John 21:25

John 21:25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself will not contain the books that would be written. We have already expressed our belief that these are the words of no other than John himself. They seem to contain the Evangelist's own explanation of that principle of selection which he has followed throughout his work. To have given a complete history of the facts of Christ's life would have been impossible. He has chosen those only which bore upon his particular aim. It has been usual to describe this verse as a strong hyperbole. But is it not at once more reverent and more true to say that the language here used expresses the infinitude which the apostle beheld in the life of Jesus, the fathomless depths which he knew his Lord's every work and every word to contain? And we may ask, as we read these words, What apostle or disciple of Jesus, known to us as belonging to the first age of the Christian Church, could have so spoken but that apostle whom Jesus loved? In no part of his work does he expressly name himself, not is this necessary. He is named by almost every line that he has written, by almost every touch of the pencil with which he has drawn his picture. Let us imitate his example; and, instead of closing with the thought of the servant, close rather with the thought of the Master whose eternal existence was taught us by the first, and whose infinite fulness is now taught us by the last words of this Gospel.