Section V. Epilogue (John 21:1-25)


James J. Tissot, ‘Jesus Christ Appears on the Shore of Lake Tiberias’ (1884-96), gouache on gray wove paper, 5-7/8” x 9-1/16”, Brooklyn Museum, New York.
James J. Tissot, 'Jesus Christ Appears on the Shore of Lake Tiberias' (1884-96), gouache on gray wove paper, 5-7/8" x 9-1/16", Brooklyn Museum, New York.

The Gospel is almost finished. There remains a scene on the beach at Galilee.

Many commentators believe that this was not part of the Gospel as it was first written, that it was written later -- and surely the final sentences, verses 24 and 25 were written by an editor, not John. The reasons that some see chapter 21 as an addition are two-fold:

  1. John 20:30-31 explaining the purpose of the Gospel, seem like the closing words. They wrap up the Gospel rather neatly.
  2. The reason for the addition, it is suggested, is to correct a misperception that John wouldn't die before Jesus comes (verses 22-23), and thus protect the church when the Apostle John eventually did die.

However, it's not that simple. Many others observe that:

  1. There is no break in style between the first 20 chapters and chapter 21.
  2. No ancient manuscript whosoever contains John's Gospel without chapter 21.
John's Gospel: A Discipleship Journey with Jesus, by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Entire study is available in paperback, Kindle, and PDF formats.

My own tentative conclusion is that all of chapter 21 -- except perhaps verses 24 and 25 -- were written by John himself. The reason for the seeming break between the chapters is primarily the time that followed by a few days or weeks the events of Holy Week that occupied chapters 13 through 20 of the Gospel, though they may have been written later.

John's Gospel: A Discipleship Journey with Jesus

Bkmrk

Copyright © 2023, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

Sign up now!To be notified about future articles, stories, and Bible studies, why don't you subscribe to our free newsletter,The Joyful Heart, by placing your e-mail address in the box below. We respect your privacy and never sell, rent, or loan our lists. Please don't subscribe your friends; let them decide for themselves.
FirstLast
E-mail
Country(2-letter abbreviation, such as US)
Preferred FormatHTML (recommended) Plain text