John 21:17-25

Context
21:17 Jesus¹ said² a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed³ that Jesus⁴ asked⁵ him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said,⁶ “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus⁷ replied,⁸ “Feed my sheep. 21:18 I tell you the solemn truth,⁹ when you were young, you tied your clothes around you¹⁰ and went wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up¹¹ and bring you where you do not want to go.” 21:19 (Now Jesus¹² said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter¹³ was going to glorify God.)¹⁴ After he said this, Jesus told Peter,¹⁵ “Follow me.”

Peter and the Disciple Jesus Loved

21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.¹⁶ (This was the disciple¹⁷ who had leaned back against Jesus’¹⁸ chest at the meal and asked,¹⁹ “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”)²⁰ 21:21 So when Peter saw him,²¹ he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 21:22 Jesus replied,²² “If I want him to live²³ until I come back,²⁴ what concern is that of yours? You follow me!” 21:23 So the saying circulated²⁵ among the brothers and sisters²⁶ 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 live²⁷ until I come back,²⁸ 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,²⁹ I suppose the whole world³⁰ would not have room for the books that would be written.³¹

[21:17] ¹tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17] ²tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17] ³tn Or “was sad.”

[21:17] ⁴tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17] ⁵tn Grk “said to.”

[21:17] ⁶tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17] ⁷tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially later ones (A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï), read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while B C have ᾿Ιησοῦς without the article and א D W Ë¹ 33 565 al lat lack both. Because of the rapid verbal exchange in this pericope, “Jesus” is virtually required for clarity, providing a temptation to scribes to add the name. Further, the name normally occurs with the article. Although it is possible that B C accidentally omitted the article with the name, it is just as likely that they added the simple name to the text for clarity’s sake, while other witnesses added the article as well. The omission of ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς thus seems most likely to be authentic. NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[21:17] ⁸tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[21:18] ⁹tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[21:18] ¹⁰tn Or “you girded yourself.”

[21:18] ¹¹tn Grk “others will gird you.”

[21:19] ¹⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19] ¹⁸tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:19] ¹⁹sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The phrase by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God almost certainly indicates martyrdom (cf. 1 Pet 4:16), and it may not predict anything more than that. But the parallelism of this phrase to similar phrases in John 12:33 and 18:32 which describe Jesus’ own death by crucifixion have led many to suggest that the picture Jesus is portraying for Peter looks not just at martyrdom but at death by crucifixion. This seems to be confirmed by the phrase you will stretch out your hands in the preceding verse. There is some evidence that the early church understood this and similar phrases (one of them in Isa 65:2) to refer to crucifixion (for a detailed discussion of the evidence see L. Morris, John [NICNT], 876, n. 52). Some have objected that if this phrase does indeed refer to crucifixion, the order within v. 18 is wrong, because the stretching out of the hands in crucifixion precedes the binding and leading where one does not wish to go. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:1108) sees this as a deliberate reversal of the normal order (hysteron proteron) intended to emphasize the stretching out of the hands. Another possible explanation for the unusual order is the Roman practice in crucifixions of tying the condemned prisoner’s arms to the crossbeam (patibulum) and forcing him to carry it to the place of execution (W. Bauer as cited by O. Cullmann in Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr [LHD], 88).

[21:19] ²⁰tn Grk “After he said this, he said to him”; the referents (first Jesus, second Peter) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:20] ²⁵tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[21:20] ²⁶tn The words “This was the disciple” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity.

[21:20] ²⁷tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:20] ²⁸tn Grk “and said.”

[21:20] ²⁹sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[21:21] ³³tn Grk “saw this one.”

[21:22] ⁴¹tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[21:22] ⁴²tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:22] ⁴³tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

[21:23] ⁴⁹tn Grk “went out.”

[21:23] ⁵⁰tn 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).

[21:23] ⁵¹tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:23] ⁵²tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

[21:25] ⁵⁷tn Grk “written”; the word “down” is supplied in keeping with contemporary English idiom.

[21:25] ⁵⁸tn Grk “the world itself.”

[21:25] ⁵⁹tc 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.