20 And when he had so said, he | shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the dignity, for the benefit of mankind, so now the Son would send forth those whom he had instructed and prepared for their ministry. They lacked only one endowment, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of Truth. But this had been promised, and Jesus now gave them renewed assurance that they should receive it. 22. Breathed on them. According to the prophetic manner of speaking by signs, or accompanying language by signs, Jesus breathed on his disciples, as an emblem and assurance of that spiritual influence soon to be imparted unto them. The word translated spirit means also wind, air, breath. The emblem was significant. See John iii. 8; Acts ii. 1—4. T Receive ye the Holy Ghost. The most natural interpretation would be, receive this gift now, were it not for the testimony in Acts i. 4, 5; ii. 1-4, 33. The true meaning appears to be, ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, to qualify you fully for the mission upon which I send you, ver. 21. Master had been crucified. They knew his body was missing. They had been told by Mary and the other women, that he was alive. But they did not believe. They probably assembled for consultation and mutual advice, concerning the amazing events which had occurred. They met in secret, with closed doors, through fear of the Jews; for though they had escaped apprehension with their Master, John xviii. 8, they feared that they should be the next victims. Stood in the midst. See note on Luke xxiv. 36, 39. His sudden appearance surprised and terrified them. Probably the doors were fastened as well as shut, to guard against intrusion by the Jews. But, however Jesus entered, whether miraculously or not, they seem not to have perceived him, until he stood in the midst of them, or in the centre of the room. They supposed him to be a spirit, or that the appearance was supernatural. But he speedily quieted their fears. Peace be unto you. This usual Jewish form of salutation was peculiarly appropriate. He desired to dispel 23. Whosesoever sins ye remit, &c, their fears, to calm their anxiety, and See notes on Matt. xvi. 19; xviii. 18to give them peace in the full assurance 20. It is the uniform belief of all Prothat he had been dead and was alive testant Christians that no man hath again. THe showed unto them his power to forgive sins, in the proper hands, &c. Thus exhibiting evidence sense of the terms. The apostles were of his identity. The disciples glad, commissioned to preach repentance and &c. That is, the ten who were present. the remission of sins in the name of They were convinced, and they were Jesus, Luke xxiv. 47. They were here glad, in the simple but expressive lan-empowered, by the assistance of the guage of the evangelist. Thomas was absent, ver. 24. Holy Ghost, to determine whether men so exercised faith and repentance as to become free from the power of sin, Acts ii. 38; xiii. 38, 39; also to retain the sins of unbelieving, ungodly men, or to pronounce them still under the power of sin and in bondage to iniquity. 21. As my Father, &c. Having repeated his invocation of peace, and further assured the hearts of his disciples, he reminded them that the time had arrived when they must commence the labor to which they were long before 24. Thomas-Didymus. The former ordained. As the Father sent the Son is the Hebrew and the latter the Greek to bear witness to the truth, John xviii. name of this apostle. The names have 37, to labor and suffer reproach and in-the same signification, namely, a twin. print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold See John xi. 16. ¶ Was not with them, &c. This is mentioned, to account for his unbelief. 25. Except I shall see, &c. We have here the most satisfactory evidence that the resurrection of Jesus was not believed by his disciples on slight or insufficient testimony. Had they confidently expected it, and believed the first intimation of it, there would be room to suspect some deception or delusion. But, instead of this, not one of the apostles would believe, until he received personal satisfaction. 26, 27. After eight days. Generally understood to mean the eighth day subsequent to the one last mentioned, or the succeeding Lord's day. It is not certain, however, that the day here mentioned was the first day of the week. Reach hither, &c. Unreasonable as the demand of Thomas may appear, yet he received the evidence he required, and obtained personal satisfaction that his Master was truly alive again. Faithless. This word here means simply incredulous. Be no longer unbelieving or doubtful; but examine and believe. 23. My Lord and my God. These words have been understood as ascribing supreme divinity to the Lord Jesus Christ. The argument is, that Thomas called him God, and was not rebuked but rather commended. I regard them rather as an exclamation of sudden wonder and surprise. Thomas was subject to strong and violent emotions, John xi. 16. And, having thus long refused to credit the annunciation that his Master had risen, when Jesus suddenly and unexpectedly stood before him, exhibiting his wounded hands, and feet, and side, he gave vent to his feelings, not in studied terms, expressive of well-grounded and clearly defined my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30 And many other signs faith, but in an unstudied, involuntary exclamation of surprise. Among the reasons which justify this interpretation, the following may be noticed. (1.) Thomas was a Jew. In common with the Jews, he believed that God was spiritual and invisible to mortal eyes. It is inconceivable that a wounded, mutilated body, even though reanimated, should be regarded by him as indicating the supreme God. (2.) None of the disciples had hitherto believed Jesus