John 21:20-25

Peter and the Disciple Jesus Loved

21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. ¹  (This was the disciple ²  who had leaned back against Jesus’ ³  chest at the meal and asked, ⁴  “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”) ⁵  21:21 So when Peter saw him, ⁶  he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 21:22 Jesus replied, ⁷  “If I want him to live ⁸  until I come back, ⁹  what concern is that of yours? You follow me!” 21:23 So the saying circulated ¹⁰  among the brothers and sisters ¹¹  that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live ¹²  until I come back, ¹³  what concern is that of yours?”

A Final Note

21:24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 21:25 There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, ¹⁴  I suppose the whole world ¹⁵  would not have room for the books that would be written. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

² tn The words “This was the disciple” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity.

³ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “and said.”

⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁶ tn Grk “saw this one.”

⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

⁸ tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

⁹ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

¹⁰ tn Grk “went out.”

¹¹ tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).

¹² tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

¹³ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

¹⁴ tn Grk “written”; the word “down” is supplied in keeping with contemporary English idiom.

¹⁵ tn Grk “the world itself.”

¹⁶ tc Although the majority of mss (C² Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat) conclude this Gospel with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”), such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, excellent and early witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B C*^,3 D W 1 33 pc it), lack the particle, rendering no doubt as to how this Gospel originally ended.