John 21:24

John 21:24. This is the disciple which witnesseth concerning these things, and wrote these things. To what has been said above upon this clause we may add that the use of the present tense, ‘witnesseth,' seems to point out John as the writer of these words: any other would probably have written ‘witnessed,' in conformity with the word that follows, ‘wrote.' The word ‘witnesseth' is used with great solemnity, and in the sense which It commonly bears (comp. note on chap. John 1:7) in this Gospel. The writer means more than tha t the things stated by him are true; he is uttering a Divine testimony to their inner reality and value. By his witnessing he claims to be more than a historian: he proclaims himself a prophet of God, commissioned to announce great verities to men.

‘These things' must be understood to refer not only to the things spoken of in this chapter, but to the Gospel as a whole. The analogous passage in chap. John 20:30, together with John 21:25 of the present chapter, renders this interpretation absolutely necessary.

And we know that his witness is true. As has been already said, it seems to us best to regard these words as an addition made by the elders of Ephesus. They could not fail to notice how different this Gospel was from its predecessors. It might seem to them that hesitation would be felt in receiving it, and they stamp it with their authenticating seal. Or, if such were not their motive, the words may be little more than a kind of involuntary breathing out of their awe and wonder, as again and again they brought the reading of this Gospel to a close.