This saying therefore went out among the brothers, that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?”
Parallel Translations
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This saying therefore went out among the brothers, that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?”
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Then went this sayinge a broode amonge the brethren that that disciple shulde not dye. Yet Iesus sayde not to him he shall not dye: but yf I will that he tary tyll I come what is that to the?
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Then went this worde abroade among the brethren, that this disciple shoulde not die. Yet Iesus saide not to him, He shall not die: but if I will that he tarie till I come, what is it to thee?
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to John 21:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
- Job 33:13 Why do you strive against him, because he doesn’t give account of any of his matters?
- Daniel 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, “What are you doing?”
- Acts 1:15 In these days, Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty), and said,
- Job 28:28 To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 23. Then this saying went forth. The Evangelist relates…
23. Then this saying went forth. The Evangelist relates that, from misunderstanding Christ’s words, an error arose among the disciples, that John would never die. He means those who were present at that conversation, that is, the Apostles; not that the name brethren belongs to them alone, but that they were the first-fruits, as it were, of that holy union. It is also possible, that, besides the eleven, he refers to others who were at that time in company with them; and by the expression, went forth, he means that this error was spread in all directions; yet probably it was not of long duration, but subsisted among them, until, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they formed purer and more correct views of the kingdom of Christ, having laid aside carnal and foolish imaginations.
What John relates about the Apostles happens every day, and we ought not to wonder at it; for if Christ’s disciples, who belonged to his family and were intimately acquainted with him, were so egregiously mistaken, how much more are they liable to fall into mistakes, who have not been so familiarly instructed in the school of Christ? But let us also observe whence this fault arises. The teaching of Christ is useful, and for edification; that is, it is plain; but we obscure the light by our wicked inventions, which we bring to it from our own views. Christ had not intended to pronounce any thing certain or definite about John, but only to affirm that he had full power to decide about his life and death; so that the doctrine is simple and useful in itself, but the disciples imagine and contrive more than had been told them. Accordingly, in order that we may be safe from this danger, let us learn to be wise and to think soberly. But such is the wantonness of the human understanding, that it rushes with all its force into foolishness. The consequence was, that this very error, against which the Evangelist had expressly warned them to be on their guard, continued notwithstanding to gain currency in the world; for a fable has been contrived, that he ordered a ditch to be digged for him, and went down into it, and that next day it was found empty. We see, therefore, that we shall never cease to err, unless we unreservedly receive what the Lord hath taught us, and reject all inventions of men.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren,…
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Ver. 23. Among the brethren] So are all Christians. Sanctior est copula cordis quam corporis.
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That that disciple should not die] Some to this day deny that he is dead. Beza tells us of a certain impostor in his remembrance, that gave out at Paris that he was John the Evangelist, and was afterward burnt at Toulouse. Some have fabled, that after he had commanded his grave to be made, and had laid himself down in it, the next day it was found empty, and he raptured up alive into Paradise, whence he shall come together with Enoch and Elias at the last day to confound Antichrist. O quantum est in rebus inane! It is not for us to "follow cunningly devised fables," 2Pe 1:16, but to attend to that sure word of truth, as unto a light shining, &c., Joh 21:19, accounting every particle of it precious, since the change of one letter may breed so much error and cause so much contention.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain But the disciples, knowing the particular kindness our Saviour…
But the disciples, knowing the particular kindness our Saviour had for John, upon these words, not duly attended to, concluded John should abide upon the earth to the second coming of Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, how strangely our Saviour’s words were mistaken…
Observe here, how strangely our Saviour’s words were mistaken and misunderstood by his own disciples; they apprehend presently that John should not die, and so it passed current among them.
