18:1 over the Brook Kidron. Rainy season filled the Kidron brook, but at this time of year it was merely an easily crossed ravine.

18:3 detachment of troops, and officers. Because the military terminology in this context (e.g., the Greek term translated “detachment” here) was often used for Roman military units, some scholars believe that the arrest force is Roman. Others counter that the same terminology appears for Jewish units; that the group is led by chief priests and Pharisees; that Roman soldiers would not have escorted Jesus for interrogation by Annas (v. 13), whom a Roman governor had deposed from office; and that Pilate seems initially unfamiliar with the charges and arrest (vv. 29,31). On this latter view, these are probably members of the Levite police, as in the other Gospels (see note on Mark 14:43). lanterns, torches, and weapons. Groups traveling at night carried torches or lanterns, but not everyone in the group would need to carry them.

18:5 I am he. The Greek phrase used here can also be rendered, “I am” (see note on 8:24), which declares Jesus’ deity (Ex. 3:14; see note on John 8:58).

18:6 drew back and fell to the ground. If the guards had heard of Jesus’ power and thought of him as a dangerous sorcerer, they may have fallen back in fear; they might know the Jewish tradition that Pharaoh fell when Moses pronounced the divine name. Beyond this, both Scripture (1 Sam. 19:24; Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 10:9) and subsequent history offer examples of people overwhelmed by God’s majesty or whose nervous systems were so overcome, often with terror at God’s presence, that they fell down.

18:8 let these go. If followers were unarmed, authorities sometimes chose to stop movements by arresting the leader; disillusioned followers would normally scatter afterward, as here.

18:10 high priest’s servant. A personal servant of the high priest could wield much authority, including over the temple police if this was included in his instructions.

18:11 the cup. See note on Mark 14:36.

18:12–24 On the trial narratives, see the article “Jesus’ Trial.”

18:12 captain. If over the temple guard, cf. note on Acts 4:1.

18:13 Annas ... father-in-law of Caiaphas. Annas was not only the father-in-law of Caiaphas but also the father of five sons, all of whom became high priests in the first century. Annas had held the office himself from AD 6 through 15, when the Roman governor replaced him (against Jewish custom), but through his family he continued to influence local politics until he died in AD 35. Surviving sources from other Jewish circles view him negatively. Ancient legal ethics looked down on interrogating a prisoner in one’s home, but the hearing for more official purposes will come later (v. 24). that year. On Caiaphas and his priesthood “that year,” see note on 11:49.

18:15 courtyard. See note on Luke 22:55. Servants guarded the gates in outer walls of ample homes; the wealthiest, such as eminent members of the high priestly family, would have servants whose regular duties included watching the gate. Visitors unfamiliar to the gatekeeper would arouse more suspicion, particularly at night and if their clothing showed that they did not belong to the Levite guards or to households of the elite. Guards would normally screen out visitors of lower social station from this prominent home, and those of lower social station would normally not expect to be admitted.

18:18 It was cold. Given its elevation, Jerusalem can be cool at night in April.

18:20 spoke openly. Those whose teachings were secretive were considered subversive. Teachings of those who taught in public were also easily verifiable by numerous witnesses (a key issue in the much later debate between Gnostics, who claimed unverifiable secret traditions from the first apostles, and mainstream Christians, who appealed to early and public attestation for their beliefs).

18:22 struck. A blow to the cheek functioned as a severe insult in antiquity. God’s servants sometimes experienced this (1 Kin. 22:24; 2 Chr. 18:23).

18:23 if well, why do you strike Me? By all ancient official approaches to legal ethics, it is Jesus’ captors, not Jesus Himself, who are transgressing, as Jesus points out. Interrogation in a private home at night without prior notice of a hearing violated legal ideals; striking an unconvicted prisoner was even more problematic.

18:25 He denied it. A disciple’s denial would shame the teacher. Because many ancient hearers would feel that such behavior reflected badly not only on this important disciple but also on Jesus who chose him, nearly all scholars agree that ancient Christians would never have invented such a story.

18:27 rooster crowed. See note on 13:38.

18:28 Preatorium. The splendid palace of Herod the Great, used by governors when they came to Jerusalem during festivals to prevent unrest. early morning. See note on Matt. 27:1. lest they should be defiled. Because worshipers of other gods were deemed ritually unclean, religiously strict Judeans would not enter their homes; to do so would render the Judeans themselves too impure to eat the Passover (or to eat unleavened bread the next day, on a different chronology; by this period many people blended Passover with the Feast of Unleavened Bread; see the article “The Synoptic Passover Meal Versus John’s Passover Lamb”). Archaeology demonstrates that the chief priests were indeed scrupulous about ritual purity.

