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| Jesus and the Fisherman |
John 21:20–25
20 Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” 23 The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Cited in the Catechism: In promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church, St. John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium." He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from this Gospel reading are cited in the Catechism paragraphs 515 and 878.
Commentary
21:20–23. According to St Irenaeus (Against Heresies, 2, 22, 5; 3, 3, 4), St John outlived all the other apostles, into the reign of Trajan ad 89–117). Possibly the evangelist wrote these verses to dispel the idea that he would not die. The important thing is not to be curious about what the future will bring but to serve the Lord faithfully, keeping to the way he has marked out for one.
Conclusion (21:24–25)
21:24. This is an appeal to the testimony of the disciple “whom Jesus loved” as a guarantee of the veracity of everything contained in the book: everything which this Gospel says should be accepted by its readers as being absolutely true.
Many modern commentators think that vv. 24 and 25 were added by disciples of the apostle, as a conclusion to the Gospel, when it began to be circulated, a short time after St John completed it. Be that as it may, the fact is that both verses are to be found in all extant manuscripts of the Fourth Gospel.
21:25. St John’s account, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has as its purpose the strengthening of our faith in Jesus Christ through reflecting on what our Lord said and did. Like the Fourth Gospel, we shall never be able to capture the full richness and depth of our Lord’s personality. “Once we begin to be interested in Christ, one’s interest can never cease. There is always something more to be known, to be said—infinitely more. St John the evangelist ends his Gospel making this very point (Jn 21:25). Everything to do with Christ is so rich, there are such depths for us to explore; such light, strength, joy, desire have their source in him. […] His coming to the world, his presence in history and culture and […] his vital relationship with our conscience: everything suggests that it is unseemly, unscientific and irreverent ever to think that we need not and cannot advance further in contemplation of Jesus Christ” (Paul VI, General Audience, 20 February 1974).
Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome
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