Week 11: Purpose Statement and Epilogue (John 20:30–21:25)

John 20:30–21:25

This passage brings John’s Gospel to a close. The Gospel concludes with a purpose statement and epilogue which together rehearse the major themes of the Gospel: Jesus’ identity as the Christ and Son of God, his messianic signs, the urgency of believing in Jesus, and the gift of eternal life. John’s Gospel closes with Jesus’ third and final resurrection appearance recorded by John, an encounter that highlights the respective callings of Peter and John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

John 20:30–21:25 recounts the major themes of John’s Gospel and narrates Jesus’ resurrection appearance to his disciples.

Read through the complete passage for this study, John 20:30–21:25. Then review the questions below and write your notes on them concerning this phase of Jesus’ ministry. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 2071–2072; also available online at www.esvbible.org.)

John 20:30–31 states the purpose for which John wrote this Gospel. What major themes are touched upon in this purpose statement?

How should this purpose statement inform how Christians read, study, preach, and interact with this book?

John 21 narrates the third resurrection appearance by Jesus recorded by John. Which disciples are present for this encounter? How do the disciples recognize Jesus?

What do you make of the fact that Jesus’ final resurrection appearance with his disciples is a breakfast meeting? What similarities do you see between this scene, Jesus’ first sign (John 2), and the famous sign recorded in John 6:1–15?

Think about the three resurrection appearances Jesus has made to his disciples (John 20:19–23; 24–29; 21:1–14). What have each of these three appearances uniquely communicated?

Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:15–18, 25–27). Here Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him (21:15-17). What is Jesus doing?

Instructing Peter to “feed my sheep,” Jesus gives Peter his calling to shepherd the church.1 How do you see grace in this dialogue between Jesus and Peter and in the responsibility Jesus gives to Peter?

After being handed his calling from Jesus, Peter asks Jesus about the calling on John’s life. What does this scene teach us about the unique callings God gives his people? What lessons are Jesus’ words of response to Peter’s question meant to teach him, and us through him?

John beautifully ends his Gospel with statements that stir the imagination. How does John 21:25 affect your imagination? What is this verse communicating about the ministry of Jesus?

Each of the Gospel writers communicates something unique to their audience with the ending of their Gospel. How does John’s ending affect you, and how is this different from the endings of the other Gospel accounts?

Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to reflect on the Personal Implications this passage from John may have for your walk with the Lord.

LORD OF THE ORDINARY. Jesus does many ordinary things. Jesus’ first miracle recorded in the Gospel of John is turning water into wine—keeping a festive wedding party going. And Jesus’ final scene in John shows him cooking breakfast for his disciples. Fully God and fully man, Jesus knows the human condition. He knows our ordinary lives, our ordinary fears, and our busy schedules. Through it all, he injects joy, caring even for our physical needs.

GRACE. Peter boldly declared to Jesus that he was ready to lay down his life for him (John 13:37). Yet once he was required to put his own safety at risk, Peter denied knowing Jesus. He did this three times. After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, however, Jesus talks to Peter about love three times. In this way he is reinstating Peter as his disciple. And Jesus does more than that. He gives Peter an enormous responsibility, commanding him to shepherd and lead the church. This is extraordinary—the man who had recently denied Jesus at the hour when Jesus needed him most has now been forgiven by Jesus and entrusted with the responsibility to lead others toward Jesus. This is grace. This is how God’s economy works.

LOVED. Throughout his Gospel, John has identified himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Why do you suppose he does that? This, however, is not a title reserved for John. This is a title true of all who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Every disciple of Jesus can call themselves “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

GOD’S GREATNESS. Nearly every page of the Bible testifies to the grandness of God and God’s work. The Bible begins with astonishing news: God created the universe simply through the power of his word. The Bible ends with astonishing news: Jesus will return to earth at the roar of the trumpet and will bring heaven down to earth, forever changing life as we know it. And John ends his Gospel with similar astonishment, with a statement that makes the reader see just how big Jesus really is. In twenty-one chapters John has chronicled a great deal of Jesus’ teaching and action, yet John states, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (21:25). John’s aim is for his readers to behold how glorious Jesus is. The mighty works of God come to a climax here in John 21:25; it is not possible to record fully the magnitude and extent of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished.

A GREAT FEAST. “Come and have breakfast,” said Jesus to his worn-out disciples (John 21:12). At the beginning of the Bible, God’s people (Adam and Eve) are free to eat from all the trees of Eden except one. At the end of the Bible, God’s people (the church) are once more invited to eat from the flourishing tree of life (Rev. 22:2). And all through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the great joy that God has for his people is depicted in terms of a feast (e.g., Isa. 25:6; 30:29; Jer. 31:14; Luke 14:12–24). While on one level the new earth will no doubt include the enjoyment of physical foods, this enjoyment itself serves as a glimpse of the greatest joy of all: knowing God through Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35).

ALL-KNOWING. As Jesus peppers him with questions, Peter states, “Lord, you know everything” (John 21:17). Peter is right. After witnessing the resurrection, Peter now knows that Jesus is Lord and that he knows everything. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is omniscient.2 He knows everything at all times. God is not limited in his knowledge. Nothing escapes his knowledge and providence.3 Elsewhere Jesus states that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground apart from God’s knowledge and will (Matt. 10:29).

VOCATION. Laced throughout the Bible is the doctrine of vocation, the truth that God creates everyone uniquely (Psalm 139) and places unique callings on each individual life. We see this in the final chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus states that Peter and John have different yet equally strategic ways that their lives are to be used for the glory of God. The doctrine of vocation is all about how God does his work in the world—namely, through his unique human creations. We should not feel pressure to compare ourselves to others, for God has given a unique calling to each one of us that only we can uniquely fulfill. Peter was called to be Peter. John was called to be John. You are called to be you.

Take time to reflect on the implications of John 20:30–21:25 for your own life today. Make notes below on the personal implications for your walk with the Lord of (1) the Gospel Glimpses, (2) the Whole-Bible Connections, (3) the Theological Soundings, and (4) this passage as a whole.

1. Gospel Glimpses

2. Whole-Bible Connections

3. Theological Soundings

4. John 20:30–21:25

Take a moment now to ask for the Lord’s blessing and help as you engage in this study of John. And take a moment also to look back through this unit of study, to reflect on a few key things that the Lord may be teaching you—and perhaps to highlight or underline these to review again in the future.

Definitions

1 Church – From a Greek word meaning “assembly.” The church is the body of believers in Jesus Christ. The word can refer either to all believers everywhere or to a local gathering of believers.

2 Omniscient – An attribute of God that describes his complete knowledge and understanding of all things at all times.

3 Providence – God’s good, wise, and sovereign guidance and control of all things, by which he supplies all our needs and accomplishes his holy will.

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