1-3. After that, Jesus again appeared to His disciples at the Sea of ​​Tiberias. And he appeared like this: Simon Peter was together, and Thomas, called the Twin, and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of His. Simon Peter says to them: I'm going to fish. They say to him: we go with you. We went, and immediately got into the boat, and caught nothing that night.

Archimandrite Panteleimon wrote in 1904:

“One Gospel parable compares the Kingdom of Heaven with a net thrown into the sea and gathered all kinds of fish, which, after taking out the net, are sorted out, and the good ones are selected, and the bad ones are thrown out. So it will be at the end of the age, when the angels sort people, separating the evil from the good, and cast the evil into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat. XIII, 47-49). Remember how the Evangelist John describes the third appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples while fishing in the Sea of ​​Tiberias; a phenomenon in which Peter was restored to the apostleship and received notice of the feat awaiting him on the cross. John tells about the fishing that was here, of which 153 turned out to be large. It must be admitted that this number is not accidental, but corresponds to the prophecies that were discussed. As seen, it was about the fate of the Church in the person of the main Apostles. It can be assumed that ex here miraculous fishing is a prophetic indication: firstly, to the number of the elect, and secondly, to the number of generations in which St. Church on earth.

So, the boat with the disciples of Christ means the Christian Church, and fishing is the fishing of human souls, as it is said in the Gospel: “While passing near the Sea of ​​Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, throwing nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”(Matthew 4:18-20; Mark 1:16-18).

4. And when it was already morning, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Seashore means "end of the century" that is, the end of world history, as it is said in the Gospel: “The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea and capturing all kinds of fish, which, when it was full, they dragged ashore and sat down, collected the good in vessels, and threw the bad out. So it will be at the end of the age: Angels will come out and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and cast them into the fiery furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(Matthew 13:47-50).

"And when the morning had already come, Jesus was standing on the shore," that is, at the end of world history, "but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." That is, the Church of Christ herself cannot, on the basis of her faith, know the time "end of the century" and the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

5-6. Jesus says to them: children! do you have any food? They answered Him: no. He said to them, Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you will catch it. They threw, and could no longer pull out the nets from the multitude of fish.

That is, the success of Christian preaching depends only on the Savior, as it is said in the Gospel:

Gospel of Luke, chapter 5:

1. Once, when the people crowded to Him to hear the word of God, and He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
2. He saw two boats standing on the lake; and the fishermen, coming out of them, washed out the nets.
3. Entering one boat, which was Simon's, He asked him to sail a little from the shore and, sitting down, taught the people from the boat.
4. When he had ceased to teach, he said to Simon, Set sail into the deep, and let down your nets for fishing.
5. Simon said to Him in answer: Master! we toiled all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast down the net.
6. Having done this, they caught a great number of fish, and even their net broke.
7. And they gave a sign to the comrades who were on the other boat to come to help them; and they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
8. Seeing this, Simon Peter fell on Jesus' knees and said, Get out of me, Lord! because I am a sinful person.
9. For horror seized him and all who were with him from this fishing of the fishes they caught;
10. also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people.

7. Then John says to Peter: This is the Lord... ...

If we understand these words also in a symbolic and prophetic sense, then it would be appropriate to recall that, as is known, the Apostle Peter personifies in the Church the confession of faith in the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and John, respectively, the gift of prophecy.

Archimandrite Panteleimon:

“It is in this sense that St. Orthodox Church takes on the meaning (perverted by the false interpretations of the papists) of the saying of Christ the Savior of St. Peter the Apostle: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”(Matt. XVI.18). under the word a rock of course, faith in the superlative degree, and not the Apostle Peter.

St. Apostle John the Theologian is the author of the Apocalypse, that is, in essence, the only prophetic book of the New Testament. Church Tradition has preserved evidence that, in compiling his Gospel, which is also called "spiritual", John used the other three Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, as well as the Apocalypse.

Explanatory Bible:

“According to the testimony of the Muratorian Canon, John wrote his Gospel at the request of the bishops of Asia Minor, who wished to receive instruction from him in faith and piety. Clement of Alexandria adds to this that John himself noticed some incompleteness in the stories about Christ contained in the first three Gospels, which speak almost exclusively of bodily, that is, about external events in the life of Jesus Christ, and therefore he himself wrote the gospel spiritual. It is not possible to determine exactly the time and place of the writing of the Gospel of John. It is only probable that the Gospel was written in Ephesus, at the end of the first century.

N. Rozhdestvensky:

“If we pay attention to the very well-known and generally accepted tradition that The Apocalypse was written several years earlier than the Gospel, then we shall see in this revelation of the new truth the basic principle of faith, which afterwards was so clearly expressed in the Gospel and became the foundation of Christian theology.

So, once again we note that the conditional division of the Church into Peter and John corresponds to the division of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul writes: “And you are the body of Christ, and separately you are members. And God has appointed others in the Church, first as apostles, secondly as prophets, thirdly as teachers” (1 Cor. 12:27-31). That is, Peter means authority in the Church, coming from the Apostles, and John, respectively, the gift of prophecy. This symbolic understanding of the gospel images should help us understand the true meaning of the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John.

So, in the history of fishing in the Sea of ​​Tiberias, John all night long(John 21:3) stays in the boat, but is silent until it's morning(John 21:4). His book of prophecies, the Apocalypse, is also found in the Bible, but remains a closed, misunderstood book throughout Christian history. When the resurrected Christ appeared on the shore, John was the first to recognize Him and said to Peter: "this is the Lord"(John 21:7). So Peter (confession of faith) cannot know about the coming "end of the century" without John, that is, without the gift of prophecy.

“Then John said to Peter, This is the Lord.” This means that the Orthodox Church can learn about the offensive "end of the century" and the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ only from people with the gift of prophecy, as well as the ability to understand the prophecies of the Apocalypse.

The Apostle Peter writes about this in his conciliar message: “And besides, we have the surest prophetic word; and you do well to address him as to a lamp that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning Star in your hearts. Knowing first of all that no prophecy in Scripture can be solved by oneself. For prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit.(2 Peter 1:19-21). Means, morning star signifies the ability to understand the prophecies of the Apocalypse.

7. ... But Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girded himself with his robe, for he was naked, and threw himself into the sea;

Sea in the Bible means the whole world, that is sea ​​of ​​life, as it says in Revelation: “And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw from the sea beast with seven heads and ten horns: on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.(Rev. 13:1). And he says to me: water, which you saw where the harlot sits, the essence people and peoples and tribes and languages» (Rev. 17:15). So, the words of John: “But Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girded himself with his robe, for he was naked, and threw himself into the sea.” mean that the Christian Church at the end of world history, in the person of two witnesses of Revelation, will have to turn to the world with a sermon about the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is said in Revelation: “And I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven, who had the eternal gospel to proclaim the gospel to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people; And he said with a loud voice: Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come, and bow down to Him who made heaven and earth, and the sea and fountains of waters ”(Rev. 14: 6, 7).

On the very first day of the week, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb early, when it was still dark, and sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb,

So, he runs and comes to Simon Peter and to another disciple whom Jesus loved, and says to them they carried the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him

Immediately Peter and another disciple came out and went to the tomb.

They both ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first,

And bending down he saw the sheets lying, but he did not enter the tomb

Following him comes Simon Peter, and enters into the tomb, and sees only linens lying And the robe that was on His head, not lying with linens, but especially entwined in another place

Then another disciple also entered, who had previously come to the tomb, and saw, and believed,

For they did not yet know from the Scriptures that He was to rise from the dead

So the disciples returned to their

Nobody loved Jesus like Mary Magdalene. He did something for her that no one else could do, and she couldn't forget it. Tradition says that Mary had a bad reputation, but Jesus restored her, forgave her and cleansed her.

