View source for John 21

{{About|the chapter of the Bible|Pope John 21|Pope John XXI}}
{{New Testament chapter short description}}
{{Bible chapter|letname= John 21 |previouslink= John 20 |previousletter= chapter 20 |nextlink= Acts 1 |nextletter= Acts 1 |book= [[Gospel of John]] |biblepart=[[New Testament]] | booknum= 4 |category= [[Gospel]] | filename= Papyrus122.jpg|size=200px |caption=<div style="width: 250px; text-align: center; line-height: 1em">John 21:11–14, 22–24 in [[Papyrus 122]] (4th/5th century)</div>}}
'''John 21''' is the twenty-first and final [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|chapter]] of the [[Gospel of John]] in the [[New Testament]] of the [[Christian Bible]]. It contains an account of a [[Resurrection of Jesus#Biblical accounts|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 [[Restoration of Peter|confirmation of Peter's love for Jesus]], a foretelling of [[Saint Peter|Peter]]'s death, and a comment about the [[Disciple whom Jesus loved|beloved disciple]]'s future. 
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== Text ==
The original text was written in [[Koine Greek]]. [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|This chapter is divided into]] 25 verses.

=== Textual witnesses ===
Some early [[biblical manuscript#New Testament manuscripts|manuscripts]] containing the text of this chapter are:<ref name=johannine>[http://catholic-resources.org/John/Papyri.html Papyri and Manuscripts related to the Gospel and Epistles of John] in ''The Johannine Literature Web'' at Catholic-Resources.org.</ref>
*[[Papyrus 66]] ({{circa}} AD 200; extant verses 1–9, 12, 17)<ref>Victor Martin, ''Papyrus Bodmer II: Evangile de Jean chap. 1–14'' (Cologny-Geneva: Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, 1956), 15–18.</ref>
*[[Papyrus 109]] (3rd century; extant verses 18–20, 23–25)<ref>Comfort, P. W., & Barrett, D. P. (2001). The text of the earliest New Testament Greek manuscripts, p. 653</ref>
*[[Codex Vaticanus]] (325–350)
*[[Codex Sinaiticus]] (330–360; complete)
*[[Papyrus 122]] (4th/5th century; extant verses 11–14, 22–24)<ref name = INTF>{{Cite web|url=http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=10122|title=Liste Handschriften|publisher=Institute for New Testament Textual Research|access-date=15 August 2011|location=Münster}}</ref>
*[[Codex Bezae]] ({{circa}} 400)
*[[Codex Alexandrinus]] (400–440)
*[[Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus]] ({{circa}} 450; complete)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gallica|first=Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Grec 9|date=2012|title=Codex Ephræmi Syri rescriptus|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8470433r/f182.item|website=Folios 85r and 85v}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=WWU|first=Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF) /Eng. "Institute for New Testament Textual Research"|title=New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room - Workspace Doc ID 20004|url=http://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/manuscript-workspace?docID=20004|website=Folios 1350 (85r) and 1360 (85v)}}</ref>
*[[Papyrus 59]] (7th century; extant verses 7, 12–13, 15, 17–20, 23).<ref name = Aland>{{Cite book|last1=Aland |first1=Kurt |author-link=Kurt Aland | last2 = Aland | first2 = Barbara | author-link2 = Barbara Aland | others = Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.)
 |title=The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism  |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |year=1995  |location=Grand Rapids |pages=99–100  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pYDsAhUOxAC  |isbn=978-0-8028-4098-1}}</ref>

== Later addition? ==
=== Scholarly discussions ===
This chapter, like the ''[[Jesus and the woman taken in adultery|Pericope Adulterae]]'', {{bibleverse|John|21:1–25|NKJV}}, while present in all extant manuscripts, is also widely recognized as a later addition by either the author of chapters 1-20 or some later redactor,<ref name="Koester">{{Cite book |last=Koester |first=Helmut |date=2000 |title=Introduction to the New Testament |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=thXUHM5udTcC&pg=PA192 |location=Berlin |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |page=192 |isbn=978-3-11014970-8 |access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Marianne |title=John: A Commentary |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0664221119 |pages=432}}</ref> although a growing minority view it to be part of the earliest text.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Keith |first=Chris |title=The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0199384372 |pages=132}}</ref> 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 {{bibleverse|John|21:25|NKJV}}.'<ref name="Koester"/> 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]] ({{bibleverse|John|21:3–19|NKJV}}) emphasises the ecclesiastical leadership of [[Saint Peter|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 {{bibleverse|John|21:15–17|NKJV}}, in which Jesus instructs Peter to 'Tend my sheep!', meaning to lead the flock (=[[laity|lay people]]) as a [[Pastor#History|pastor]] (literally 'shepherd').<ref name="Koester"/> 
*The part about the [[disciple whom Jesus loved]] ({{bibleverse|John|21:20–24|NKJV}}) 'underlines the authority of the special tradition of this gospel as the report of an eyewitness'.<ref name="Koester"/> In particular, [[#Verse 24|21:24]] shows a close resemblance to the earlier comment about the reliability of the eyewitness in {{bibleverse|John|19:35|NKJV}}.<ref name="Koester"/> This assertion to the credibility of the gospel, with the claim that it is based on an eyewitness account, seems to be at odds with the climax of the original gospel, where, after [[Doubting Thomas]] comes to believe in Jesus's resurrection, those who believe ''without having seen'' are blessed above those who need evidence in order to believe ([[John 20:24]]–[[John 20:29|29]]).<ref name="Koester"/>
*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. <ref>Michael Lattke, “Joh 20 30 f. als Buchschluß”, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 78 (1987), 288-292</ref>

