="/luke/11-37.htm" title="And as he spoke, a certain Pharisee sought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.">Luke 11:37</a>, which are the only other instances of the verb in the New Testament. The meal referred to was the early morning meal which we call breakfast (<a href="/john/21-4.htm" title="But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.">John 21:4</a>).<p><span class= "bld">And none of the disciples durst ask him . . .</span>—Comp. <a href="/john/4-27.htm" title="And on this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seek you? or, Why talk you with her?">John 4:27</a>. They approach Him in reverent silence. Knowing it is the Lord, they yet desire the assurance in His own words, and still they do not dare to ask, “Who art thou?” The Greek word rendered “ask” means to “prove” “inquire.” It is found elsewhere in the New Testament in <a href="/matthew/2-8.htm" title="And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.">Matthew 2:8</a>; <a href="/matthew/10-11.htm" title="And into whatever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till you go there.">Matthew 10:11</a> only. The word rendered “durst,” is also not found again in St. John, but its use in the Gospels is—except in the instance of Nicodemus, “who went in boldly unto Pilate” (<a href="/mark/15-43.htm" title="Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly to Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.">Mark 15:43</a>)—confined to the expression of the reverence which dared not question our Lord. (Comp. <a href="/matthew/22-46.htm" title="And no man was able to answer him a word, neither dared any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.">Matthew 22:46</a>; <a href="/mark/12-34.htm" title="And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask him any question.">Mark 12:34</a>; <a href="/luke/20-40.htm" title="And after that they dared not ask him any question at all.">Luke 20:40</a>.) In all these instances it is used with a negative, and with a verb of inquiry, as here.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-13.htm">John 21:13</a></div><div class="verse">Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Jesus then cometh</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> from the place where they had seen Him to the “fire of coals.”<p><span class= "bld">And taketh bread, and giveth them.</span>—Better, . . . <span class= "ital">the bread</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the bread of <a href="/john/21-9.htm" title="As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.">John 21:9</a>. Again (comp. <a href="/john/20-22.htm" title="And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost:">John 20:22</a>) we are reminded of the words used at the Last Supper. (Comp. Note on <a href="/luke/24-30.htm" title="And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to them.">Luke 24:30</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">And fish likewise.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">and the fish likewise</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the fishes of <a href="/context/john/21-9.htm" title="As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.">John 21:9-10</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-14.htm">John 21:14</a></div><div class="verse">This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples.</span>—Better, . . . <span class= "ital">that Jesus was manifested . . .—</span>Comp. Note on <a href="/john/21-1.htm" title="After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself.">John 21:1</a>. The writer is giving his own witness. He passes over, therefore, the appearances to Mary Magdalene and others, and counting only those “to the disciples”—to the Ten on the first Easter day, and to the Eleven on its octave—gives this appearance as the third. (Comp. Note on <a href="/context/1_corinthians/15-5.htm" title="And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:">1Corinthians 15:5-7</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-15.htm">John 21:15</a></div><div class="verse">So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, <i>son</i> of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas.</span>—The better text here and in <a href="/context/john/21-16.htm" title="He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my sheep.">John 21:16-17</a>, is, <span class= "ital">Simon, son of John.</span> The contrast of the name by which the Evangelist denotes, and with that by which the Lord addresses Peter, at once strikes us as significant, and the more so because it comes in a context containing several significant verbal contrasts. Our Lord’s words would seem to address him as one who had fallen from the steadfastness of the Rock-man, and had been true rather to his natural than to his apostolic name. (Comp. Note on <a href="/john/1-42.htm" title="And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.">John 1:42</a>, and <a href="/matthew/16-17.htm" title="And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven.">Matthew 16:17</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Lovest thou me more than these?</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> than these disciples who are present here with thee. It seems unnecessary to add this explanation, but not a few English notes on this verse explain the word “these” of the fishes, or of the boats and nets, as though the question was, “Lovest thou Me more than thy worldly calling? Art thou willing to give up all for Me?” The obvious reference is to Peter’s own comparison of himself with others in the confidence of love which he thought could never fail. (Comp. <a href="/matthew/26-33.htm" title="Peter answered and said to him, Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended.">Matthew 26:33</a>; <a href="/mark/14-29.htm" title="But Peter said to him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.">Mark 14:29</a>.)