18:29 Pilate went out to them. See note on v. 28. An urgent threat to peace invited the governor to intervene directly and militarily, but under normal circumstances the governor would wait for accusers to bring charges. Discovering and charging those who subverted public order was especially the duty of local elites.

18:31 judge Him according to your own law. Governors normally refused jurisdiction over charges that were not offenses under Roman law, including violation of local religious customs. Such offenses were to be tried by local courts. The governor’s decision was necessary in capital cases, however; throughout the provinces, Rome normally reserved for its own officials the right to pronounce death sentences, thereby preventing locals from harming those possibly loyal to Rome. Pilate, who was governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36, was known for not cooperating with the Judean elite except in cases where the fallout from not cooperating would be too great (as in 19:12–15). At about this time, e.g., Pilate minted a coin with a pagan image that offended Judea’s Jewish residents. Many scholars suggest that Sejanus, the praetorian prefect who ran Rome for Tiberius, was Pilate’s patron; if this surmise is true, Pilate’s position was relatively secure until Sejanus’s disgrace and execution in AD 31. After that Pilate would have needed to act more cautiously.

18:32 by what death. Ancient Jewish law decreed stoning for blasphemy, but a Roman execution for treason warranted the slow public death involved in crucifixion. Cf. note on 12:32.

18:33 Are you the king of the Jews? As governor, Pilate had complete freedom in the case, but proper procedure was normally to inquire into the charges. The charge in this case is that Jesus claimed to be “king of the Jews”—a title that, if not bestowed by the emperor, constituted treason, a capital offense.

18:35 Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You. Roman infrastructure in the provinces was limited; Rome depended on local elites to charge subversives.

18:36 My kingdom is not of this world. Rome’s concern was with military and political threats—not with idealistic sages. From Rome, Pilate undoubtedly knew of the many apolitical sages (especially Cynics) who taught their followers how to “reign” in life as if “kings” yet were deemed by the elite as curiosities or laughable rather than relevant to the political order. They spoke about truth but proved harmless. To Pilate, Jesus must have seemed such a sage.

18:39 you have a custom. Governors were free to follow or disregard precedent, but they often retained popular precedents. Most provincial customs, including this one, are unattested, but this custom is not at all unlikely; similar customs are attested elsewhere. Given Jesus’ title, Pilate probably expects him to prove more popular than the other prisoners.

18:40 was a robber. This phrase reflects a Greek term that can mean simply “robber” (as in 10:1) or can mean, as often in Josephus, a revolutionary (Mark 15:7). Some scholars suggest that some robbers may have been both—part of a marauding band in the countryside that also resisted oppressive elites.

19:1 scourged Him. Although flogging was sometimes a punishment by itself, it also normally preceded execution. First, the victim would be stripped naked and tied to a post; then soldiers would beat the victim, sometimes until bones or internal organs were visible. For provincials such as Jesus, the soldiers would probably use a leather whip with sharp metal or bone woven into the ends.

19:2 Ridiculing and abusing prisoners was common. crown of thorns. Imitating Hellenistic garlands, the soldiers may have intended the thorns to point especially outward, but some of the thorns would nevertheless turn inward, scraping the scalp. put on Him a purple robe. Soldiers wore red cloaks, but when faded the cloak could resemble “purple,” like the cloaks of Hellenistic princes. See note on Mark 15:17.

19:3 Hail. A common address to rulers and equivalent to the Latin Ave. Most of Rome’s soldiers in Jerusalem were Syrian auxiliaries; in many locations, Syrians and Jews often clashed. In ridiculing the “king of the Jews,” the soldiers probably also mock Jewish people more generally.

19:4 I find no basis for a charge. A governor’s verdict would be final—unless political considerations demanded otherwise (v. 12).

19:5 Here is the man! Ironically, Pilate unwittingly echoes how God introduced Israel’s first king to Samuel (1 Sam. 9:17).

19:6 I find no fault in Him. Pilate was not known for cooperating with Judeans, for whose customs he had little patience. Everyone knew that only Pilate could legally give the death sentence (18:31).

