John 21:21-25
 
John 21:21 (KJB)
Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
 
Peter then asks Jesus concerning John. Peter had been the one addressed in the previous verses so maybe he was asking for John’s sake or had a concern about him or wanted to make a comparison between him and John.
 
John 21:22 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
 
Here is the essence of true discipleship. Jesus had told Peter three times to feed His sheep and then to follow Him. Jesus tells Peter, basically why are you concerned about him? If I want to let him live until I return, then why would that affect thee? I gave you a command to feed my sheep and follow me, therefore, do not get distracted or diverted by whatever ministry I have for someone else. You will have enough to contend with in your own life. That is a good lesson for us. We must continue following the Lord and not to concern ourselves with the ministry of others, or the things of the world. Now when I speak about the ministry of others, I am not saying that we can never lend a hand to another ministry but we must keep focused on the primary ministry the Lord has given us.
 
John 21:23 (KJB)
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
 
Then as usual, as soon as those who misunderstood Jesus and what He said will tell it wherever they go. Jesus did not say that John would not die, He stated that if He wills John to stay alive until the second coming, that should not affect another. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Rumor mills are as alive today as they were back then. We need to be careful what we hear and when we hear something to make sure what we heard was correct and if it really needs to be shouted from the housetops.
 
John 21:24 (KJB)
This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
 
John ends this book stating that he testifies to these things and that he is the author of them, of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then he probably gave this book to others who were also witnesses to the things of Jesus and was given approval by claiming that the testimony of John was true. The Bible states that at least two or three witnesses are needed to confirm something. (Deu 19:15 KJV) One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
 
John 21:25 (KJB)
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
 
Jesus was the central figure in all of humanity. When He taught or performed any miracle, it would have been written down and then thousands of commentaries would have been written. The works and words of Jesus Himself could not be contained by the world. This means there are many things which Jesus did and said that were not included in the Gospels because it would have been overwhelming for any human being to comprehend. Even the believers would be overwhelmed. Look at the tens of thousands of books which are written about Jesus down through the ages. If we were able to count and catalog them, I cannot imagine the many giant libraries that would be needed to house all of them. John is telling us that basically there is so much that could not be written down but God knew exactly what we needed to proclaim and to live by so we never need worry about missing something. Those people who claim to have found lost books of the Bible are just peddling non-canonical history and sometimes fantasy, which only engenders confusion. We can totally rely on what God has given us in the Scriptures. Let me ask a question. Have you been obedient to everything in Scripture? Have you understood everything in Scripture? If not, then why would you want more? He who has ears to hear!

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