From hence we may note, how much the wisdom of God is, and ought to be admired, in giving us a written word, and tying us to it, when we see erroneous traditions so soon on foot in the world, and our Saviour’s own speeches so much mistaken, and that by wise and holy men themselves in the purest times. Much more may the words of others be misreported, and wrested contrary to their sense and meaning. How great then is the vanity and uncertainty of oral tradition! Men are naturally prone to mistake, to mistake themselves, and to mistake one another. The more to be admired is their over-daring ignorance, who think they cannot err. Such a haughty opinion of a man’s self, concludes him to be neither good nor wise.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then went this saying abroad among the brethren,.... It…
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren,.... It not being rightly understood by some one or more of the disciples present: it was divulged with a wrong sense annexed to it among other persons; who, though not of the eleven, yet were followers of Christ, children of God, that belonged to the same family, and were, in a spiritual relation, brethren to each other, and to the apostles:
that that disciple should not die; but should remain till the second coming of Christ, and be found among them that shall be then alive, and be changed. And such a notion not only was among the ancients; but Beza, in his notes on this text, tells us of a strolling wicked fellow, that gave out that he was the Apostle John; and was encouraged by some, particularly Postellus, a Sorbonic doctor, but was afterwards burnt at Tholouse.
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Yet Jesus said not unto him he shall not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? These are the words of John himself, the disciple spoken of, who gives a true and just account of Christ's words, freeing them from the false sense that was put upon them; which shows his ingenuous disposition, his integrity and love of truth; being unwilling that such an error should obtain among the disciples, and pass in the world for truth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The brethren -- that is, the Christians. Our Lord…
The brethren -- that is, the Christians. Our Lord himself taught them that appellation, chap. xx, 17. Yet Jesus did not say to him, that he should not die - Not expressly. And St. John himself, at the time of writing his Gospel, seems not to have known clearly, whether he should die or not.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then went this saying ... - This mistake arose…
Then went this saying ... - This mistake arose very naturally:
From the words of Jesus, which might be easily misunderstood to mean that he should not die; and, It was probably confirmed when it was seen that John survived all the other apostles, had escaped all the dangers of persecution, and was leading a peaceful life at Ephesus. This mistake John deemed it proper to correct before he died, and has thus left on record what Jesus said and what he meant.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain This saying, therefore:[4] that is, a report went about…
This saying, therefore:[4] that is, a report went about among the disciples, the John was not to die. But St. John himself, as St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom observe, took care to tell us, that Christ said not so. Nor do we find any sufficient grounds to think that St. John is not dead. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
St. Augustine, tract. 124. p. 819. D. Hanc opinionem Joannes ipse abstulit, non hoc dixisse Dominum, aperta contradictione declarans: cur emin subjungeret, non dixit Jesus, non moritur, nisi ne hominum cordibus quod falsum fuerat inhæreret? &c. So St. John Chrysostom says, he spoke this to prevent or correct this mistake. p. 528. Greek: diorthoutai.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that…
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die--into which they the more easily fell from the prevalent expectation that Christ's second coming was then near at hand.
yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die--The Evangelist is jealous for His Master's honor, which his death might be thought to compromise if such a misunderstanding should not be corrected.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. That that disciple should not die—Many in the…
23. That that disciple should not die—Many in the apostolic Church put upon Jesus’s words the first meaning, namely, his living to the Second Advent; which was the true and yet the mistaken meaning. True, because it truly was not Peter’s concern if that result really took place; and mistaken, because that result did not take place. Thus John’s contemporaries are left by him to interpret the words upon their own responsibilities. They inferred that for John to live to the Advent was to escape death completely. But John, as if to disclaim all false pretensions, and dissipate all false conceptions, publishes the words just as they were uttered, and declines all interpretation. He gives the text and refuses to give any commentary. And that there may be no responsibility on his shoulder, he takes care to repeat the very identical words, and leave the matter with the reader. Did John know? His inspiration is no proof that he did know; for inspiration is as truly, though not as narrowly, limited as natural knowledge. Inspiration only knows so far as is revealed; and who knows that the meaning of these words was revealed to John? Whatever he expected, he lived peacefully at Ephesus until about the close of the first century, nearly if not quite a century old. He was buried in that city, and some of the Fathers profess to have seen his tomb. Many in Augustine’s day fancied that John lived in his own tomb, and that the earth above him heaved with his respiration. Stier tells us that the celebrated Lavater professed to have revelation of the fact, that John still lives on earth!
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. Then went this saying] This saying therefore went.
23. Then went this saying] This saying therefore went.
abroad among] Literally, forth unto: comp. Mat_9:26; Mar_1:28; Rom_10:8.