Scholars opposing a later addition by another author have argued the following:
*No existing manuscript of the Gospel of John omits chapter 21.<ref name="Koester"/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tr3Y7KrCaoMC&pg=PA258 Chris Keith, ''The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John, and the Literacy of Jesus''] (Brill 2009 {{ISBN|978-9-00417394-1}}), p. 258</ref>{{efn|The Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (27th ed.) as well as major translations of the [[New Testament]] (e.g. [[KJV]], [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]], [[NIV]], [[Revised Standard Version|RSV]], [[NRSV]]) retain chapter 21 in their editions as original.}}
*[[Brooke Foss Westcott|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.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
*[[Donald Guthrie (theologian)|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.'<ref>[[Inter-Varsity Press|IVP]] New Bible Commentary.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elder |first=Nicholas |title=Gospel Media |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2024 |isbn=9780802879219 |pages=532}}</ref>
*[[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.<ref>John, Jesus, and History, Volume 2, p. 210 p. 245</ref>

===Manuscript evidence===
In an essay contributed on behalf of scholars unconvinced of any decisive sense of "originality" to John 21 (published in 2007), [[Jesuit]] author Felix Just wrote: "We (unfortunately!) do not possess any ancient manuscript of John that actually ends at {{bibleverse-nb|John|20:31|KJV}}."<ref>
Felix Just, 'Combining Key Methodologies in Johannine Studies', in Tom Thatcher (ed), ''What We Have Heard from the Beginning: The Past, Present, and Future of Johannine Studies'', ([[Baylor University|Baylor University Press]], 2007), p. 356.</ref> In other words, ancient manuscripts that contain the end of John 20 also contain text from John 21. So if John 21 is an addition, it was so early (which is not in doubt: part of John 21 appears in [[Papyrus 66|P66]]) and so widespread, that no evidence of the prior form has survived.

''[[Novum Testamentum Graece]]'' (NA28) and the [[United Bible Societies]] (UBS5) provide the critical text for John 21.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/novum-testamentum-graece-na-28/read-the-bible-text/|title=Read the Bible text :: academic-bible.com|website=www.academic-bible.com}}</ref>

In 2006, following the discovery of a 4th-century [[Sahidic]] papyrus manuscript (Bodleian MS. Copt.e.150(P)) some scholars speculated that such text may end at 20:31,<ref>Gesa Schenke, 'Das Erscheinen Jesu vor den Jüngern und der ungläubige Thomas: Johannes 20, 19–31' in Louis Painchaud and Paul-Hubert Poirier, eds, Coptica – Gnostica – Manichaica: Mélanges offerts à [[Wolf-Peter Funk]] (Les presses de l'Université Laval / Peeters, 2006) pp. 893–904.</ref> but this is not conclusive due to its fragmentary state.<ref>{{cite book|last = Kok | first = Michael J.| title= The Beloved Apostle?: The Transformation of the Apostle John into the Fourth Evangelist| publisher = Wipf and Stock Publishers| year = 2017| isbn= 9781532610219| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RIU_DwAAQBAJ|pages = 32 }}</ref>

== Contents ==
[[File:Spoleto074.jpg|thumb|240px|''Miraculous catch of 153 fish'' fresco in the [[Spoleto Cathedral]], Italy.]]

