John 21
John 21 is the twenty-first and final chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains an account of a post-crucifixion appearance in Galilee, which the text describes as the third time when Jesus had appeared to his disciples. In the course of this chapter, there is a miraculous catch of 153 fish, the confirmation of Peter's love for Jesus, a foretelling of Peter's death, and a comment about the beloved disciple's future.
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:- Papyrus 66
- Papyrus 109
- Codex Vaticanus
- Codex Sinaiticus
- Papyrus 122
- Codex Bezae
- Codex Alexandrinus
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus
- Papyrus 59.
Later addition?
Scholarly discussions
This chapter, like the Pericope Adulterae, is present in all extant manuscripts. Some scholars argue that John 21 was a later addition by either the author of chapters 1-20 or some later redactor, although a growing minority view it to be part of the earliest text. However, ancient manuscripts that contain the end of John 20 also contain text from John 21, so there is no conclusive manuscript evidence for this theory. Arguments in favour of the "later addition" hypothesis include:- John 20:30–31 could have been 'the original ending of the gospel, which is repeated in an exaggerated version in.' 20:30–31 summarizes the many signs which Jesus performed for his followers, not all of which could be recorded in the Gospel.
- The Restoration of Peter emphasises the ecclesiastical leadership of Peter, which may indicate that this addition was intended to take a side in 'a later discussion on competing claims of apostolic authorities', especially in, in which Jesus instructs Peter to 'Tend my sheep!', meaning to lead the flock as a pastor.
- The part about the disciple whom Jesus loved 'underlines the authority of the special tradition of this gospel as the report of an eyewitness'. In particular, [|21:24] shows a close resemblance to the earlier comment about the reliability of the eyewitness in. Koester argues this assertion to be at odds with the Doubting Thomas story, though Goodacre and Mendez note the claim to being a witness by the narrator in pervious chapters is consistent with 21.
- In Against Praxeas 25.4, the Church Father Tertullian wrote, "And wherefore does this conclusion of the gospel affirm that these things were written unless it is that you might believe, it says, that Jesus Christ is the son of God?", which describes the end of Chapter 20, not Chapter 21.
- No existing manuscript of the Gospel of John omits chapter 21.
- Westcott proposed a theory that the author simply decided to add an additional incident at some time after writing the book, but before final publication. In this view, the redactor and the original author are the same person.
- Donald Guthrie commented: 'It is unlikely that another author wrote this section since there are several points of contact in it with the style and language of previous chapters.' Nicholas Elder, who views the passage as a later addition, also argues that the author of John 21 was connected to the author of John 1-20.
- Paul N. Anderson and Ben Witherington III argue that the appendix was added after the disciple whom Jesus loved had died, at which point the gospel reached its final form.
Manuscript evidence
Novum Testamentum Graece and the United Bible Societies provide the critical text for John 21.
In 2006, following the discovery of a 4th-century Sahidic papyrus manuscript some scholars speculated that such text may end at 20:31, but this is not conclusive due to its fragmentary state.
Contents
Breakfast by the Sea of Tiberias (verses 1–14)
Verses 1–2
Of these seven disciples, the last two remain unnamed. Ernst Hengstenberg suggests they may have been Andrew and Philip, whereas Heinrich Meyer suggests they were non-apostolic disciples from the wider group of those who followed Jesus.Verse 3
The King James Version adds "immediately". The additional word ευθυς in the Textus Receptus and other editions runs contrary to manuscript testimony.Verse 4
The setting was in the "early morning", or at dawn. Alfred Plummer notes that a better translation is "Jesus came and stood on the beach.Verse 5
Several translations replace "children" with "friends". The Greek is παιδια : Verna Holyhead suggests that the intention is the same as Jesus' direction to "my children", who "still have much to learn", in John 13:33.Verse 11
Two points about the catch of fish are emphasized here:- there were 153 large fish in the net.
- even with so many, the net was not torn.
The number 153 is the 17th triangular number, as well as the sum of the first five positive factorials, and is associated with the geometric shape known as the Vesica Piscis or Mandorla, which Archimedes, in his Measurement of a Circle, referred to in the ratio 153/265 as constituting the "measure of the fish", being an imperfect representation of 1/. Augustine of Hippo argued the significance of 153 being the sum of the first 17 integers is that 17 represents the combination of divine grace and law.
Verse 14
Irish Archbishop John McEvilly suggests the count is based on Jesus' appearances to his disciples "collectively".Jesus restores Peter (verses 15–19)
Jesus restores Peter to fellowship after Peter had previously denied him, and tells Peter to feed Jesus' sheep. This restoration of Peter occurs in verses 21:15–19.The disciple whom Jesus loved (verses 20–23)
The description of the "beloved disciple's" fate is presented as an aside to Peter. Jesus says that it is not Peter's concern, even if Jesus should wish that that disciple remain alive until the end of time. The following verse clarifies that Jesus did not say "This disciple will not die", but that it was not for Peter to know.The last appearance of the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' in this Gospel, together with his first appearance in chapter 1 form a literary "inclusio of eyewitness testimony" to privilege this witness over Peter's, not to denigrate Peter's authority, but rather to claim a distinct qualification as an 'ideal witness' to Christ, because he survives Peter and bears his witness after Peter. Bauckham notes the occurrence of at least two specific words in the narratives of both the first and the last appearance of this disciple: "to follow" and "to remain/stay". In the first chapter verse it is stated that "Jesus turned, and seeing them following , said to them, "What do you seek?"", then in verse they "remained with Him that day". In John 21, the last appearance of the 'Disciple whom Jesus loved' is indicated using similar words: in verse it is written that "Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following ", then in verse "Jesus said to him , "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" The appearances are also close to Peter's, as the first one, along with Andrew, happened just before Peter's, who was then given the name 'Cephas', and the last one, just after Jesus' dialogue with Peter, acknowledging the significance of Peter's testimony within "the Petrine's inclusio", which is also found in the Gospel of Mark and Luke.