According to the custom of Palestine, the dead were visited within three days after burial. People believed that the spirit of the deceased hovered near the burial for three days, and then moved away, because the body became unrecognizable from the decomposition process. The friends of Jesus could not come to the tomb the next day, because it was the Sabbath. Traveling on the Sabbath was against the law.

Mary came to the tomb not on Saturday, but on the first day of the week, that is, on Sunday. She came very early, at the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 o'clock in the morning. The time was before dawn, but Mary could not stand it and came into the garden to the tomb.

When she arrived, she was surprised and amazed at what she saw there. The tombs in those distant times did not have doors, but in front of the entrance to it there was a recess in the ground, and a stone was rolled along it, like a huge wheel, and rolled it to the opening of the tomb. In addition, as Matthew says, the rulers assigned guards and applied a seal to the tomb so that no one would dare to touch the stone. (Matt. 27,-66). Maria was very surprised when she saw that the stone had been rolled away. Two things might have occurred to her: she might have thought that the Jews had carried off the body of the Lord in order to somehow abuse it, not being satisfied with the torment of the Cross, or that thieves had stolen the body in search of prey.

Mary realized that there was something here that she could not handle on her own, and she returned to the city to look for Peter and John. Maria was one of those rare individuals who can love and believe even when they don't understand anything. But it is this kind of love and this kind of faith that ultimately achieves glory.

John 20:1-10(continued) The Great Discovery

What particularly touches us in this story is that Peter is still the recognized elder of the apostles. Mary ran to him. Despite the denial of Christ (such a message should have spread quickly), Peter was still in charge. We often talk about Peter's breakdown, but there must have been something extraordinary about a man who could look others in the eye after his flight. There must have been something in a man whom others were ready to leave as their leader even after such a downfall. May his fleeting weakness not obscure in our eyes the moral strength of Peter, and the fact that he was born a leader.

So Mary ran to Peter and John, and as soon as they learned from her what was the matter, they went to the tomb. They did not go, but ran there. John, who was apparently younger than Peter, since he lived to the end of the century, outstripped Peter and ran to the tomb first. He looked inside, but went no further. Peter, with his characteristic impulsiveness, entered the tomb and was greatly surprised by what he saw there. While Peter was wondering, John began to think something: if the robbers took away the body of Jesus, why did they leave the burial robe and the handkerchief that was wrapped around his head?

Reasoning like this to himself, John drew attention to one more circumstance: things were not lying in disorder, but as if no one had touched them at all, with the same folds what should be when the body is wrapped in them. In Greek, this is precisely how it is said that things lay untouched and the handkerchief lay folded separately. The essence of this detailed description this picture is that the linen and handkerchief lay as if Jesus had evaporated from them. John suddenly realized what was the matter, and believed, not because he read something about it in Scripture, but because he saw everything with his own eyes.

Love plays an exceptional role in this story. Mary, who loved the Lord so much, came to the tomb first; John, the beloved disciple of the Lord and also deeply loving Him, was the first to believe in His Resurrection. Undoubtedly, this forever remained his most joyful experience. After all, he was the first person who understood and believed. Love opened his eyes to the signs of the Resurrection and his heart to perceive it. John looked, understood and believed.

Here we also find one great life principle. We cannot interpret the thoughts of another person if we are not close to him with all our being sincerely. For example, when a conductor is not intimately familiar with a composer's work, he cannot convey his feelings to others through the orchestra. Love is the best interpreter. Love comprehends the truth while the mind wanders in the darkness of uncertainty. Love cognizes the meaning of things while research is still blind to it. .

One young artist brought to Gustave Dore a portrait of Christ, painted by him, so that he would evaluate him. Doré hesitated to answer, but finally uttered only one phrase: "You do not love Him, otherwise you would have portrayed Him much better."

We can neither love Jesus nor help others understand Him until we give Him our hearts.

John 20:11-18 Great Identification

And Mary stood at the tomb and wept; and when she cried, she leaned into the coffin

And he sees two angels sitting in a white robe, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay.

And they say to her: wife! Why are you crying? He says to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.

Having said this, she turned back and saw Jesus standing; but did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus says to her: Wife! Why are you crying? who are you looking for? She, thinking that this is a gardener, says to Him: sir! if you carried it, tell me where you put it, and I will take it.

Jesus says to her: Mary! She turns and says to Him Rabbi! - which means: "Teacher!"

Jesus says to her: do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them: I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene goes and announces to the disciples that she saw the Lord and that He told her this.

Someone called this event the greatest recognition in all of literature. Mary Magdalene has the honor of being the first to see the Risen Christ.

All these actions are permeated with love. She returned to the tomb. She then went to inform Peter and John, and then she probably fell behind them as they hurried to the tomb. A little later, when she came there again, they were no longer there. So she stood there and wept. There is no need to look for some hidden reasons why Mary did not recognize Jesus. The simplest and vivid fact gives us an explanation: she did not see Him through her tears.

Her conversation with the One she thought was the gardener reveals her love for Jesus: "Sir, if you have endured Him, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him." She did not mention the name of Jesus. She thought everyone should know who she was talking about. Her thoughts were so occupied with Him that there was no one else in the whole world for her. "I will take him". How is she with her female powers could do it? Was she really going to take Him? Where did she think to take him? She didn't even think about these difficulties. Her only desire was to cry out her love over Jesus. As soon as she finished her conversation with the one whom she took to be the gardener, she again turned to the tomb, thus turning her back on Jesus. And then I heard a single word: “Maria!” and she replied: "Rabbooni" (Rabbouni - is the Aramaic form of the word rabbi - teacher, sir; there is no difference between them).

So we see there were two simple and profound reasons why Mary did not immediately recognize Jesus.

1. She could not recognize Him because of her tears. They blinded her eyes and she could not see. When we lose a loved one, pain rises in our hearts and tears fill our eyes. But we must remember that at such a time our tears are selfish, because we cry for our loneliness, loss, devastation, that is, for ourselves. We cannot weep that someone has left to become a guest of God. We cry for ourselves. And this is natural and inevitable. But at the same time, we must not let our tears blind us so that we no longer see the glory of heaven and eternal life. There must be tears, but through them we must see the glory.

2. Mary did not recognize Jesus because she tried more to look in a different direction. She could not take her eyes off the tomb and therefore had her back to Jesus. And it is also very similar to us. In such cases our eyes too are riveted to the damp earth of the grave; but we need to take our eyes off her. Our loved ones are not there, although their worn out bodies may be there, but the man himself, his true nature, is in heaven in fellowship with Jesus, face to face with the glory of God.

When sorrow comes, we must not allow tears to obscure the glory of heaven, and let us not fix our eyes on the earth so much as to forget heaven. One pastor tells how he once had to hold a funeral meeting for people who had neither Christian faith nor Christian connection: “After the service ended, a young woman looked into the grave and said with anguish: “Goodbye, father!” This is the end for those who have no Christian hope." For us, it’s just “goodbye, see you with God!” Literally: See you soon.

John 20:11-18(continued) Spreading the Good News

There is one very difficult passage in this passage. After Mary met and recognized Jesus, He told her, "Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father." But just a few verses later, we see that Jesus invites Thomas to touch Him (John 20:27). In the Gospel of Luke we find that Jesus invites the disciples to consider Him: “Look at my hands and my feet; it is I myself, touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see with me.” (Luke 24:39). In Matthew we read that the disciples, when they met Jesus, “clung to His feet and worshiped Him” (Matt. 28:9). With John, even the turn of speech itself is more difficult. In it, Jesus says: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father,” as if it would be possible to touch Him when He ascends to the Father. No explanation of this place is entirely satisfactory.