<p>The thrice-asked question has been generally understood to have special force in the restoration of him who had thrice denied his Lord, and now thrice declares his love for Him, and is thrice entrusted with a work for Him; and we feel that this interpretation gives a natural meaning to the emphasis of these verses. It may not be fanciful to trace significance, even in the external circumstances under which the question was asked. By the side of the lake after casting his net into the sea had Peter first been called to be a fisher of men (<a href="/matthew/4-19.htm" title="And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.">Matthew 4:19</a>). The lake, the very spot on the shore, the nets, the boat, would bring back to his mind in all their fulness the thoughts of the day which had been the turning-point of his life. By the side of the “fire of coals” (see Note on <a href="/john/18-18.htm" title="And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.">John 18:18</a>, the only other place where the word occurs) he had denied his Lord. As the eye rests upon the “fire of coals” before him, and he is conscious of the presence of the Lord, who knows all things (<a href="/john/21-17.htm" title="He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Love you me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.">John 21:17</a>), burning thoughts of penitence and shame may have come to his mind, and these may have been the true preparation for the words which follow.<p><span class= "bld">Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.</span>—Peter uses a less strong expression for love than that which had been used by our Lord. The question seems to ask, “Dost thou in the full determination of the will, in profound reverence and devotion, love Me?” The answer seems to say, “Thou knowest me; I dare not now declare this fixed determination of the will, but in the fulness of personal affection I dare answer, and Thou knowest that even in my denials it was true, ‘I love Thee.’”<p><span class= "bld">He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.</span>—More exactly, <span class= "ital">little lambs.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-16.htm">John 21:16</a></div><div class="verse">He saith to him again the second time, Simon, <i>son</i> of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">He saith to him again the second time.</span>—The question is repeated in exactly the same form, except that our Lord does not continue the comparison “more than these.” He uses the same word for the higher, more intellectual love, and Peter replies by the same declaration of personal attachment, and the same appeal to his Master’s knowledge of him.<p><span class= "bld">Feed my sheep.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">be</span> <span class= "ital">a shepherd of My sheep.</span> The Vatican and Paris MSS. read “little sheep” here, and in the following verse. (See Note there.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-17.htm">John 21:17</a></div><div class="verse">He saith unto him the third time, Simon, <i>son</i> of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">He saith unto him the third time.</span>—Again the question is asked, but this time the Lord uses Peter’s own word, and His question seems to say, “Dost thou, in personal affection and devotion, really love Me?” The third time, to him who had three times denied! and this time the love which Peter knows has ever filled his soul seems to be doubted. The question cuts to the very quick, and in the agony of the heart smarting beneath the wound, he appeals in more emphatic words than before to the all-seeing eye that could read the very inmost secrets of his life, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.”<p><span class= "bld">Feed my sheep.</span>—The better reading is, probably, <span class= "ital">little sheep.</span> The difference is of one letter only (<span class= "greekheb">πρόβατα</span> and <span class= "greekheb">προβατία</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> and a mistake would therefore be easily made by a copyist. The diminutive word occurs nowhere else in Biblical Greek, and is almost certainly, therefore, part of the original text; but whether it was first written here or in <a href="/john/21-16.htm" title="He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my sheep.">John 21:16</a>, or in both, must with our present knowledge be left undetermined. The order of the Received text is “lambs” (<a href="/john/21-15.htm" title="So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.">John 21:15</a>), “sheep” (<a href="/john/21-16.htm" title="He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my sheep.">John 21:16</a>), “sheep” (<a href="/john/21-17.htm" title="He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Love you me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.">John 21:17</a>). The Peshito Syriac must have read “lambs,” “little sheep,” “sheep”; and this is in part supported by the Vulgate, which has “agnos,” “agnos,” “oves,” and more exactly by the Latin of St. Ambrose, who has “agnos,” “oviculas,” “oves.” This would point to a three-fold gradation answering to the three-fold question, and committing to the Apostle’s care the lambs, the little sheep, the sheep of the flock of Christ. Still, it must be admitted that the more probable reading is <span class= "ital">lambs, little sheep, little sheep,</span> and that the difference of thought is in the difference of the verbs. “Feed My lambs; be a shepherd to the weak ones of the flock; feed these weak ones.” He who loved Christ is to be like Christ, a good shepherd, giving his life for the sheep who are Christ’s. He who had been loved and forgiven, held up that he might not fall, restored after he had fallen, is to be to others what Christ had been to him—feeding men with spiritual truths as they can bear them, gently guiding and caring for those who are as the weak ones of the flock through ignorance, prejudice, waywardness. The chief work of the chief Apostle, and of every true apostle of Christ, is to win back the erring, helpless, sinful sons of men; and the power which fits them for this work is the burning love which quickens all other gifts and graces, and can appeal to the Great Shepherd Himself, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” As a remarkable instance of how the Great Shepherd’s words impressed themselves upon the Apostle’s mind, comp. <a href="/1_peter/2-25.htm" title="For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.">1Peter 2:25</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-18.htm">John 21:18</a></div><div class="verse">Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry <i>thee</i> whither thou wouldest not.