15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 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.
Read John 21:15-25 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
To write one of the gospel letters would be tough work, but deciding how to best conclude Jesus’ story is even tougher – especially since Jesus’ story doesn’t really end. Jesus’ story simply moved locations. In John’s case, especially since we can see how his gospel includes some events that the other gospels didn’t include and the other three gospels chose to include events that John excluded, John wraps up his gospel by simply saying, “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.” (v. 25)
While on one hand we can see John exaggerating with this concluding statement, there is a subtle depth of truth to his words.
I wonder if John really understood the size of the world we lived in. With land that stretched over three continents, the first-century world was pretty big. Then explorers discovered North and South America, and the world got even bigger then. We then realized that more of the planet is covered by water, and that again made the world that much bigger.
If every breath of Jesus was recorded over His 34ish years on earth, at the rate of one breath per second, this would result in 1,072,224,000 breaths (give or take a few). If each of these represented a page dedicated for that second of life, then we could assemble a book that is a mere 68 miles thick. For those outside of the United States, this would translate into 109 kilometers thick.
While that would be a massive undertaking, and an impossible to bind manuscript, it is a far cry from being too big for the world to hold.
However, John’s statement is powerfully accurate, because Jesus has done more than simply exist for 33-34 years on earth: Jesus created everything.
If we give Jesus the credit for everything we see here, from all the atoms and molecules to all the stars and planets in the universe, there is way more than could ever be written. Each stroke of a pen would result in a countless number of additional things that should be mentioned.
In this concluding statement, John draws us back to Jesus’ big picture – which is where his gospel message begins. John reminds us how big, powerful, and significant Jesus is, and this big picture look makes the love Jesus demonstrated for His rebellious creation all that more amazing. God loves us, and while we rebelled against Him, He chose to pursue us with His love. He did this most clearly through Jesus – who came, lived, and who we killed. But that didn’t stop God from loving, and He has been actively pursuing us, not because of who we are, but because of who He is!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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