1. The whole thing is given a spiritual significance, and it is said that Jesus can really be touched only after His Ascension, and that it is not physical touch that is important, not hand-to-hand touching, but contact through faith with the resurrected and eternally living Lord. This is undoubtedly true and dear, but it seems to us that this passage is not talking about this.

2. It is also said that the Greek translation from the Aramaic made a mistake. Jesus, of course, spoke Aramaic, and John gives us the words of Christ in Greek translation from the original Aramaic. Therefore, it is assumed that Jesus actually said, "Do not touch me, but before I go up to my Father, go and tell your brethren." That is, in other words: "Now do not waste time worshiping Me in the joy of your discovery, but go and share your joy with the rest of the disciples." It is very possible that this is the correct explanation. In Greek, the imperative mood in present time and in the strict sense should mean: “Stop touching Me”, that is: “Do not hold on to Me yourself, because I will soon go to the Father, and I want to see My disciples as often as possible before My Ascension. Go and tell them about your and My joy, so that not a single minute of My earthly stay is in vain. It makes sense, and that's exactly what Mary did.

3. But there is another possibility. The other three gospels emphasize fright those who suddenly recognized Him. V Mat. 28.10 Jesus says: Not be afraid." At Mar. 16.8 says: "I embraced them awe and horror and didn't say anything to anyone because were afraid." John's account does not seem to contain this reverent fear. Sometimes scribes made mistakes when transcribing manuscripts because they were not easy to decipher. Some theologians think that John did not write me upto -"do not touch me", but me ptoou -"do not be afraid". (Verb ptoein means tremble with fear). In this case, Jesus said to Mary: "Do not be afraid, I have not yet ascended to My Father, I am still here with you." No explanation is completely satisfactory and exhaustive, but the second of the three explanations we have mentioned is perhaps the most suitable. and probable.

But be that as it may, Jesus sent Mary to the disciples to tell them that what He had told them more than once would soon be fulfilled, and He would return to His Father. Mary ran and told them the good news: “I saw the Lord!”

The very essence of Christianity is hidden in this message of Mary, because the Christian is the one who can say: "I have seen the Lord." Christianity is not the knowledge of Jesus, but the knowledge of Jesus. It does not mean to argue about Him, but it means to meet Him. It means the certainty that Jesus is alive.

John 20:19-23 Christ's commission

On the same first day of the week in the evening, when the doors of the house where His disciples were gathering were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them: Peace be with you!

Having said this, He showed them His hands (and feet) and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them a second time: Peace be with you! as the Father sent me, so I send you.

Having said this, he breathed, and said to them: receive the Holy Spirit:

To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; on whom you leave, on that they will remain.

It is highly probable that the disciples continued to gather in the upper room in which they spent their last supper with Christ. But now they were gathering there in fear. They knew of the venomous bitterness of the Jews, who had succeeded in reaching the death of Jesus, and who could now turn on them. So they gathered in fear and trembling, listening to every step outside and every knock on the door, fearing that the messengers of the Sanhedrin were about to come to arrest them too. And when they were sitting like that one day, Jesus suddenly stood in the midst of them and said the most common greeting: "Peace be with you." This means much more than: "Be at peace from all difficulties," which means: "May everything good be with you from God." After this greeting, Jesus gave the disciples a commission that the Church must never forget.

1. He said that as God sent him, so he sends them. Westcott called it the "Church Charter". This means the following.

a) This means that Jesus Christ needs the Church, which the apostle Paul calls the "Body of Christ" (Eph. 1:23; 1 Cor. 12:12). Jesus came with a message to all people, and now he was returning back to the Father. And His message will never reach all people unless it is carried by the Church. She has a mouth to proclaim the words of Jesus; legs - to fulfill His orders; hands to do His work. The good news has been committed to the Church. The Church is doing the work of glorifying the Savior throughout the world.

b) It means that the Church needs Jesus. To be sent, it is necessary that there be a Sender who gives strength and authority to the message and Whom one can turn to for help. Without Jesus, the Church has no message, no power, no light and no protection. The church needs Jesus.

c) The commission of Jesus to the Church is placed on a par with the commission of the Father to Jesus. But no one who reads this fourth gospel can fail to see that the relationship between Jesus and God the Father is based on the perfect obedience, humility and love of Jesus. Jesus could only be a perfect messenger of God because of this perfect obedience and perfect love. Therefore, the Church is fit to be the messenger of Jesus and an instrument in His hands only if she is completely obedient to Him and abides in perfect love for Him. The church must never spread their own ideas, but it is obliged to spread only the teachings of Christ - His good news. It should not follow human rules, but should do the will of Christ. The church suffers damage when it tries to solve its problems in its own strength and wisdom, without taking into account the will and leadership of Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus breathed on His disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt that this is a reminder of the creation of man: “And the Lord God created man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). This is similar to what Ezekiel saw in a field full of dead, dry bones, and heard the words of the Lord: “Come from the four winds, spirit, and breathe on these slain and they will come to life” (Ezekiel 37:9). The coming of the Holy Spirit is like a new creation, like the awakening of life from death. When the Holy Spirit fills the Church, she is reborn to do her work.

3. Jesus said to the disciples: “To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven, on whom you leave, they will remain” (John 20:23). To the true meaning of these words, we must be especially attentive in order to understand it correctly. One thing is clear: no man can forgive the sins of another. But something else is also quite obvious - the Church has a great privilege: to convey to people the message of God's forgiveness. Suppose someone brought us some news from another person. Our assessment of this message will depend on the degree of his acquaintance with that person. If someone undertakes to interpret someone's thoughts for us, we know that the value of his interpretation depends on his proximity to the one he is interpreting.

The apostles had the highest right to proclaim the word of Christ to the world, because they knew Him best. If they saw a man's sincere repentance, they could proclaim to him with full confidence the perfect forgiveness bestowed on him by Christ. On the other hand, if they saw that someone had no repentance in his heart and speculated on the love and grace of God, they told him that until his heart changes, there is no forgiveness for him. This phrase does not mean that the right to forgive sins was once entrusted to one person or group of people, but it means that the right to proclaim forgiveness was given to the apostles, and then to all the disciples of Jesus Christ, as well as the right to warn that forgiveness is not given to the unrepentant of sins. This phrase speaks of the obligation of the Church to proclaim forgiveness to the penitent and to warn the unrepentant that they are depriving themselves of God's mercy.

John 20:24-29 The doubter is convinced

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not there with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger into the nail marks, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

After eight days His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came when the doors were locked, stood in the middle of them and said: Peace be with you!

Then he says to Thomas: put your finger here and see my hands; give me your hand and put it in my side; And do not be unbelievers, but Thomas said to Him as believers, my Lord and my God!

Jesus tells him you believed because you saw me, blessed are those who have not seen and believed.

The cross was not a surprise to Thomas. When Jesus said he was on his way to Bethany after the news came that Lazarus was ill, Thomas said, “Come, and we will die with Him.” (John 11:16). Thomas was not cowardly, but was a natural pessimist. There is no doubt that he loved Jesus and was ready to go with Him to Jerusalem and die with Him there when the other apostles hesitated and were afraid. What he expected happened, but when it happened, he was so shocked that he could not look people in the eye, and retired somewhere with his grief.

