Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:john Chapter 21 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of john, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
John 21
New Revised Standard Version
1After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
3Simon 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.
4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No."
6He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
7That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.
8But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.
12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.
13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."
16A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."
17He said to him the third time, "Simon son of time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go."
19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
20Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?"
21When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"
23So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"
24This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
25But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. ACTS
240ACTS Introduction The book of Acts tells a dramatic story of the birth and expansion of the church from the time of the ascension of Jesus until the arrival of Paul in Rome. Written from the perspective of the late first century CE, Acts alone among the documents of the earliest Christian period offers a narrative sequel to the accounts of Jesus' words and deeds found in the Gospels. Its author, identified by tradition as Luke, had already produced the Gospel (1.1-2). His purpose in writing again was more than a matter of antiquarian interest, although Acts can be appropriately compared with other Hellenistic historical monographs. The account was intended to imbue Christians of his day with an unshakable confidence in their future through a didactic survey of their past. In carrying out that overarching purpose, it addresses and tries to solve potential and actual social and theological problems brought about by the church's relationship to its Jewish heritage and its Roman cultural and political environment. Luke sought to clarify both how the church was faithful to the God of the Bible and how Christianity was not incompatible with citizenship in the Roman Empire. Luke also devotes considerable attention to Paul, constructing for Christians of a post-Pauline era an image of this important figure consistent with and supportive of the stance taken on Jewish and Roman concerns in the book. As a title, Acts of the Apostles is clearly a misnomer, since Peter is the only apostle who receives individualized portrayal. Nevertheless, it does capture one of the key concepts of the book, namely, that the apostles guarantee continuity with Jesus through their status as witnesses to everything that happened during his ministry (1.21-22); this testimony applies above all to his resurrection (10.39-41). The plot line of Acts begins with the ascension of Jesus, and the narrative first portrays the life and dynamic growth of the primitive community in ACTS
241Jerusalem, energized by the Spirit and led by Peter and the apostles up through the martyrdom of Stephen (chs 1-7). The persecution initiated upon Stephen's death results in mission activity outside Jerusalem highlighted by approaches to non-Jews (ch 8). After narrating the conversion of Saul/Paul (ch 9), Peter is represented as the individual through whom God establishes the inclusion of the Gentiles (10.1-11.18). Next the early missionary tour of Barnabas and Paul on behalf of Antioch is narrated (11.19-14.28), along with a story about Peter's miraculous escape from death (ch 12). The center of the book recounts the apostolic council's vindication of the efforts to free the Gentile mission from the requirements of Jewish ritual law (ch 15). Then Paul's further missionary travels are depicted (15.36-21.26) in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Miletus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem. Finally, the book portrays Paul's arrest, imprisonment, and trials in Jerusalem and Caesarea, and his transfer to Rom (21.27-28.31), closing with the uplifting image of Paul, while under house arrest, preaching and teaching without hindrance in the capital city of the empire. For Luke, who was most likely a Gentile Christian, the fact that God's promises in scripture had been made to the ancient people of God required that the church stand in continuity with Israel. But the experience of unbelief among Jews and the abandonment of ritual observance in the mission to the Gentiles threatened to compromise the integrity of this history. Luke responds by depicting the earliest Christians as faithful Jews in Jerusalem until persecution pushes them out. Then, by means of multiple elaborations of the Cornelius episode (10.1-48; 11.1-18; 15.7-9) and of the story of Paul's conversion (9.1-19; 22.416; 26.9-18), he stresses that the entrance of Gentiles into the church is nothing less than an act of God, and so by definition in continuity with Israel's history. Nevertheless, Luke's ideal Gentile convert is one who continues to practice Jewish piety (10.2), and Gentile Christians are urged to adhere to behavior that would permit association with Jews (15.20). Luke's portrayal of Paul's constant visits to synagogues and his Jewish lifestyle serve to reinforce this maintenance of continuity with Jewish roots. ACTS
