His testimony is true 11/08/2021

Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumour 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?” This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 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. [John 21:22‭-‬25 NIV]

John is authenticating his Gospel. What I mean is that he is declaring that his Gospel is completely reliable. He concludes his Gospel with a personal statement of accuracy and reliability. Luke begins the third Gospel with a similar statement (Luke 1:1-4) but John waits till the end of his Gospel to stamp his authority on his writing.

Testimony.

John does not provide much biographical information about himself. He has generally remained anonymous but occasionally he describes himself as 'the disciple whom Jesus loves' [See for example John 13:23; 19:26] In the last chapter of this Gospel, John describes himself merely as a disciple - which is a broader category than an apostle. Mary Magdalene was also a disciple and so were Martha, Mary and Lazarus from Bethany. There were probably hundreds of disciples. The 'John' mentioned in Matthew 3:21-22 with a brother named James and a father called Zebedee might not have been the writer. I agree with Richard Bauckham that the writer of the fourth Gospel came from Judea not Galilee. But John is stating that his Gospel is testimony. This word is often used in some Christian circles to mean a public account of a conversion. This is not the meaning here. The word "testimony is also used in a legal context and especially in relation to eyewitness testimony. John is making a formal statement that he is an eyewitness to the events described in this Gospel. He has also used other eyewitnesses but he puts his own stamp on the accuracy and reliability of this Gospel. You might want to compare this with Luke's Gospel (Luke 1:1-4) as Luke does not claim to be an eyewitness. He is relying on the testimony of others .

Written Account.

John was committing to writing his testimony and insight into the life of Jesus. This decision to commit to writing is beneficial to future generations. This ensures that the accurate account is preserved. The important point to note is that within his lifetime, John, in his earlier years, had personally witnessed the signs he had described and had completed a written history. There were others still alive who could testify to the accuracy of John's account. What does John mean when he says that "This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down." I am not going to go into the detail of this statement but there is some debate as to whether John actually wrote his gospel and some liberal theologians have tried to play this statement down suggesting that John merely set in motion the writing of the Gospel. It does not matter if he personally carried out the writing - he is personally taking responsibility for the writing. At one stage in my working life, I used to dictate letters and reports to a secretary who 'wrote' or word-processed them. They were still what I wanted to say and bore my signature. So John may have used a scribe but he still wrote the letters.

Independent verification.

John adds a comment that needs some clarification. "We know that his testimony is true." Is he using the "royal we," by speaking of himself as "we" instead of "I"? Bauckham argues that John is stamping his authority on the truthfulness of the Gospel record. He points to other examples of John using 'we' in his letters. Others commentators say that John is speaking in the plural because others are joining him in verifying his statement of truth. This may have been the elders in the church at Jerusalem who are verifying that this Gospel is a true record. So when he says "We know that his testimony is true," there is a group of elders who can testify to the accuracy of John's Gospel.

Misunderstanding

John adds a personal note regarding a misunderstanding which had arisen with regard to how long he was expected to live. It is clear that the Christians in the first century were expecting Jesus to return soon. The rumour had spread that John would still be alive at the second Advent. John clarifies what Jesus actually said. Jesus was telling Peter that the timing of John's death was no concern of his. This is part of God's sovereign plan and we must accept that.

Hyperbole ?

We end John's Gospel with a statement regarding the inadequacy of this Gospel to describe fully all of the things which Jesus did. John has made a selection of events to describe and miracles or signs to highlight. Many commentators regard John's claim here as hyperbole (or exaggeration) that the world is not big enough to contain all the books that could have been written. But John closes his gospel with a declaration of the fullness of the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have always loved this verse and it is a fitting way to end the fourth Gospel - the Gospel of the Son of God.

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.

There is enough in Jesus to satisfy our longing hearts for eternity. This is a subject which will never be exhausted or completed. We have now completed our study of John's Gospel which began on 10th September 2020. Of course, we have looked at other subjects as well since then. I trust and pray that together we have learned many lessons from this fourth Gospel.