King George the Fifth said that one of his rules of life was: "If I must suffer, let me suffer like a well-trained animal in solitude." Thomas wanted to endure his suffering alone, and so when Jesus first came, he was not with the rest of the disciples, and when he found out about it, it seemed to him too wonderful to believe him, and he refused to believe. Stubborn in his pessimism, he declared that he would never believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he himself saw and touched his wounds, and did not put his fingers and hands into the wound from the spear in the side of Jesus (there is no wound on the legs of Jesus references, apparently, during the crucifixion, the legs were often not nailed, but tied). A whole week passed and Jesus again appeared to the disciples. This time Foma was also there. Jesus knew everything about him. He repeated his words, inviting him to experience as he wished. Thomas' heart overflowed with love and devotion, and all he could say was:

"My Lord and my God!" Jesus told him, "Thomas, you had to see with your eyes to believe, but the time will come when people will see Me with the eyes of faith and believe."

From this narrative, the character of Thomas becomes quite clear to us.

1. Thomas was wrong when he avoided Christian fellowship. He was looking for solitude, instead of community. And because he was not with his brothers, he missed the first coming of Jesus. We miss a lot when we separate ourselves from the fellowship of believers and strive more for solitude. What communion in the Church can give us will not be given by loneliness. When grief comes and sadness overwhelms us, we often tend to withdraw and not meet people. But just then, despite our sorrow, we must seek fellowship with those who believe in Jesus Christ, for in this way we will more likely meet with Christ face to face.

2. However, Thomas had two great virtues. He couldn't say that he understood when he didn't, or that he believed when he couldn't. It was his uncompromising honesty. Thomas, having doubts, will not pretend that he does not have them. He was not the kind of person who makes certain judgments without fully understanding their meaning. Foma must always be sure, and this cannot be taken away from him.

There is more true, pure faith in a person who strives to be sure than in one who smartly repeats general things that he has never thought through well and in which he does not really believe. Inquisitive uncertainty eventually turns into complete confidence.

3. Another virtue of Thomas was that when he made sure, he recognized everything as it is. "My Lord and my God!" he exclaimed. Foma had no half-heartedness. He didn't voice his doubts just to exercise his mind. He doubted in order to be better convinced, and when he was convinced, he gave himself up to this conviction completely. When a person breaks through doubts to the conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord, he achieves greater certainty than one who mindlessly accepts things that he can never achieve.

John 20:24-29(continued) Thomas in the days to come

We don't know exactly what happened to Thomas in the following days, but there is an apocryphal book, The Acts of Thomas, which supposedly represents his story. Of course, this is only a legend, but there may be a bit of history behind the legend. In it, Thomas remains true to his character. Let's take a look at part of that story. After the death of Jesus, the disciples divided the world among themselves so that each would get a certain part for the spread of the gospel. Thomas got India (the church of Thomas in South India originates from him). At first Thomas refused to go there, saying that he was too weak for such a long journey. He said: "I am a Jew, how can I preach the truth among the Hindus?" Jesus appeared to him at night and said: "Do not be afraid, Thomas, go to India and preach the word there, for My grace is with you." But Thomas stubbornly refused to go: "Send me wherever you want, but I will not go to the Indians."

At this time, a traveling merchant from India arrived in Jerusalem. His name was Avvanes. He was sent by King Gundaphorus with instructions to find a good carpenter and bring him back to India with him. Thomas was a carpenter. Jesus came to the marketplace to Avvanes and asked: “Do you want to buy a carpenter?” He replied: “Yes”, to which Jesus said: “I have a carpenter slave and I want to sell him”, and at the same time he pointed to Thomas standing aside. They agreed on a price, and Thomas was sold, and the sale agreement read: “I Jesus, the Son of the carpenter Joseph, I confirm that I sold My servant Thomas Avvanes, the merchant of the Indian king Gundaphorus.” When the deed was signed, Jesus brought Thomas to Avvanes. Avvanes asked: "Is this your Master?" Thomas said, "Yes." Avvanes said, "I bought you from Him." And Thomas did not say anything, but in the morning he got up early and prayed, and then he said to Jesus: “I will go where You sent me. May your will be done." This was a true Thomas - slow to believe, slow to agree, but true when he made a decision.

Further, the story tells that King Gundaphorus ordered Thomas to build a palace, Thomas replied that he would fulfill this command. The king gave him a lot of money to buy materials and hire workers, but Foma distributed everything to the poor. He told the king that the palace was gradually being erected. The king suspected something and sent for Thomas: “Have you already built a palace?” the king asked. Thomas replied: "Yes." "Well then, let's go and show it to me," said the king. Thomas replied: "You will not see him now, but when you die, then you will." At first the king was terribly angry and Thomas' life was in danger, but then the king believed in Jesus Christ, and thus Thomas brought Christianity to India.

There is something sweet and delightful in the character of Thomas. It was always difficult for him to believe, and obedience was not easy for him either. He had to have confidence, he had to calculate the costs in advance, but when he became confident and accepted all the costs, he was unstoppable and reached the extreme limits of faith and obedience. A faith like that of Thomas is better than a superficial confession, and his obedience is better than silent obedience, which agrees to everything, and then easily changes.

John 20:30:31 Purpose of the gospel

Jesus did many other miracles before His disciples, which are not written in this book;

But this is written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

It can be assumed that according to the original plan, the Gospel should have ended with these verses. The next chapter looks like an afterword or appendix.

No other verses so well summarize the purposes of all that is written in all the gospels.

1. Obviously, the purpose of the Gospels was not to present a complete life of Jesus. They don't follow Him day after day. They are picky. They do not tell everything that Jesus said and did, but they show what He was like and how He did His work.

2. It is also clear that the Gospels were not meant to be biographies of Jesus. They are called to show Him as Savior, Teacher and Lord. Their aim was not to give information, but to give life. They were to draw such a portrait of Jesus that anyone reading about Him could see that the Man Who spoke and taught and acted thus was none other than the Son of God and Savior, and believing in this, could find the secret of true life.

If we approach the Gospels as stories or biographies, our approach will be in the wrong spirit. We should read them not as historians in search of information, but as people who are searching for God.

William BARKLEY (1907-1978)- Scottish theologian, professor at the University of Glasgow. Within 28 years teacher at the Department of New Testament Studies. taught New Testament and ancient Greek: .

“The power of Christian love should keep us in harmony. Christian love is that good will, that benevolence that never gets irritated and that always wants only the good for others. It is not just a heart urge, like human love, for example; it is a victory of the will, won with the help of Jesus Christ. This does not mean loving only those who love us, or those who please us, or those who are nice. And this means unshakable benevolence, even towards those who hate us, towards those who do not like us, and towards those who are unpleasant and disgusting to us. This is the true essence of the Christian life, and it affects us on earth and in eternity.» William Barclay

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: Chapter 21

1-14 CHAPTER 21

From any point of view, the last chapter seems strange. The gospel ends with the 20th chapter, and then, as it were, begins again in the 21st chapter. Only by wanting to say something extremely important, the author could decide to write this chapter. We already know that almost everything in the Gospel of John has a double meaning, one superficial and the other deep. Therefore, in studying this chapter, we will try to understand why it was added to the completed gospel.

RISEN LORD (John 21:1-14)

This story was written, no doubt, by a man well acquainted with the fishermen of the Sea of ​​Galilee. Night was the best time for fishing. W. T. Thomson, the author of the Country and the Book we mentioned earlier, describes night fishing. “It's a great sight. With a torch burning, the boat glides over the sparkling surface of the sea, and the fishermen stand and look ahead until they see a fish, and then they quickly cast a net or throw a spear. But you can often see tired fishermen with sad faces returning to shore early in the morning without a catch.”

