John 21

Introduction

• 20:30-31—This looks like the end of the Gospel.
• No manuscript that has ever circulated has done so without chapter 21, although there are some differences.
  a. This chapter contains 28 words that are unique to John’s Gospel, and it contains grammatical and syntactical differences that cannot be dismissed.
  b. Would the original writer water down the impact of chapter 20 or the commissioning of the disciples by showing them returning to their original occupations in chapter 21?
  c. 21:24 appears to reference the writer of the Gospel as a whole, yet distinguishes him from the writer of this chapter. Some suggest that the occasion for this addition is seen in 21:20-23.
  d. Additional objectives of this chapter:
  i. To provide a restoration of Peter.
  ii. To provide clarification on the relationship between Peter and John.
  iii. To encourage the post-Apostolic Church following the death of John.
  iv. To provide a Galilean setting.
• This chapter might be the result of an editor, through the work of the Paraclete, who is clarifying the theological misunderstandings.

John 21:1-8

• 21:1, 14—This section contains an inclusio, where Jesus reveals Himself in 21:1 and is revealed in 21:14.
• 21:2; cf. 17:11—This is a fascinating trick because he leaves two disciples unnamed. The idea, however, is that the disciples are together as a community (Talbert, p. 269).
• 21:3—Brown says that Peter is expressing more than “momentary intention: Peter is going back to his earlier way of life and will stay with it” (1970, p. 1069).

John 21:9-14

• 21:9; cf., 18:18—John points out that Jesus has stated a “charcoal fire.”
• 21:11—This is the same language as when Jesus talked about drawing all men unto Himself.
  a. The number 153 (12 squared + 3 squared) is symbolic for a universal catch of fish, which makes this an image of the Church’s mission to the world.
  i. Jerome says that “Greek zoologists had recorded 153 different kinds of fish,” and Augustine says that 153 is the “sum of all numbers from 1 to 17 (Brown, 1970, p. 1074).
  ii. Morris, however, says that “must confess to being completely unimpressed” with any interpretation and decides “to view the number as a fisherman’s record of a fact” (p. 765; cf., Robinson, p. 164).
  b. The untorn net reflects back onto the untorn robe of Jesus, and serves as a symbol for the Church (Bruce, p. 402-404; Talbert, p. 270).
• 21:12—The resurrected Jesus invites the Church to “come and eat.”
  a. There does appear to be Eucharistic language at work here (Cullman, 1978, p. 15-17).
  b. Without Acts, we would still have Jesus standing on the shore directing the mission of the Church.
  c. If we commit ourselves to full-time ministry, then God will provide for us. If we commit ourselves to maintaining our security, then we will never find peace and contentment.

John 21:15-19

• It appears that John uses agapao and phileo interchangeably for “love” in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.
• 21:18; cf., 13:36-38—The phrase “stretch out your hands” was symbolic for being crucified
• Legend of Peter’s death by crucifixion in Rome (Quo Vadis, Domini? legend—Acts of Peter 35-40).

John 21:20-25

• 21:20-23—Was there a question about John being immortal?
• 21:24-25—This positions us to stand within the Apostolic tradition and allows us to hold fast to the truth. The Gnostics claimed to have a true oral tradition, however it was Irenaeus who said that the ecclesiastical community has the true tradition because it was written down for us (Against Heresies 3.3.1).

References

Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI, Anchor Bible 29a (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970).

F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994).

Oscar Cullmann, Early Christian Worship, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978).

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev. ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

John A. T. Robinson, The Priority of Jesus (New York: HarperCollins, 1987).

Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, rev. ed., Reading the New Testament (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2005).