to be God. They confessed him to be the Son of God, and their confession was approved by him. Matt. xvi. 16, 17. His resurrection confirmed the fact of his Sonship, Rom. i. 4; but there is no evidence elsewhere that any apostle considered it a proof of his supreme divinity. (3.) John expressly states, in ver. 31, that the great fact designed to be proved by him is, "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." And he gives no intimation that he had proved or that he believed Jesus to be the supreme God. (4.) The question designed to be settled in the mind of Thomas, by this evidence afforded by Jesus, was not whether he were the true God, but whether he had risen from the dead. This was what Thomas would not believe without visible and tangible evidence, ver. 25. On this point he had the evidence he required, and announced his belief in the exclamation in the text. 29. Thou hast believed. That is, that I have risen from the dead; that I, who stand here, am the same person who was crucified and whose lifeless body was deposited in the tomb. ¶Blessed. Happy. The word may be understood as having the force of a comparative; more happy or blessed shall they be, who manifest a more reasonable and willing spirit than you have done, and who shall believe on proper and satis truly did Jesus in the presence of | mus, and Nathanael of Cana in his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. CHAPTER XXI. AFTER these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias: and on this wise shewed he himself. 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didyfactory evidence without requiring ocular demonstration. For the character of the evidence we have of the resurrection of our Lord, see note, end of Matt. xxviii. It is unreasonable to require more. Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6 And he said unto them, Cast nesareth. See notes on Matt. iv. 18; Luke v. 1. This was in Galilee, where Jesus had promised to meet his disciples. Matt. xxvi. 32; xxviii. 10, 16. Matthew gives a very brief account of this interview; Mark and Luke omit it altogether; hence John is more full, according to his usual custom. ¶ On this wise. In this manner. 30. Many other signs. Or, miracles. Many such are recorded by the other evangelists; and many, we have reason to believe, were never recorded. Each 2. There were together, &c. Most if evangelist related those which were not all of the disciples here named, were most strongly impressed on his mind; natives of Galilee, or resided there preexcept that John seems desirous to re-viously to their becoming disciples. late chiefly what was omitted by the others, both concerning_the_ discourses and the miracles of our Lord. 31. These are written. Namely, the foregoing; all contained in this gospel. That ye might believe, &c. The evangelist here announces the object of his whole labor, which was two-fold; (1.) To convince men that Jesus was the true Messiah; and for this purpose he urges the evidence of miracles most earnestly, as well as the language of our Lord. (2.) The ultimate object was to assist in imparting life to men through the influence of faith in the Son of God and in his truth. See notes on John iii. 15-17; v. 24; xvii. 17. This is the great design of the gospel, to purify the hearts of men, through faith, to turn them from sinfulness, and lead them to the practice of holiness, and the enjoyment of God's grace; in other words, to sanctify and save them. 3. Šimon Peter saith, &c. It was perfectly characteristic of this disciple, that he should take the lead, on this as on other occasions. ¶ Caught nothing. Their want of success, through the night, rendered the succeeding miracle, ver. 6, more apparent and striking. 4. The disciples knew not, &c. They were about twenty rods from the shore, ver. 8; and, although it was morning, perhaps it was yet very early, not fully light; in which case they may not have been able clearly to distinguish his features. It is not necessary to suppose he appeared in any unusual form. 5. Children. This word is frequently used as a term of endearment. John, in his Epistles, almost uniformly addresses his brethren in this affectionate manuer. Meat. That is, food of any kind. 6. Right side. No reason is assigned why this side was named, rather than the other. Some have supposed it was the side nearest the shore, and 1. Sea of Tiberias. Otherwise call- apparently less likely to afford any fish. ed the Sea of Galilee and Lake of Gen-¶ Not able to draw it, &c. To their CHAPTER XXI. the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked) and did cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little ship (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits) dragging the net with fishes. utter astonishment, they enclosed a large draught of fishes. They were satisfied at once that miraculous power had been exerted, for they had toiled for several hours previously and caught nothing, ver. 3. 7. That disciple. Namely, John the evangelist. See note on John xiii. 23. T It is the Lord. His conclusion was natural, for many reasons. (1.) He was expecting to meet Jesus at or near that place. (2.) He knew none other who possessed such miraculous power. (3.) He doubtless recollected a previous miracle of the same kind, which he witnessed, and on that same lake, Luke v. 1-11. Without hesitation, therefore, he expressed his belief that the person who had directed them again to cast their net was the Lord. Girt his fisher's coat. Probably a coarse, outer garment, worn by fishermen, when engaged in their labor; though, from what follows, it appears that it had been thrown off. ¶ Naked. We need not understand that he was entirely naked; but only that he was not fully clothed. He was naked, with respect to this coat. T Did cast himself, &c. He was too impatient to wait the slow motion of the boat, cumbered as it was with the multitude of fishes. 