Here is described something that often happens at sea. Let's not forget that the boat was only two hundred cubits from the shore (about a hundred meters). H. W. Norton describes a similar incident that he witnessed. Two fishermen were fishing on the same lake not far from the shore. One entered the water and cast the net, “which again and again proved empty. It was nice to watch him throw the net, inflating it with the wind, and lowering it into the water so that the lead weights fell in an even row exactly where he needed to, leaving a friendly splash and semicircular lines on the surface of the water. His friend from the shore shouted for him to cast the net on the left side, which he immediately did, and this time he was successful ... It often happens that a fisherman with a hand net has to rely on the advice of someone on the shore who knows best, where a school of fish swims than to him standing in a boat. Jesus was in this very role of counselor to His fishermen friends. This can often be seen even today.

Perhaps because it was not quite dawn yet, the disciples did not recognize Jesus. But the eyes of the disciple whom Jesus loved looked keenly, and he recognized the Lord. Peter, as soon as he knew that it was the Lord, threw himself into the water. He was not completely naked, because the fishermen wore a loincloth when they fished, but still, according to Jewish law, greeting a person by a person was a religious act, and it had to be done in a decent manner, so Peter hurried to get dressed in order to be the first to greet Jesus.

THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION (John 21:1-14 (continued)

Now we come to the first good reason why this strange chapter was added to the already completed Gospel. It shows the reality of the resurrection of Christ. Many said that the appearance of Jesus after the Resurrection was nothing but visions that the disciples saw. Many agree with the existence of visions, but still consider them only visions. Others go even further and say that these were not even visions, but hallucinations. The Gospels convincingly show the reality of the Resurrection. They definitely say that the resurrected Christ was neither a vision, nor a hallucination, nor even a spirit, but a real person. They report that the tomb was empty, and that after the Resurrection Christ had a real body with traces of nails on his hands and a wound from a spear on his side.

But this story goes even further. A vision or spirit could not point out to a group of fishermen a school of fish in the water. He would HIGHLY make a fire on the beach, and would hardly cook dinner and share it with friends. And in this story, the Risen Christ does it all. When John tells how Jesus entered the upper room behind closed doors, he says that "He showed them his hands and feet and his side" (John 20:20).

In his letter to the church in Smyrna, Ignatius reports an established tradition connected with this event. He writes: “I know and believe that He was in the flesh even after His Resurrection, because when He came to Peter and the others, He said to them: “Handle Me and make sure that I am not a disembodied spirit.” They touched Him and believed, because they were firmly convinced that He is flesh and blood ... and after His Resurrection, He ate and drank with them, as is characteristic of those who have flesh.

The first and foremost purpose of this chapter is to show the reality of the Resurrection. The resurrected Jesus was not a vision or a product of someone's imagination, a spirit or a ghost, but the living Lord who conquered death and came again.

THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE CHURCH (John 21:1-14 continued)

Another great truth is figuratively shown here. In the fourth gospel, everything is significant, and therefore it cannot be that John gave the exact number of fish - 153 - without implying something. Those who read superficially assume that the fish were counted simply because they had to be divided among partners, since the catch was exceptionally rich. But if we remember John's manner of hiding deep meaning in our seemingly simple stories and sayings for those who know how to find it, we must assume that there is something more.

There are many different assumptions.

1. Cyril of Alexandria says that the number 153 consists of three parts. First of all, the number 100, which means the total number of Gentiles. One hundred he says, the most complete number. A shepherd's full flock consists of one hundred sheep (Mt. 18:12). The full offspring of the seed is a hundredfold. Therefore, one hundred is the total number of Gentiles that will be brought to Christ. Secondly, the number 50, which means the number of the remnant of Israel that will be gathered. And thirdly, the number 3, signifying the Trinity, for the glory of which everything is done.

2. Blessed Augustine gives a different explanation. He says that 10 is the number of the law, because it contains the Ten Commandments, 7 is the number of grace, because the gifts of the Spirit are sevenfold. Ten plus seven is 17, and 153 is the sum of the numbers 1-17, and signifies all those who, by law or grace, have felt moved to come unto Jesus Christ. 3. The simplest explanation is given by Jerome. He says that there are 153 varieties of fish in the sea, and the catch represented all varieties, and therefore means that someday people from all nations will gather around Christ.

We can pay attention to one more thing. This multitude of fish was gathered into one net, and it held them back without breaking through. The network symbolizes the Church, in it there is a place for all people, from all nations. Even when everyone comes, there will be a place for all people in it and it will be able to keep everyone.

Here John speaks to us figuratively of the universality of the Church. There is no shadow of exclusivity, no racial barriers, or any other antagonism in it. Its scope is not as universal as God's love in Jesus Christ is universal. And the fact that it was Peter who pulled this net ashore brings us to the final reason why this chapter was written at all, and attached to this gospel.

15-19 THE SHEPHERD OF CHRIST'S SHEEP (John 21:15-19)

Here we have a scene that is probably imprinted in the mind of Peter for the rest of his life.

1. First, we need to pay attention to the question Jesus asked Peter: “Simon Jonas, do you love me more than they do?” The construction of the question can mean equally two things.

A) It may be that Jesus pointed with his hand to the boat of the net, the catch and everything else and said: “Do you love Me more than all this? Are you ready to give up all hope of a successful career, give up work and decent comforts, for the sake of serving My people and My cause? This could have been a call to Peter, an impulse to make the final decision to give his whole life to the service of preaching the gospel and caring for the people of Christ.

B) Maybe Jesus looked at the rest of the disciples and asked, “Peter, do you love me more than the rest of the disciples?” Perhaps Jesus remembered the night when Peter said: “If all are offended because of You, I will never be offended” (Matthew 26:33). It may be that He reminded Peter of how he once thought that he alone would remain faithful to Him, and how then his courage gave out. Most likely, the second meaning is correct, because in his answer, Peter does not make any more comparisons, but is satisfied with the simple answer: "You know that I love You."

2. Jesus asked this question three times, and there was a reason for it. Peter denied Jesus three times, and the Lord gave him a triple chance to reaffirm his love. In benevolent forgiveness, Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to erase the memory of the triple renunciation with a triple confession of love.

3. We need to pay attention to what Peter's love brought.

a) She brought him a task. Jesus said, “If you love Me, give your life to the care of My sheep. We can prove that we love the Lord only by showing love to others. Love is the greatest privilege in the world, but it also brings with it the greatest responsibility.

B) Love brought the cross to Peter. Jesus told him, "When you were young, you went where you wanted to, but the time will come when you stretch out your hands and they will lead you where you don't want to" (21:18). The time came when Peter died for the Lord in Rome. He also went to the cross, but asked to be crucified upside down, because he did not consider himself worthy to die, as Christ died. Love brought Peter a task and a cross. Love is always associated with responsibility, and always associated with sacrifice. We do not truly love Christ until we are ready to accept His commission and His cross.

John did not accidentally write down this incident. He wanted to show Peter as the great shepherd of Christ's flock. It is quite possible, and perhaps inevitable, that people in early church compared the apostles. Some said that John was the greatest of them, others put forward the apostle Paul because he went for Christ to all ends of the earth, but this chapter says that Peter occupied special place. He did not speak and write like John, he did not travel as much and as far as Paul, but he was given a high honor and a beautiful task: to be a shepherd of Christ's sheep. And in this we can follow in his footsteps. We, too, may not be able to think like John, or go to all ends of the earth like Paul, but each of us can help another not to get lost, and each of us can feed the sheep of Christ in the pastures of Christ's Word.

