John 21:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now there are also many other things that 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.

NIV: Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

NASB: But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written in detail, I expect that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

CSB: And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

NLT: Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

KJV: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

NKJV: And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Throughout the gospel of John, there have been overtly anonymous references to a particular disciple (John 1:37; 13:23; 18:15–16; 19:26; 21:23). The prior verse seems to confirm this person is John, the author of the entire work (John 21:24). John may have used a secretary to write down his words as he spoke, partly explaining why this writing ends with a specific claim to authorship. There appears to be an additional stamp of approval, possibly from a local church, attached to that statement as well.

Here, the "signature" concludes with the gospel of John's only explicit use of a first-person perspective. It's not entirely clear if this is still John speaking, or if this continues the note of approval which began with the phrase "and we know…" from the prior verse. Either way, it makes the point that Jesus' earthly ministry could not be fully detailed in a single book. Further, to explain or understand those words would require immense effort. The existence of Bible commentaries—such as this very ministry—which are many times longer than the text itself is further proof of this.

The Truth John proclaimed as the very "Word of God" (John 1:1) defies our attempts at perfect explanation (Isaiah 55:8–9; 2 Peter 3:16; Hebrews 5:11). That which God has included in Scripture is not enough to answer every possible question we may ever have. Yet it more than adequately tells us what we must know to be restored with God (John 20:30–31).

John 21:24–25 is something of a signature applied to the end of the gospel of John. The words of these last two verses are probably a combination of John's dictation to a scribe, a note from either that scribe or another believer, and possibly John's own handwritten note. They affirm this book was written by John, based on his own experiences. The last words of the text remind the reader that not everything Christ said or did in His earthly ministry was recorded in the Bible.

After Jesus' resurrection, a group of disciples goes fishing while they wait in Galilee. From a distance, a figure appears and tells the men to cast again. Despite a fruitless night, they obey, and the net is immediately overflowing with fish. This confirms that the man on the shore is Jesus. As the disciples eat a meal with Christ, He presses Peter to reaffirm His faith. Jesus then predicts the nature of Peter's death; He does not do so for John. The gospel of John ends with an affirmation of its source, and a reminder that no single book could contain every detail of Jesus' ministry.

The final chapter of the gospel of John evokes the recent trend of a "post-credits scene" from films. After the main story has been told, John includes one last scene to further add details about what is to come. After Jesus' resurrection and appearances, He meets with the disciples near Galilee. A major outcome of this meeting is Peter's restoration to his former status. No finite work could fully explain Jesus' ministry, so John's eyewitness account is only part of those truths.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.