242One consequence of Luke's larger narrative goals is that his understanding of Paul stands in considerable tension with biographical and theological details in Paul's own letters. This raises doubts about the traditional identification of Luke as a companion of Paul. That connection was based on speculation centered on the appearance of Luke's name in Philem
24and some letters attributed to Paul (Col 4.14;
2Tim 4.11) in combination with certain "clues" found in the text of Acts. Irenaeus (ca. 130-200 CE) found in the so-called "we" passages (16.10-17; 20.5-15; 21.1-18; 27.1-28.16) proof that Luke was Paul's inseparable collaborator. But it is far from clear that these curious firstperson plural passages reveal any firsthand knowledge of Paul on the part of the author. Indeed, to raise ony one of the numerous difficulties, Luke's denial of the status "apostle" to Paul in Acts is a bit of literary license almost unimaginable for an actual companion of "Paul the apostle" (Gal 1.1). It is reasonable to date Acts sometime after Luke's Gospel, which may be placed around 85-95 CE. Luke's geographical location is uncertain. Ancient tradition placed him in Antioch, but his obvious attachment to Paul and Pauline tradition could indicate his connection to one of the cities of the Pauline mission around the Aegean. Paul's image had already undergone revision by Luke's day (cf. the Pastoral epistles of
1and
2Timothy and Titus), and Luke did not hesitate to portray Paul as subject to the law in line with his understanding of the continuity of the history of Israel and the church. Moreover, according to Luke it is not Paul's theological argument but the conversion of Cornelius through Peter, ratified by the apostolic council, that establishes the freedom of Gentile Christians from the law. Discrepancies between the Paul of Acts and the Paul of the epistles have long been recognized. Such contradictions arise because Acts preserves an image of Paul from a period several decades after his death. Paul's role in Acts is thus dictated not only by the biographical details of his life but also by the needs of Luke's theology. Luke offers no guidance concerning the origins of the information upon which the narrative presented in Acts is based. He appears to have relied on a mixture of traditional information uncovered by his own investigation (cf. Lk 11.3) and his imagination of how the founding ACTS
243events unfolded in Jerusalem. In line with the general practice of Hellenistic historians, Luke filled his narrative with speeches appropriate to significant occasions. These speeches, which amount to nearly one-third of the total text, are properly regarded as Luke's literary creations, inserted into the narrative to instruct and please the reader. They serve a subsidiary goal of demonstrating the substantial unity of the earliest Christian preaching, even as they embody Luke's own interpretation of the "events" surrounding the emergence of the church. Apart from any value Acts has a work of history, it is an important example of early Christian theology. Luke develops the idea of the church as a historical entity with its own distinctive period. Moreover, the earliest church, by being confined to Jerusalem, is set apart from the church of Luke's day. The ideal and unrepeatable structures of the early community are accounted for by the presence of the apostles and eyewitnesses. Luke's concern to highlight the continuity between Israel and the church is expressed by the continued observance of Jewish practices in the early period, implicitly in contrast to Luke's later situation. The gap between Luke's generation and the primitive time is bridged by the endorsement of the Gentile mission in the deliberations of the apostolic council and the promulgation of the apostolic decree (15.20, 29; 21.25). The latter pronouncement may have been of practical value for Luke's community in particular, creating the conditions necessary to allow table fellowship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Luke's portrayal of Christianity's close ties to Judaism also bolsters his appeal to Roman officials not to concern themselves with "internal theological disputes" (25.19, 20). Acts portrays influential Romans expressing interest in Christianity (13.12; 19.31), or at least substantiating that it poses no threat to the state (18.15; 19.37; 23.29; 25.25; 26.32). In this way Luke demonstrates the nonsubversive nature of the church, possibly in an effort to convince Roman citizens of his own day that nothing stood in the way of their membership in the Christian community. Key among the factors promoting continuity within the church itself throughout the narrative are the descriptions of the church's proclamation and teaching about Jesus and the constancy of the ACTS
244presence of the Spirit as the prime mover at the crucial junctures of early ecclesiastical history (e.g., 8.29; 10.19; 16.6-7). Yet in Acts it is God who occupies the dominant place. Jesus is described as a man whom God legitimated by mighty works, wonders, and signs (2.22). The view of Christ's death as atoning occurs only once in an expression taken over from the tradition (20.28). The focal point of salvation is the resurrection, which is marked as the crucial turning point of history. The combination of all these forces allows Luke to portray the successful expansion of the early Christian mission throughout the Roman Empire under the direction of the Spirit according to the purpose of God.