20-24 WITNESS ABOUT CHRIST (John 21:20-24)

This passage clearly indicates that John most likely lived to a ripe old age. He must have been alive when the word spread about him that he would not die until the coming of Christ. Just as the previous passage placed Peter, this passage places John. His ministry was chiefly to bear witness to Christ. Again, people in the early Church compared the ministries of the apostles. They must have pointed to Paul and talked about how he traveled to distant lands. They pointed to Peter and said how he cared about the flock of Christ. And then, probably, they wondered, what was the ministry of John, who continued to live in Ephesus, until he became too old for any ministry? The answer is: Paul was the originator of Christ, Peter was His shepherd, John was His witness. He was the one who could say: "I saw everything and wrote about it and my word is true."

To this day, the strongest argument for Christianity is personal experience. To this day, a Christian is one who can say, "I know Jesus and I know that all this is true."

So, in the end, this gospel brings out two great ministers of the Church: the apostles Peter and John. The Lord Jesus gave each of them a specific assignment and task. Peter was told to shepherd the sheep of Christ and eventually lay down his life for Christ. John was instructed to testify about Christ and, having lived to a ripe old age, end his life peacefully. This did not make them rivals for honor and prestige, nor made one greater than the other, but made them both servants of Christ.

Let a man serve Christ where Christ has placed him! As Jesus said to Peter, "What do you care about the assignments of another, your business is to follow Me." He says it to each of us. Our honor is not in comparing ourselves with others, but in serving Christ according to the abilities with which He has endowed us.

25 UNLIMITED CHRIST (John 21:25)

In this last chapter the author of the fourth gospel presented great truths to the church for which he wrote it. He reminded her of the reality of the Resurrection, of the universality of the Church, that Peter and John were not rivals for glory and honor, but that Peter was the great shepherd and John the great witness. And now he has come to an end, once again turning his mind to the majesty of Jesus Christ. What we know about Christ is only a part of everything that can be known about Him. And the miracles we have experienced are nothing compared to those that we have yet to see. Human categories are unable to describe Christ, and human books unable to contain it. And so John ends his gospel with the image of countless victories, inexhaustible power and unlimited grace of Jesus Christ.

1–14. Appearance of the Risen Christ on the Sea of ​​Tiberias. – 15–23. Wonderful fishing and lunch by the sea. Prediction of the fate of Peter and John. – 24–25. The second conclusion to the Gospel.

. After that, Jesus again appeared to His disciples at the Sea of ​​Tiberias. It appeared like this:

"After that", i.e. after the events described in Chapter 20.

"Jesus appeared again...". As can be seen from verse 14, this apparition was already the third in a series of apparitions that were to the disciples. The first took place on the first day after Sunday, the second on the eighth ().

"By the Sea of ​​Tiberias"- see comments to.

. Simon Peter was together, and Thomas, called the Twin, and Nathanael of Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples.

In total, there were seven disciples of Christ at the sea at that time: five apostles, who are named by name (however, John, according to his custom, calls himself and his brother James only by patronymic), and two others, perhaps not even from among the apostles .

. Simon Peter says to them: I'm going to fish. They say to him: we go with you. We went and immediately got into the boat, and caught nothing that night.

The apostles apparently resumed their former occupations, as they had not yet received a final commission to preach the gospel. Peter - apparently in the evening - goes to the sea to fish, and six other disciples join him. As can be seen from the further story, they all fit in one boat, having one network.

. And when the morning had already come, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

After spending the whole night at sea and not catching anything, the disciples saw in the early morning that someone was standing on the shore. It was Jesus whom the disciples did not recognize because of the distance.

. Jesus says to them: children! do you have any food? They answered Him: no.

The Lord turned to the disciples when they began to swim up to the shore, asking if they had anything to eat, of course, meaning that they had caught some fish. The disciples, probably engaged in gathering the net, did not look at the questioner and briefly answered his question in the negative.

. He said to them, Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you will catch it. They threw, and could no longer pull out the nets from the multitude of fish.

The Lord then gives them advice to throw the net once more and precisely on the right side of the boat - then they will catch. Believing that a man experienced in fishing is standing in front of them, the students follow his advice and capture a huge amount of fish with a net.

. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: This is the Lord. Simon Peter, hearing that it was the Lord, girded himself with his robe, for he was naked, and threw himself into the sea.

. And the other disciples sailed in a boat - for they were not far from the land, about two hundred cubits - dragging a net with fish.

Seeing the unusually quick fulfillment of the words of the stranger, John was the first to recognize in this stranger the Lord who had again appeared. Moreover, another similar case could come to his mind (). But while John himself remained with the other disciples to help them manage such a rich catch, Peter, always impetuous in his love for Christ, climbs out of the boat in order to swim quickly to the shore and come to Jesus. Since he was fishing in one shirt, then, out of respect for the Lord, he put on at the same time something like a short blouse, which was worn by the Syrian and Phoenician fishermen (Blessed Theophylact) and tightly girded himself with a belt (he was called naked precisely because that was in one shirt or chiton).

. When they came out on the ground, they saw a broken fire and fish and bread lying on it.

. Jesus tells them: bring the fish you have now caught.

. Simon Peter went and dragged out to the ground a net filled with large fish, of which there were one hundred and fifty-three; and with such a multitude, the network did not break.

The Evangelist does not say that Peter, who hastened to Jesus, began some kind of conversation with Him. Perhaps he himself did not dare to turn to Christ with some question and waited, standing by the water, for the other apostles to drive up. The Lord did not start a conversation with Him. When all the other students went ashore, they saw that fish was already being fried on a fire, and bread was lying near the fire. Christ, however, requires them to bring the fish they have caught. Then Peter, as the chief fisherman (cf. verse 3), "went", or, more precisely, went up, went up to the higher bank (ἀνέβη ); he stood by the very water, as if embarrassed to approach the place where Christ stood, and pulled out the net, which his associates brought to the very shore. John noticed that the apostles counted all the fish in the net 153 - this, obviously, was an unusual catch. In addition, John was especially surprised by the fact that the net did not break from such a great weight.

. Jesus tells them: Come, have dinner. None of the disciples dared to ask Him: who are You?, knowing that it is the Lord.

. Jesus comes, takes the bread and gives them, also the fish.

. then for the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead.

Reverent fear did not allow the disciples themselves to start a conversation with Christ when He invited them to dinner. At the same time, the Lord did not say anything to the disciples about the purpose of His appearance, but they should have understood the meaning of everything that had happened without any special explanation. The miraculous catch of fish foretold to them the success that they would have in the work of attracting human souls to Christ, if only they would follow Christ's instructions in everything. The dinner to which Christ invited them meant, firstly, the restoration of close friendly relations between them and Christ, and secondly, served as a guarantee that while they were busy with the work of preaching, the Lord would take care of their satisfaction. earthly needs.

. When they were eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon of Jonas! do you love me more than they do? Peter says to Him: Yes, Lord! You know I love you. Jesus says to him, feed my lambs.

In addition to this general goal, the present manifestation also had a particular goal: the restoration of the apostolic rights of the Apostle Peter, who denied Christ.

