John 21:1 Commentary and Bible Study

This chapter is often, and perhaps mistakenly, called the epilogue of John’s Gospel. We read sometimes, ‘Oh the book strictly concludes with the last two verses of chapter 20’, and it is confidently said, that is the conclusion of the book, and the apostle John, or perhaps another hand, later added chapter 21 to round up some of the things not particularly concluded in the book. The last chapter is therefore seen as something of an anti-climax, just a tailpiece, a clarification of one or two factors. But that is a great shame because it underestimates the final chapter of John’s Gospel. Are the last two verses of chapter 20 the real conclusion of the book? Well, it might have the ring of a conclusion, but really it is the necessary conclusion to the matters dealt with in the twentieth chapter, particularly the correction of Thomas, the doubting disciple, who doubted the resurrection of Christ and refused to believe that Christ had appeared to the other disciples. He repented of his hesitation and his delay in believing, that is true, and repented very humbly and aligned himself wholly and fully with the risen Lord. But he was very slow to come to that, and he is reproved for his slowness, because these things should have been obvious to him. He should have long since concluded that this was the Lord of glory, the Son of God. He should have believed him when he said he would rise from the dead, not once, not twice, not three times, but even more. He should not have been so adamant that he was not going to believe until he saw him for himself. So these last two verses relate to this correction of Thomas, and they pick up all the signs of the book. But chapter 21 is not just extras. It is an appearance of the risen Lord, and it is an appearance that teaches certain things. This is not the Great Commission in the final chapter of John, but it is something that is virtually alongside it. It is what you might call the pastoral version of the Great Commission. The Great Commission rings out to the church through all the ages, and here, directed to Simon Peter, is a very personal pastoral aspect of it. It applies to all the disciples; it applies to all succeeding disciples in every age, true believers in Christ. Most likely this is near Capernaum because Capernaum is where Peter lived and where, of course, at some location not far away on the shoreline, on the coast, he had his boats. He had forsaken them, but at this stage he evidently still had them, or had boats available to him unsold. But then John introduces the miracle: … ‘on this wise shewed he himself’.