==={{Anchor|Verses 1–14}}Breakfast by the Sea of Tiberias (verses 1–14)===
{{see also|Miraculous catch of fish#153 fish}}

====Verses 1–2====
:''After these things, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself this way.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:1|NKJV}}: [[New King James Version|NKJV]]</ref>

:''Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of [[Cana]] in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:2|NKJV}}: NKJV</ref>
Of these seven [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]], the last two remain unnamed. [[Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg|Ernst Hengstenberg]] suggests they may have been [[Andrew the Apostle|Andrew]] and [[Philip the Apostle|Philip]], whereas [[Heinrich Meyer]] suggests they were non-apostolic disciples from the wider group of those who followed Jesus.<ref name=meyer>Meyer, H. A. W., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/john/21.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on John 21, accessed 7 December 2020</ref>

====Verse 3====
:''Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:2|ESV}}: [[English Standard Version]] (ESV)</ref>
The [[King James Version]] adds "immediately" (''[they] entered into a ship immediately'').<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:2|KJV}}: KJV</ref> The additional word ευθυς (''euthus'') in the [[Textus Receptus]] and other editions runs contrary to manuscript testimony.<ref name=meyer />

====Verse 4====
:''But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:4|NKJV}}: NKJV</ref>
The setting was in the "early morning",<ref>[[William Robertson Nicoll|Nicoll, W. R.]], [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/egt/john/21.htm Expositor's Greek Testament] on John 21, accessed 10 September 2022</ref> or at [[dawn]].<ref name=plummer>Plummer, A., (1902), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/john/21.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on John 21, accessed 10 September 2022</ref> Alfred Plummer notes that a better translation is "Jesus came and stood on the beach.<ref name=plummer />

====Verse 5====
:''Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No."''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:5|NKJV}}: NKJV</ref>
Several translations replace "children" with "friends" (e.g. the [[New Century Version]] and the [[New International Version]]). The Greek is παιδια (''paidia''): Verna Holyhead suggests that the intention is the same as Jesus' direction to "my children" (Greek: τεκνια, ''teknia''), who "still have much to learn", in [[John 13#Verse 33|John 13:33]].<ref>Holyhead, V. (2006), [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Welcoming-Word-Year-Burning-Hearts/dp/0814618340/ref=sr_1_1 Welcoming the Word in Year C: With Burning Hearts], p. 63, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota</ref>

====Verse 11====
[[File:153 Triangular.gif|thumb|240px|The number 153 is the sum of the first five positive [[factorial]]s (shown in different colors).]]
:''So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:11|ESV}}: ESV</ref>
Two points about the catch of fish are emphasized here:<ref name="11b_net">Note [b] on John 21:11 in ESV</ref>
# there were [[153 (number)|153]] large fish in the net. 
# even with so many, the net was not torn. 
Both are the kind of thing that would remain in the mind of a person who had witnessed them firsthand.<ref name="11b_net"/>

The number 153 is the 17th [[triangular number]], as well as the sum of the first five positive [[factorial]]s, and is associated with the geometric shape known as the ''[[Vesica Piscis]]'' (literally, "bladder of a fish") 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/{{radic|3}}.<ref>{{Citation| last = Heath| first = Thomas Little| year = 1897| title = The Works of Archimedes| location = Cambridge University| pages = ''lxxvii ''; 50| publisher = Cambridge University Press.| url = https://archive.org/details/worksofarchimede029517mbp | access-date = 2010-01-30}}</ref> [[Augustine of Hippo]] argued the significance of 153 being the sum of the first 17 [[integer]]s is that 17 represents the combination of [[divine grace]] (the [[seven gifts of the Holy Spirit]]) and law (the [[Ten Commandments]]).<ref>Jason Byassee, ''Praise Seeking Understanding: Reading the Psalms with Augustine'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007, p. 130, {{ISBN|0-8028-4012-4}}.</ref><ref>John E. Rotelle (ed) and Edmund Hill (tr), ''The works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century'', Part 3, Volume 7 (''Sermons: On the Liturgical Seasons''), p. 112, {{ISBN|1-56548-059-7}}.</ref>

====Verse 14====
:''This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:14|ESV}}</ref>
Irish Archbishop [[John McEvilly]] suggests the count is based on Jesus' appearances to his disciples "collectively".<ref>McEvilly, J. (1879), [https://www.ecatholic2000.com/macevilly2/untitled-110.shtml An Exposition Of The Gospels by The Most Rev. John Macevilly D.D.]: John 21, accessed 26 January 2024</ref>

==={{Anchor|Verses 15–19}}Jesus restores Peter (verses 15–19)===
{{main|Restoration of Peter}}
Jesus restores Peter to fellowship after Peter had previously [[Denial of Peter|denied him]], and tells Peter to feed Jesus' sheep. This restoration of Peter occurs in verses 21:15–19.