At the end of dinner (more precisely, from the Greek, when they had breakfast - ἠρίστησαν) the Lord asks Peter if he loves Him more than others. Of course, Christ asks about this for the purpose of reminding Peter of his former declaration of his love for Christ (). And the threefold repetition of the same question should have reminded Peter of his threefold denial of Christ. It is very probable that the fire near which he now stood must have brought to his memory the fire near which he warmed himself at night in the courtyard of the high priest. Peter's answer shows how humbled he is: he no longer speaks of his selfless devotion to Christ, but only gives an affirmative answer to Christ's question. Moreover, he humbly declares that his love for Christ is not what Christ would like to see from him. Christ asks him if he loves Him with love, which is based on the belief in the high merits of the beloved person, which is the work of the will of man (this is the meaning of the verb ἀγαπᾶν used by Christ here). Peter, in his answer, speaks only of his friendly heartfelt disposition towards Christ (in this sense he uses the verb φιλεῖν, cf.). However, the Lord accepts this confession of Peter and entrusts him to feed His lambs. This does not give Peter any special authority that would distinguish him from the rest of the apostles. No, here he is only restored in his dignity, which he lost along with the renunciation. The Lord also entrusts him, like the other apostles, with the care of believers. It should be noted that the Lord calls believers here lambs or lambs in order to show how they need care from the apostles, and this care itself designates feeding, nutrition (βόσκε ἀρνία μου).

. Another time he says to him: Simon Jonin! do you love me? Peter says to Him: Yes, Lord! You know I love you. Jesus says to him, feed my sheep.

The Lord, apparently, some time later again turns to Peter with the same question, omitting only the expression "more than them". He seems to want to ask Peter if he has at least the same love that all His disciples should have for Christ (here again the verb ἀγαπᾶν is used). But Peter did not attach importance to the true meaning of Christ's question and gives the answer in exactly the same terms as in the first case. The Lord again says nothing to Peter about some insufficiency of his answer and now instructs him to feed, or, more precisely, manage His sheep, i.e. all the flock of Christ (cf.), without distinction in age and strength of the animals that make up the herd ( ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου ).

. Says to him for the third time: Simon Jonin! do you love me? Peter was sad that he asked him for the third time: do you love me? and said to Him: Lord! You know everything; You know I love you. Jesus says to him, feed my sheep.

Asking Peter for the third time, the Lord used the same verb to denote the concept of love that Peter had just used (φιλεῖν ). By this, the Lord called into question the friendly disposition that Peter, by his own admission, had. This greatly upset Peter, and his grief expressed itself in the fact that he gave a different form to his answer. He omits a particle of the statement “so” and no longer speaks of his love as a completely clear matter about which Christ should be aware, but expresses only confidence that Christ, as God omniscient, penetrates into his heart and finds there not only weaknesses and at the same time a sincere love for Him. The Lord, after this mournful and humble confession, for the third time instructs Peter to take care of feeding His "sheep", or, more precisely, "sheep" (βόσκε προβάτια), by which He means the weakest believers. Peter himself felt how difficult the situation of the weak in character is, not in faith, because in his denial Peter showed not weakness of faith, but precisely insufficient firmness of character, and therefore it is to him that the Lord instructs to strengthen and comfort those people whom he himself was like before.

. Truly, truly, I say to you: when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you, and lead you where you do not want to.

. He said this, making it clear by what death Peter would glorify God. And having said this, he said to him, Follow me.

After the restoration of Peter in his apostolic dignity, Christ predicts Peter's martyrdom. Just as a decrepit old man can no longer dress himself and walk as he pleases, but must resort to the help of others and go with them even where he does not want to go, so the time will come when the apostle Peter, alive and accustomed to acting according to his own desire, must will go where the enemies lead him, i.e. to martyrdom. By this death, Peter will glorify God; will contribute to the multiplication of the number of true children of God - those who believe in Christ. It can even be assumed that in the depiction of the binding of Peter and leading him where he would not like to go, the picture is given precisely of the crucifixion of Peter on the cross. Tertullian said: “then Peter girds himself on others when he is tied to the cross (see Scorp. 15). Finally, reminding Peter of his promise to die for Christ (), Christ invites Peter to follow Him, i.e., as can be seen from the context of the speech (cf. verses 22-23), prepare to suffer in the same way as Christ suffered.

. Peter, turning, sees the disciple, whom Jesus loved, who, at the supper, bowed to His breast, and said: Lord! who will betray you?

Together with Peter, the Lord began to move away from the place where the dinner was taking place. Peter, probably hearing someone's footsteps behind him, turned around and saw John walking behind him. Knowing that John was especially loved by the Lord, he naturally wanted to know what fate awaited this most beloved disciple of Christ. He considered death for Christ to be a distinction for himself and asked Christ with surprise, would not His most beloved disciple be worthy of this distinction? Peter spoke in this way, apparently out of a special affection for John, with whom he was especially close, as can be seen, for example, from the fact that on the morning of the resurrection they were together and together they hurried to the tomb of Christ.

To Peter’s question, the Lord answers him that he has nothing to worry about John: he himself must first of all follow Christ, and as for John, if he had survived even until the second coming of Christ, then this has nothing to do with the fate of the apostle Peter - he must follow the path indicated to him.

These words of the Lord about John, as the evangelist himself notes, were given to the brothers, i.e. Christians (cf.), a reason to say that John will not die. These assumptions are explained by the fact that the first Christians believed that the coming of the Lord was near and that some of them would live to see this time (see ;). Especially the fact that Peter really died the death that the Lord predicted for him, and John continued his activities for a dozen or two years after Peter's death, should have further strengthened the Christians in the correctness of the assumption. That is why John establishes exactly the meaning of the words that the Lord said in relation to him.

It cannot be overlooked here that this addition to the Gospel clearly shows that John was alive at the time this addition appeared, and that he himself made the latter. Indeed, was there any need to clarify the true meaning of the words of Christ, if John had already died? Then it would be enough, in contrast to any fiction about his fate, to point to the place where he was buried.

. This disciple testifies of this, and wrote this; and we know that his testimony is true.

. Many other things Jesus did; but if one were to write about it in detail, then, I think, the world itself would not contain the books that were written. Amen.

These verses may be considered, first, as a conclusion to one 21st chapter. In this case, they will mainly affirm the truth of what is said about the fate of Peter and John. Secondly, here one can see the conclusion to the whole Gospel, and such an opinion seems to be more correct, since verse 25 obviously has in mind not one small addition to the Gospel contained in chapter 21, but the whole Gospel of John. So, in this conclusion - according to the second account - "this student", i.e. John himself, says that he is a witness to the truth of everything said in the Gospel, that it was he who wrote it himself, and then those people who surrounded John (“we know”), i.e., probably some apostles and other eyewitnesses of the events described in the Gospel of John. The last remark of the evangelist, that the whole world could not contain books that would contain everything that the apostles knew about Christ, must, of course, be understood as a hyperbolic expression.

N. Rozanov.

V. Epilogue (chapter 21)

In writing this chapter, John pursued following goals: a) show how Jesus "restored" Peter after his fall; b) to correct a serious mistake in the ideas about the second coming of the Lord. You can also learn from this chapter additional information about the author himself. Some theologians see in chapter 21 a certain "recession" - in comparison with the "high sound" of the twentieth chapter, and on this basis they conclude that it was completed by some anonymous author. However, the linguistic and vocabulary features of the text refute this opinion.

Not to mention the fact that in other books of Holy Scripture there are "additions" that follow the chapters of the highest (both in meaning and in form) sound (for example, the 16th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, written after what was said in 15:33). Therefore, chapter 21 should not be considered as devoid of value or disturbing the harmony of the book as a whole.

A. Appearance of Jesus "by the Sea" (21:1-14)

John. 21:1-3. The angel promised the disciples that Jesus would meet them in Galilee (Matt. 28:7). It was important for the Lord to testify to the disciples about His resurrection, appearing to them in different places and in different time(Acts 1:3). (The Sea of ​​Tiberias is another name for the Sea of ​​Galilee - a commentary on John 6:1.) While in Jerusalem, the apostles experienced turbulent events; extraordinary feelings and impressions rapidly succeeded each other.

