John 21:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

NIV: This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

NASB: This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

CSB: This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

NLT: This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.

KJV: This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

NKJV: This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

This verse acts like an endorsement, or a notary's seal, on the gospel of John. John is infamously modest in his writing, despite his eyewitness testimony driving the entire content of the book. Most likely, "the disciple" mentioned here is John, confirming he is anonymous person mentioned in other passages (John 1:37; 13:23; 18:15–16; 19:26; 21:23). The last words of this text, coming after John identifies himself, are the only ones in the gospel of John spoken directly from an explicitly first-person perspective (John 21:25).

In the ancient world, it was common for letters to be dictated, with a scribe—called an amanuensis—writing the words as they were spoken. Paul, who may have suffered from poor eyesight, seems to have used this method often (Romans 16:22). At times, he may have hand-written the "signature" of his letters (1 Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11). Scholars speculate John may have done the same with this gospel. That would make the first part of this sentence his official claim to be the author.

The final phrase in this verse, however, is clearly not John speaking. Most likely, this was another note, made by the amanuensis or by the church with whom John was serving at the time.

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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.