8. Two hundred cubits. About twenty rods. 9. They saw a fire, &c. It is not asserted that this fire, and fish, and bread, were provided by miracle, yet it seems natural to conclude that such was the fact; for no intimation is given 9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and tak that any other persons were engaged in fishing or otherwise, near that place; and from the manner in which the circumstance is here introduced, the most obvious inference is that the preparation was made by our Lord. 10. Bring of the fish. Bring some of the fish now taken, that there may be a provision for the bodily wants of all. 11. Peter went up, &c. It does not distinctly appear whether Peter went ashore, ascending from the water, or whether he reäscended the vessel, and thus assisted in drawing the net to the shore. The latter is more probable, as it is likely he arrived at the shore before those who remained in the vessel; and all seem to have come to land, before this command was given, ver. 9. But the net was not yet drawn from the water. TA hundred and fifty and three. This was an unusual number, and they were great fishes. The writer gives the exact number, as he was present, and probably assisted in counting them. A fanciful imagination might find in this miracle an intimation of the success which should attend the ministry of the apostles; for they were denominated "fishers of men." Matt. iv. 19. 12. Come and dine. The Greek word here used is applied to the breakfast as well as dinner; and such is the meal here designated, for it was early in the morning, ver. 4. ¶ Durst ask him. Or, asked them. They knew him; but, from the time of his resurrection, eth bread, and giveth them, and Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the 15 So when they had dined, they were awed by his unearthly char-rately comparing his love with theirs. acter, and did not venture upon the same freedom in conversation which they had formerly indulged. 13. Taketh bread, and giveth them, &c. It is not said that Jesus himself ate either the fish or bread. Yet it seems probable he did. For one object of the interview was to confirm their faith in his resurrection. And, on a similar occasion, for the express purpose of affording such confirmation of faith, he called for food, and ate in their presence a piece of broiled fish and of a honey-comb." Luke xxiv. 41-43. It is proper to conclude therefore that he ate, in like manner, on this occasion. 66 14. The third time. See John xx. 19, 26. He had previously appeared to Mary Magdalene, John xx. 14; but none of the apostles being then present, that appearance is not here reckoned. This was the third time, recorded by this evangelist, in which Jesus was seen by his disciples or apostles, after he rose from the dead. For a further examination of the various appearances of our Lord, see note at the end of this chapter. 15. Lovest thou me more than these? Commentators and critics agree that this question capable of two interpretations, equally consistent with the language used. (1.) It may mean, Lovest thou me more than thou lovest these things, that is, thy boats and fishing apparatus? in other words, Lovest thou me more than thou lovest thine earthly possessions? and art thou willing to forsake them for my sake and the gospel's? (2.) It may mean, Lovest thou me more than these persons? or, Lovest thou me more ardently, more devotedly, than these my other apostles love me? The true meaning is to be sought from other circumstances than the language used, which is consistent with either. The former opinion is advocated by Pearce, Whitby, and others, chiefly on the ground that it would be unreasonable for Jesus to ask Peter whether his love exceeded that of the other apostles, inasmuch as he had no means of accu The latter is advocated by Hammond, Lightfoot, Rosenmüller and others, who reply to the foregoing objection, that Jesus does not inquire concerning an absolute matter of fact, but concerning Peter's opinion. He had formerly professed to cherish a more firm attachment to his Master and a more unreserved devotion to his service than any of his associates; he had declared that, though all others should stumble, he would preserve his integrity, and follow Jesus even unto death. Matt. xxvi. 33; John xiii. 37. Subsequently, he had not only deserted his Master, as did also the others, but he had three times renounced and denied him, adding profanity to his disloyalty and falsehood. Matt. xxvi. 69-75. Jesus is understood here to in quire what effect had been produced on his mind by these events; whether he were as self-confident as before; whether he still believed himself more affectionate, more devoted, more ready to do and suffer for his Lord, than the others were. ¶ Thou knowest that I love thee. Peter had become convinced that Jesus knew the human heart. He appealed to him, therefore, that he loved sincerely. But how different this from the former boasting Peter! He did not pretend to compare his love with that of others. He only professed his own; and appealed to Jesus that it was sincere. The word rendered love is not the same which occurs in the question; but for what reason does not appear, as they are considered to be synonymous in signification. Feed. Provide sustenance. The figure is taken from the pastoral life, and the word indicates the duty of a shepherd to provide pasturage for his flock. T Lambs. Our Lord often designated his followers as sheep, himself being the shepherd. See, for example, John x. 1-16. By the word lambs, he may be understood to refer either to the young in years, or to those newly brought into the fold, recent converts, "babes in Christ," who need to be fed with milk rather than with meat. |