Here is the solemn entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and their unrelenting, in spite of everything, hope that He is about to establish a new kingdom, and the betrayal of one of their close circle, and the arrest of Jesus, and the danger to which they themselves were exposed, and the denial of Peter, and the crucifixion of the Master! And then His resurrection, and the appearance of the Lord to them, the apostles. It is clear that all this led them into extreme confusion, and they had little idea of ​​what awaited them in the future.

Peter has so far returned to his usual fishing trade, apparently not fully understanding the significance of what John says in 20:22. In addition, he had to feed his family, and the consciousness of his fall, having denied the Lord, one must think, still depressed him. But others still probably saw him as a "leader" (this is noticeable, in particular, from the fact that, behold, Peter expresses his intention to go fishing, and six disciples join him). John speaks briefly of their failure in the absence of Jesus (cf. 15:5), and then of the great catch with His help. This scene, as it were, determines the direction of their life path further.

John. 21:4-6. When Jesus appeared to them in the morning, standing on the shore ... the disciples did not recognize Him - either because of the distance, or because it was not yet completely dawn. Meanwhile, He called out to them: Children! do you have any food? (implying if they caught what). Perhaps, in obedience to His authoritative advice, they threw the net on the right side of the boat, and barely pulled it out - such an unusually large catch was (verse 11). This miracle, so reminiscent of what Jesus had done before (Luke 5:1-11), helped the disciples to recognize Him, and also to realize that He was giving them great signs after His resurrection.

John. 21:7-9. The first to know and realize was John, who said, This is the Lord. There was an immediate reaction from Peter: he threw himself into the water and swam to the shore. An act for him, hot and impulsive, is characteristic, and this psychological detail once again speaks of the reliability of John's testimony. The following detail also attracts attention: when the disciples ... went out on land, the breakfast, which consisted of fish and bread, was already waiting for them on the fire.

John. 21:10-11. In the mention of large fish, number 153, they saw various allegories and symbols. But John most likely cites this figure as some specific detail in support of the fact that really took place. Indeed, for a group of fishermen it was commonplace to count the catch, in order to then equally divide it among themselves. And if a spiritual lesson can be drawn from here, it is only that the efforts of those who follow the will of God are blessed by God.

John. 21:12-14. When Jesus invited them to share a meal with Him, none of the disciples dared to ask Him: "Who are You?", although in their hearts everyone already knew that it was the Lord. The fact that both Mary and the disciples who were going to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) did not immediately recognize the resurrected Lord may indicate that outwardly He somehow changed after His Resurrection, but in that the time is not long enough to prevent the disciples from realizing that the one who appeared to them was Jesus.

Their joint breakfast on the shores of the Lake of Galilee made an indelible impression on the seven apostles. Years later, in his sermon, Peter will speak of himself as a witness worthy of full trust, for he ate and drank with Jesus Christ after His resurrection (Acts 10:41). In verse 14, John means that this was the third of the appearances of Christ to the disciples he described (we read about the other two in 20:19,24).

B. Jesus forgives Peter and draws him closer to Him again (21:15-23)

John. 21:15-17. Recently, just as sitting by the fire (18:18,25), Peter denied Jesus. Now, at another fire, the Lord publicly restores him as an apostle. Let us note that, addressing Peter three times, Christ calls him the way he called him at their first meeting: Simon Jonin! (1:42). He turns to him with the question: do you love me more than they do?

By “they”, of course, other disciples were meant, but, “opposing” Peter to them, the Lord only reminded him of his repeated ardent assurances of love and self-confident statements that, if everyone else would leave Jesus, he would never leave Him ( Matthew 26:33,35; Luke 22:33; John 13:37). Jesus repeating the same question three times and repeating the commission to the apostle three times "corresponds" to Peter's threefold denial (18:17,25,27). Now he repeats three times that he loves the Lord (21:15-17).

No matter how high a person stands, he is never immune from falling (1 Cor. 10:12). But God in His mercy forgives the penitent. It was very important for the apostles to be convinced of this at that moment - after all, the Church, which was to arise, was expecting such cruel persecutions that even those who led it would be shaken in their feelings and loyalty to Christ.

So Jesus instructed Peter three times: feed my lambs (sheep) (verse 15, 16, 17). Some Catholics conclude on this basis that Peter was placed by Christ in a special position superior to the rest of the apostles, however, this judgment is not valid, especially in comparison with the words of Peter himself in 1 Pet. 5:2.

Note that in the Greek text the words "love" and "feed" in each of the three cases are not conveyed by the same verbs; "love" as, agape, agape and phileo, which could be translated as "do you love me, conscious of my high merits" and "do you have a heartfelt inclination towards me?"; "pasi" (boske, poimaine, boske) in Greek sounds like "take care", "nourish", "take care of".

It is difficult, although possible, to trace some spiritual nuances in this connection, but most theologians consider them as stylistic nuances. In any case, it is noteworthy that in response to the questions of the Lord, Peter, having received a bitter lesson, no longer assures Him of selfless devotion; but his words, permeated with deep feeling, are short, and his tone is humble.

John. 21:18-19. Here, with His solemn introduction, Truly, truly, I say to you (interpretation on 1:51), Jesus anticipates the prediction of the future crucifixion of Peter. In old age, Peter was tied to the cross, which he carried to the place of his execution, and his hands were "stretched out", that is, they were stretched out along its crossbar. Obedience to the words of Jesus, follow me, resounding for every Christian, determines the life of a believer from beginning to end. Just as Jesus submitted to the will of the Heavenly Father, so His followers must submit to the will of the Lord, wherever it leads them - to the torment on the cross or through other difficult experiences.

John. 21:20-23. Having learned about God's will regarding his future, Peter asked what future awaits his friend John, that is, the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Lord sternly objected to Peter: he should not be curious about God's will in relation to another person (what is it to you? you follow Me).

As an answer, these words of Christ can also be accepted by those believers who, excessively desiring to penetrate into the secret will of God, are sometimes careless of His will, which is clearly revealed to them. God's plans for Christians are by no means the same, and it is not often clear to us what considerations God is guided by. So we, like Peter, should simply "follow him."

Christ remarks to Peter that if, according to His will, John would have to live until His second coming to earth, then even then it is not Peter's business to be interested in how and why. John then stipulates that the words of the Lord about him gave rise to an erroneous idea among believers that he, John, would not die. The evangelist explains exactly what Jesus meant. Curiously, at the end of his narrative, John quotes the words of Christ about His return to earth.

Of course, Jesus did not say anything about the time of His second coming. The false rumor that swept among the disciples arose from the fact that they misunderstood the words of Jesus regarding John. This cannot but alarm Christians, who should think deeply about the word of God in order to avoid misinterpreting what is promised to them.

C. John's closing words (21:24-25)

John. 21:24-25. The Fourth Gospel ends with the identification of its author with the "beloved disciple" of Jesus Christ (interpretation of "Authorship" in the Introduction).

The words "about this" and "this" in the phrase testifies to this and wrote this, apparently, refer to the Gospel as a whole. The words we know that his testimony is true, most likely, were inscribed not by John, but by someone else. Perhaps they expressed the opinion of the members of the Ephesian church or of the early apostolic Church as a whole. In any case, support for the testimony of John was expressed by believers from that generation, who knew the facts stated by the evangelist better than anyone after them.

The final verse about how the world itself could not contain…books that would contain everything that Jesus did, at first glance may seem like literary hyperbole. But in fact, the Gospels reflect only a small part of what Christ said and revealed to the world. Someone has calculated that reading aloud the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels would take ... only three hours. Doesn't it follow from this that the description of everything said and done by the Son of God for three years, especially for the entire time of His stay in the body, would really turn out to be endless!