</div>(18) <span class= "bld">Verily, verily, I say unto thee.</span>—This phrase is peculiar to St. John. (Comp. Note on <a href="/john/1-51.htm" title="And he said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.">John 1:51</a>.) The remainder of the verse contains three pairs of sentences answering to each other:—<p>“Thou wast young,”. . . . “Thou shalt be old;”<p>“Thou girdedst thyself,”. . . . “Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee;”<p>“And walkedst whither thou wouldest,” . . . “And carry thee whither thou wouldest not.”<p><span class= "bld">Thou wast young.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">thou wast younger</span> (than thou art now). Peter must have been at this time (comp. <a href="/matthew/8-14.htm" title="And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.">Matthew 8:14</a>) in middle age.<p><span class= "bld">Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee.</span>—Do these words refer to the crucifixion of Peter? Tradition, from Tertullian downwards (<span class= "ital">Scorp.</span> xv.; <span class= "ital">De Praescr.</span> xxxv.), states that he was crucified, and, interpreting this prophecy by the event, asserts that they do. Tertullian himself so understood them, for he says, “Then is Peter girded by another when he is bound to the cross.”<p>But on the other hand, (1) the girding (with chains) would precede, not follow, the crucifixion; (2) it would be more natural to speak of another stretching forth his hands if the nailing them to the cross is intended; (3) the last clause, “carry thee whither thou wouldest not,” could not follow the stretching of the hands on the transverse beam of the cross.<p>It seems impossible therefore to adopt the traditional reference to crucifixion, and we must take the words, “stretch forth thy hands,” as expressing symbolically the personal surrender previous to being girded by another. To what exact form of death the context does not specify. We have thus in the second pair of sentences, as in the first and third, a complete parallelism, the stretching forth of the hands being a part of the girding by another, and the whole being in contrast to “Thou girdedst thyself.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-19.htm">John 21:19</a></div><div class="verse">This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.</span>—These words are a comment by the writer, and quite in St. John’s style. (Comp. <a href="/john/2-21.htm" title="But he spoke of the temple of his body.">John 2:21</a>; <a href="/john/6-6.htm" title="And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.">John 6:6</a>; <a href="/john/7-39.htm" title="(But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)">John 7:39</a>; <a href="/john/12-33.htm" title="This he said, signifying what death he should die.">John 12:33</a>.)<p>“By what death,” or, more exactly, <span class= "ital">by what manner of death</span> (comp. <a href="/john/12-33.htm" title="This he said, signifying what death he should die.">John 12:33</a>; <a href="/john/18-32.htm" title="That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying what death he should die.">John 18:32</a>), indicates generally the martyrdom of Peter as distinct from a natural death, without special reference to the crucifixion. (See Note on last verse.)<p>For the phrase “glorify God,” comp. <a href="/john/13-31.htm" title="Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.">John 13:31</a>; <a href="/john/17-1.htm" title="These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you:">John 17:1</a>; and see also <a href="/philippians/1-20.htm" title="According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.">Philippians 1:20</a>; <a href="/1_peter/4-16.htm" title="Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.">1Peter 4:16</a>. From its occurrence here in connection with St. Peter, it passed into the common language of the Church for the death of martyrs.<p><span class= "bld">Follow me.</span>—It may be, and the next verse makes it probable, that our Lord withdrew from the circle of the disciples, and by some movement or gesture signified to Peter that he should follow Him; but these words must have had for the Apostle a much fuller meaning. By the side of that lake he had first heard the command “Follow Me” (<a href="/matthew/4-19.htm" title="And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.">Matthew 4:19</a>); when sent forth on his apostleship, he had been taught that to follow Christ meant to take up the cross (<a href="/matthew/10-38.htm" title="And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.">Matthew 10:38</a>); it was his words which drew from Christ the utterance, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (<a href="/matthew/16-23.htm" title="But he turned, and said to Peter, Get you behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you mind not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.">Matthew 16:23</a>); to his question at the Last Supper came the answer, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards” (<a href="/john/13-36.htm" title="Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where go you? Jesus answered him, Where I go, you can not follow me now; but you shall follow me afterwards.">John 13:36</a>); and now the command has come again with the prophecy of martyrdom, and it must have carried to his mind the thought that he was to follow the Lord in suffering and death itself, and through the dark path which He had trodden was to follow Him to the Father’s home.