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the brethren] This phrase, common in the Acts (Joh_9:30, Joh_11:1; Joh_11:29, Joh_15:1; Joh_15:3; Joh_15:22-23, &c.), is not used elsewhere in the Gospels for believers generally; but we see the way prepared for it in the Lord’s words to the disciples (Mat_23:8), to S. Peter (Luk_22:32), and to Mary Magdalene (Joh_20:17).
should not die] Literally, doth not die; so also ‘shall not die’ in the next clause. The mistake points to a time when Christians generally expected that the Second Advent would take place in their own time; and the correction of the mistake points to a time when the Apostle was still living. If this chapter was added by another hand after the Apostle’s death it would have been natural to mention his death, as the simplest and most complete answer to the misunderstanding. The cautious character of the answer given, merely pointing out the hypothetical form of Christ’s language, without pretending to explain it, shews that the question had not yet been solved in fact. Thus we are once more forced back within the limits of the first century for the date of this Gospel.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) Then (better, therefore) went this saying abroad among…
(23) Then (better, therefore) went this saying abroad among the brethren.—For the word “brethren” comp. Notes on Mat_23:8 and Act_9:30. As a general name for the disciples, it is not elsewhere found in the Gospels, but we have the key to it in our Lord’s own words to Mary Magdalene (Joh_20:17).
Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If. . . .—The mistake of the brethren arose from their not attending to the force of the conditional particle. They took as a statement what had been said as a supposition, and understood it in the then current belief that the Second Advent would come in their own generation. (Comp. 1Co_15:51-52; 1Th_4:17.)
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The mistake and its correction are both interesting in their bearing upon the date of the Gospel, and they furnish that kind of evidence which is perfectly natural as a growth, but which cannot possibly be made.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain We need not be surprised that the sublime meaning…
We need not be surprised that the sublime meaning of these words, "Wait while I am ever coming to him," should have been misunderstood. Therefore this word went forth to the brethren. The designation, "brethren," only occurs in Joh_20:17 and Luk_22:32. The more familiar names of "disciples" and "children," "servants" and "apostles," are used in the Gospels. The Acts and Epistles introduce a new group of titles, e.g. "believers" as well as "brethren," "saints" as well as "disciples," "Christians," "slaves and soldiers of Christ," "sons of God," "priests and kings," and "little children;" but now, acting on the Divine hint of the Lord"s own words, John speaks of his fellow-disciples who are called into the sacred fellowship as "brethren." The word went forth that that disciple dieth not (ekeinov , equivalent to "the disciple whom Jesus loved"). This was not an unnatural supposition, as his age advanced, and he was regarded as the "great light of Asia," the depositary of the latest traditions, as the link between the days of our Lord"s ministry and two succeeding generations of believers, the seer of mighty visions, the enemy of all unrighteousness, and the apostle of love to the lost. In virtue of this very tradition, three hundred years later it was said that the holy apostle was still sleeping in his tomb at Ephesus, and that the dust moved lightly on his heaving breast (Augustine, "Tr. on John," 124:2). Here was the beginning of a genuine myth, which, having no real root in fact, failed to establish itself. "John the Baptist is risen from the dead," exclaimed Herod Antipas, "and therefore mighty powers energize in him." But there was no life and no truth in the story, and even among the disciples of St. John Baptist it did not take any place as a supposed fact. It is interesting to see that here a myth was started without positively bad faith, and based itself upon a recorded saying of the Lord; but it perished! The aged apostle strikes the folly dead with one stroke of his pen. The language is remarkable, as helping to prove that John wrote this chapter as well as the rest of the Gospel. Yet Jesus said not unto him, that he dieth not; but, If I will that he abide while I am ever coming, what is that to thee? Meyer, who always insists on the apostolic idea of the nearness of the parousia , thinks that John does not decide here whether the rumor was true or false, and simply says it must, when he wrote, have been left still uncertain and unsettled (so Luther). The tradition is not authoritatively condemned; but it is shown to be a mere inference, one inference out of many, from words partially understood. The Epistles of John show how deeply John pondered the idea, and how much he crowded into the words, "abide in him," until the coming, and before and during and after the various comings of the Lord to him. Mr. Browning, in "A Death in the Desert," makes St. John say in his last hours"If I live yet, it is for good, more love Through me to men: be naught but ashes here That keep awhile my semblance, who was John Still when they scatter, there is left on earth." No one alive who knew (consider this!) Saw with his eyes and handled with his hands That which was from the first, the Word of life. How will it be when none more saith, "I saw"? Such ever was love"s way: to rise, it stoops. Since I, whom Christ"s mouth taught, was bidden teach, I went, for many years, about the world, Saying, "It was so; so I heard and saw,"? Speaking as the ease asked: and men believed. "To me that story ay, that Life and Death Of which I wrote "it was to me it is; Is, here and now: I apprehend naught else. Yea, and the Resurrection and Uprise To the right hand of the throne... I saw the Power; I see the Love, once weak, Resume the Power; and in this word "I see" Lo, there is recognized the Spirit of both That moving o"er the spirit of man, unblinds His eye and bids him look.... Then stand before that fact, that Life and Death, Stay there at gaze, till it dispart, dispread, As though a star should open out, all sides, Grow the world on you, as it is my world.