==={{Anchor|Verses 20–23}}The disciple whom Jesus loved (verses 20–23)===
[[File:The Gospel, St. John xxi 19.png|thumb|John 21:19–25 from the [[Book of Common Prayer (1845 illuminated version)|1845 illustrated ''Book of Common Prayer'']]]]
The description of the "[[beloved disciple]]'s" (normally assumed to be [[John the Apostle]]) fate is presented as an [[aside]] to [[Saint Peter|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 [[John 1|chapter 1]] form a literary "''inclusio'' of eyewitness testimony" to privilege this witness (in the [[Gospel of John]] [[#Verse 24|21:24]]) 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.{{sfn|Bauckham|2017|pp=128–129}}<ref>[[Richard Bauckham|Bauckham, R.]] "The Beloved Disciple as Ideal Author", ''JNST'' 49 (1993) 21-44; reprinted in S. E. Porter and C. A. Evans, eds., ''The Johannine Writings'' (Biblical Seminar 32; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1995) 46-68; ''apud'' Bauckham 2017, p. 128</ref> [[Richard Bauckham|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" ([[Koine Greek|Greek]]: {{Script/Greek|ἀκολουθέω}} '{{Strong-number|akoloutheó|G|190}}') and "to remain/stay" (Greek: {{Script/Greek|μένω}} '{{Strong-number|menó|G|3306}}').{{sfn|Bauckham|2017|p=128}} In [[John 1|the first chapter]] verse {{bibleref2-nb|John|1:38|NKJV}} it is stated that "Jesus turned, and seeing them following <span style="color:purple;">('akolouthountas')</span>, said to them, "What do you seek?"", then in verse {{bibleref2-nb|John|1:39|NKJV}} they "remained <span style="color:purple;">('emeinan')</span> with Him that day".{{sfn|Bauckham|2017|p=128}} In John 21, the last appearance of the 'Disciple whom Jesus loved' is indicated using similar words: in verse {{bibleref2-nb|John|21:20|NKJV}} it is written that "Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following <span style="color:purple;">('akolouthounta')</span>", then in verse {{bibleref2-nb|John|21:22|NKJV}} "Jesus said to him [Peter], "If I will that he remain <span style="color:purple;">('menein')</span> till I come, what is that to you?"{{sfn|Bauckham|2017|p=128}} The appearances are also close to Peter's, as the first one, along with [[Andrew the Apostle|Andrew]], happened just before Peter's, who was then given the name 'Cephas' (alluding to Peter's role after Jesus' departure), 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 [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] (see [[Luke 8#The Women who sustained Jesus|Luke 8 under "The Women who sustained Jesus"]]).{{sfn|Bauckham|2017|pp=129}}

=== Conclusion (verses 24–25) ===
The chapter and the whole book are closed by two verses referring to the author of the gospel in the third person ("We know that his testimony is true"):

==== Verse 24 ====
:''This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:24|ESV}}: ESV</ref>

==== Verse 25 ====
:''And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. [[Amen]].''<ref>{{bibleverse|John|21:25|NKJV}}: NKJV</ref>
It is unclear whether the beloved disciple is said to be the author of the gospel<ref name="Harris John">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" pp. 302–10</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Jesus Handbook |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2022 |isbn=9780802876928 |pages=234}}</ref> or if the author is claiming to be someone else recording the disciple’s testimony in John 21.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rodriguez |first=Rafael |title=Jesus Darkly: Remembering Jesus in the New Testament |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=9781501839115 |page=177}}</ref> Tom Thatcher argues that while the author of the final form of the text was not the beloved disciple, this observation does not entail reconstructions that put the author multiple stages or generations away from the disciple. Instead, he argues that the Fourth Evangelist was a companion of the beloved disciple who either wrote the gospel as dictated to him or used an earlier source attributed to the disciple shortly after his death.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Tom |title=The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0198739982 |pages=98}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[153 (number)]]
*[[Overview of resurrection appearances in the Gospels and Paul]]
*[[Pericope Adulterae]]
*Related [[Bible]] parts: [[Mark 16]], [[Luke 24]], [[John 1]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book| last=Bauckham| first= Richard | author-link= Richard Bauckham |title =Jesus and the Eyewitnesses | edition = 2nd | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing | year = 2017 | isbn = 9780802874313 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J2lAvgAACAAJ}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gospel of John - Chapter 21}}
*{{bibleverse|John|21|KJV}} King James Bible - Wikisource
*[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=1&b=4&c=21 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925200659/http://latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=1&b=4&c=21 |date=2020-09-25 }}
*[http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=John+21 ''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, [[Bible in Basic English]])
*[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=21 Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''] (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)

{{sequence
| prev = [[John 20]]
| list = Chapters of the Bible<br />[[Gospel of John]]
| next = [[Acts 1|Acts of the Apostles 1]]
}}
{{Gospel of John}}

[[Category:Gospel of John chapters]]
[[Category:Galilee in the New Testament]]
[[Category:Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus]]
[[Category:Bible-related controversies]]