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-20.htm">John 21:20</a></div><div class="verse">Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?</div>(20) <span class= "bld">Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following.</span>—We must suppose that St. Peter had retired with our Lord, and that St. John seeing this had followed at a distance. He had been the companion and friend of St. Peter (comp. <span class= "ital">Introduction,</span> p. 371). More than any other—and this is made prominent here—he had entered into close communion with the Lord Himself. He was called the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (comp. <a href="/john/20-2.htm" title="Then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.">John 20:2</a>, and <span class= "ital">Introduction,</span> p. 375); he had leaned on His breast at supper, and, at a sign from Peter, had asked who was the traitor; he may well think that for him too there was some glimpse into the future, some declaration of what his path should be; or in that mingling of act and thought, of sign and thing signified, which run all through these verses, his following may indicate that he too, though he had never dared to say so, was ready to follow wherever the Master went.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-21.htm">John 21:21</a></div><div class="verse">Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what <i>shall</i> this man <i>do</i>?</div>(21) <span class= "bld">Lord, and what shall this man do</span>?—The motive prompting this question was probably that of loving interest in the future of his friend. It may well be that the two friends, in the sadness of the dark days through which they had passed, had talked together of what their Master’s predictions of the future meant, and had wondered what there was in store for themselves. They knew the world was to hate them as it had hated Him, and they never knew what its hatred for Him was. One of them had learnt that he was to follow his Lord in death as in life, and he now sees the other following them as they draw apart from the group, and would fain know the future of his friend as he knew his own.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-22.htm">John 21:22</a></div><div class="verse">Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what <i>is that</i> to thee? follow thou me.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?</span>—The answer must be taken as reproving the spirit which would inquire into another’s life and work, with the effect of weakening the force of its own. Here, as in all the earlier details of St. Peter’s life, his character is emotional, earnest, loving, but wanting in depth, and not without self-confidence. The words “Follow Me,” the meaning of which he has not missed, may well have led him to thoughts and questions of what that path should be, and the truth may well have sunk into the depth of his heart, there to germinate and burst forth in principle and act. But he is at once taken up with other thoughts. He is told to follow, but is ready to lead. He would know and guide his friend’s life rather than his own. To him, and to all, there comes the truth that the Father is the husbandman, and it is He who trains every branch of the vine. There is a spiritual companionship which strengthens and helps all who join in it; there is a spiritual guidance which is not without danger to the true strength of him that is led, nor yet to that of him who leads.<p>The word rendered “tarry” is that which we have before had for “abide” (see <a href="/john/12-34.htm" title="The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ stays for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?">John 12:34</a>, and comp. <a href="/philippians/1-25.htm" title="And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;">Philippians 1:25</a> and <a href="/1_corinthians/15-6.htm" title="After that, he was seen of above five hundred brothers at once; of whom the greater part remain to this present, but some are fallen asleep.">1Corinthians 15:6</a>). It is here opposed to “Follow Me” (in the martyrdom), and means to abide in life.<p>The phrase, “If I will that he tarry till I come,” is one of those the meaning of which cannot be ascertained with certainty, and to which, therefore, every variety of meaning has been given. We have already seen that the Coming of the Lord was thought of in more than one sense. (Comp. especially Notes on <a href="/matthew/16-28.htm" title="Truly I say to you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.">Matthew 16:28</a> and Matthew 24; and see also in this Gospel, Note on <a href="/john/14-3.htm" title="And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.">John 14:3</a>.) The interpretation which has found most support is that which takes the “coming of the Lord” to mean the destruction of Jerusalem, which St. John, and perhaps he only of the Apostles, lived to see. But the context seems to exclude this meaning, for the mistake of <a href="/john/21-23.htm" title="Then went this saying abroad among the brothers, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?">John 21:23</a> would surely have been corrected by a reference to the fact that St. John had survived, and wrote the Gospel after, the “coming of the Lord.” The interpretation which the next verse itself suggests is that our Lord made no statement, but expressed a supposition, “If I will,” “If it even be that I will;” and this both gives the exact meaning of the Greek, and corresponds with the remainder of our Lord’s answer. He is directing St. Peter to think of his own future. and not of his friend’s; and He puts a supposition which, even if it were true, would not make that friend’s life a subject for him then to think of. Had our Lord told him that St. John should remain on earth until His coming, in any sense of the word, then He would have given an answer, which He clearly declined to give.