In ver. 23 we find the significant close of the Fourth Gospel, and there is much to make it highly probable that the two remaining verses were added by the Ephesian elders, as their certificate of its authorship, and their identification of the beloved disciple with the author of the Gospel. It differs from the similar passage, Joh_19:35, where the writer himself gives his own autoptic testimony to the great miracle of the spear-thrust; and where that testimony is declared by himself to be alhyinh , "veritable," i.e. answering to the very idea of testimony. Here the person and verb are plural.
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The untrustworthiness of tradition.
Tradition is the handing down from one person to another of what is not committed to writing. It is customary in those primitive societies where writing is unknown. It is practiced also in communities more advanced in civilization, when there is some special reason why it should be preferred to documentary preservation and transmission. That there was traditional teaching concerning our Lord"s ministry is undoubted; and it has been disputed to what extent our Gospels embody such teaching. But this passage seems to have been inserted here as if to remind us how carefully coming ages of the Church have been preserved from a fruitful source of error.
I THERE WERE PECULIAR REASONS WHY THE SAYING HERE RECORDED SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESERVED IN ITS INTEGRITY.
1. In this case the saying concerning John was a saying of Christ, and as such might be supposed to be treasured with the greatest care and reverence.
2. It was uttered in the hearing of the select friends of our Lord, who, if any could do so, would guard it from corruption.
3. The apostles of Christ must have been the reporters of this saying to their fellow-Christians.
4. The person concerning whom the tradition went abroad was living at the time that the misrepresentation was repeated.
II YET AN ALTOGETHER ERRONEOUS VERSION OF THIS SAYING WAS CURRENT IN THE EARLY CHURCH. Although Jesus had simply said to Peter, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" which might be simply a strong way of rebuking curiosity, or an intimation that John should survive until the destruction of Jerusalem; yet there went abroad a notion that Jesus had expressly assured his beloved disciple that he should never die. Could there be a more remarkable perversion of the Lord"s words? a more signal instance of the untrustworthiness of oral tradition? Yet, what happened then has often happened before and since. Passing from one man"s lips to another"s, facts may dissolve into fictions, and opinions may be reversed.
III THIS INSTANCE SUGGESTS HOW WISE AND MERCIFUL AN ARRANGEMENT IS THAT BY WHICH THE GOSPEL IS NOT LEFT TO ORAL TRADITION, BUT HAS BEEN EMBODIED IN AUTHENTICATED DOCUMENTS. By inspiring his apostles to commit the gospel facts to writing, our Lord has secured us against the mischiefs attending tradition. The truth cannot be injured either by the zeal of friends or by the malice of foes.
PRACTICAL LESSON. Readers of the New Testament are hound in reason to accept and credit what there is no room for any candid inquirer to distrust. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 23. Went this saying abroad. At the time John…
23. Went this saying abroad. At the time John wrote these words he did not understand just what the saying might mean.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:23 Jesus’ words to Peter spread, causing some to…
21:23 Jesus’ words to Peter spread, causing some to conclude that John would not die until Jesus returned in his second coming. Jesus’ rebuke to Peter (21:22) is repeated to answer that rumor. Those among the community of believers who believed this rumor were thus instructed to abandon any speculation about John. According to tradition, John died peacefully in Ephesus at an old age, surrounded by fellow believers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.