<p><span class= "bld">Follow thou me.</span>—The pronoun “thou” is strongly emphatic. “Thy brother’s life is no matter for thy care. Thy work is for thyself to follow Me.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-23.htm">John 21:23</a></div><div class="verse">Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what <i>is that</i> to thee?</div>(23) <span class= "bld">Then </span>(better, <span class= "ital">therefore</span>) <span class= "bld">went this saying abroad among the brethren.</span>—For the word “brethren” comp. Notes on <a href="/matthew/23-8.htm" title="But be not you called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brothers.">Matthew 23:8</a> and <a href="/acts/9-30.htm" title="Which when the brothers knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.">Acts 9:30</a>. As a general name for the disciples, it is not elsewhere found in the Gospels, but we have the key to it in our Lord’s own words to Mary Magdalene (<a href="/john/20-17.htm" title="Jesus said to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brothers, and say to them, I ascend to my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.">John 20:17</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If. . . .—</span>The mistake of the brethren arose from their not attending to the force of the conditional particle. They took as a statement what had been said as a supposition, and understood it in the then current belief that the Second Advent would come in their own generation. (Comp. <a href="/context/1_corinthians/15-51.htm" title="Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,">1Corinthians 15:51-52</a>; <a href="/1_thessalonians/4-17.htm" title="Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.">1Thessalonians 4:17</a>.)<p>The mistake and its correction are both interesting in their bearing upon the date of the Gospel, and they furnish that kind of evidence which is perfectly natural as a growth, but which cannot possibly be made.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-24.htm">John 21:24</a></div><div class="verse">This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things.</span>—Comp. <a href="/context/john/20-30.htm" title="And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:">John 20:30-31</a>. As we have there the formal close of what seems to have been the original Gospel, we have here the formal close of the epilogue. The words are, however, too wide to be limited to the epilogue, and clearly refer to all that has preceded. They identify the writer with the disciple just mentioned, <span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the disciple whom Jesus loved, and the form of the sentence implies that he who wrote these things was still living, and bearing witness to their truth. He is still testifying to the things of which he wrote.<p><span class= "bld">And we know that his testimony is true.</span>—Our first and natural thought is that these are not the words of the writer of the Gospel, but the additional witness of persons knowing him and testifying to his writing. It is usual to explain the “we know” by referring to <a href="/context/1_john/5-18.htm" title="We know that whoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not.">1John 5:18-20</a>; but the plural of a letter ought not to be quoted to explain the plural in an historic document, and it is probable that the natural thought is the true one. But though the words are an addition, they are a contemporaneous addition present in every important MS. and version, and an undoubted part of the original text. We cannot tell who are the persons whose words we here read—Andrew it may be, or Philip, or some of the seventy disciples who had been witnesses of the work of Christ, or some of the Ephesian Church, as Aristion or John the Presbyter, who felt that the Apostle’s personal character gave the stamp of truth to all he said, and add here the conviction that all these words were true. (Comp. <span class= "ital">Introduction,</span> p. 377.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/john/21-25.htm">John 21:25</a></div><div class="verse">And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">And there are also many other things which Jesus did. . . .—</span>The MSS. evidence for this verse is also so conclusive that almost every competent editor inserts it in his text, but it is not found in the famous Sinaitic Codex. The transference from the plural to the singular—“We know” (<a href="/john/21-24.htm" title="This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.">John 21:24</a>), “I suppose” (in this verse)—has led to the supposition, which is in every way probable, that it is the individual testimony of an amanuensis who, from personal knowledge of the life of Christ, or from knowledge derived from the Apostle John or from others, feels that full beyond all human thought as this Gospel is, it is but a part of the greater fulness. No book could record, no words could tell, what that life was, or what things Jesus did. The disciples saw and believed, and wrote these things that we may believe, and in believing may have life in His name.<p>The word “Amen” is not found in the better MSS., and in no part of the written text. It is the natural prayer of some copyist, as it is the natural prayer of every devout reader that the writer’s purpose may be fulfilled.<p>The chief MSS. have a subscription appended to the Gospel. “According to John” (Vatican); “Gospel according to John” (Sinaitic [?], Alexandrine, Paris, Basle); “Gospel according to John is ended;” “Gospel according to Luke begins” (Cambridge).<p><span class= "bld">#define description=DESC<p>#define abbreviation=ABBR<p>#define comments=CMTS<p>#define version=3<p><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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