19:7 We have a law ... He ought to die. False prophets could be executed under Biblical law (Deut. 18:20), and this should have included false claims to be the Messiah; but Rome did not permit Jewish courts to execute capital punishment. Ultimately neither Scripture nor Jewish tradition made Messianic claims a capital offense, since someone might in fact prove to be the Messiah someday (Pharisees and most people hoped for a Messiah, although the Sadducean priests may not have done so). Roman concerns about order, however, made any royal claims a capital offense (cf. vv. 12,15). Ironically, Biblical law supported Jesus rather than demanding His death (5:45–46; 15:25). made Himself the Son of God. God called Israel His children (e.g., Ex. 4:22); He also called members of David’s line His son (2 Sam. 7:14), particularly with regard to the ultimate Davidic ruler, the Messiah (cf. Ps. 2:7).

19:8 he was the more afraid. Ironically, Pilate the polytheist takes the claim of Jesus’ divine origin more seriously than do Jesus’ accusers.

19:9 Jesus gave him no answer. Jewish people often respected martyrs who refused to answer their accusers.

19:10 I have power to crucify ... to release. Under Roman law, Pilate could make whatever decision concerning Jesus he thought best.

19:11 from above. Often a Jewish way of speaking about God (cf. 3:3). Jesus seems to imply that Caiaphas, “who handed [Jesus] over to [Pilate]” (see 18:28), had illegitimate authority. In fact, Caiaphas did not inherit his office the Biblically-prescribed way, but was installed in his office by the Roman governor Gratus, because Gratus believed Caiaphas would work well with Rome.

19:12 not Caesar’s friend. Subordinate “friends” of patrons owed them honor in return for favors. “Friend of the emperor” was an especially desirable title sometimes given in this period also to clients of Sejanus, though it could also be used figuratively here. The most dangerous charge under the current emperor, the paranoid Tiberius, was treason.

19:13 judgment seat. A governor would issue a capital verdict from the judgment seat (see note on Rom. 14:10). The Pavement. Against some earlier proposals, this refers to the elevated paved area near Herod’s palace; Pilate spoke to hearers from the platform there also on other occasions.

19:14 Preparation Day of the Passover. The day that lambs were slaughtered in the temple; they would then be eaten during the Passover meal after sundown. John appears to report Jesus delivered and executed when the paschal lambs were being sacrificed, rather than (as in the Synoptics) the day before (see the article “The Synoptic Passover Meal Versus John’s Passover Lamb”). Some contend that John means simply the day of preparation for the Passover week’s Sabbath (which it also was; v. 31; Mark 15:42). about the sixth hour. Some find in “noon” a connection with 4:6 or an allusion to the alleged time of the Passover offering (though probably the offerings required the full day). Ancient hearers often connected noon especially with bright light and strong heat. Behold your king! Ironically, Pilate echoes the acclamation of Zech. 9:9 cited in John 12:15.

19:15 We have no king but Caesar. A daily Jewish prayer requested that God send the Messiah, and another prayer later used in the Passover liturgy affirms that God alone is king. Even aside from the speakers’ possible sarcasm here, many Sadducean elite priests probably were more concerned about their future with Rome, which also buttressed their own status, than with the messianic aspirations of a larger segment of their people.

19:16 Then he delivered Him. Insistent Judean demands had forced Pilate to give in on other known occasions, such as when Jerusalemites’ willingness to die as martyrs compelled him to withdraw the idolatrous Roman standards that he had brought into Jerusalem. He did not take further political risks in those matters in which he had firmer convictions; he would hardly do so for a prisoner. If he followed common procedure, he may have announced, “You will mount the cross.”

19:17 bearing His cross. Normally the condemned person was forced to publicly carry the horizontal beam (the patibulum) of his own cross out to the site of his execution. Whereas other Gospels emphasize the failure of Jesus’ disciples to help Him with the cross, perhaps after He falters, John emphasizes Jesus’ own role in carrying His cross (cf. 10:18). the Place of a Skull. See note on Mark 15:22. The soldiers would have led Jesus from Herod’s palace and through the Garden Gate (not following the route enshrined in later tradition). Executions, like burials, were outside the city walls.

19:18 People were crucified naked, on humiliating display as a warning to others. For further details on crucifixion, see note on Mark 15:24.

19:19 title. Sometimes someone would carry a tablet indicating the titulus, or charge, against the prisoner, to the site of the execution. KING OF THE JEWS. A treason charge—yet, ironically, John’s audience knows that Jesus really is king.

19:20 Many of the Jews read this title. Roman executions, like traditional Jewish ones (cf. Lev. 24:14, 23; Num. 15:35–36; at the city gate, where many would see it, Deut. 17:5; 22:24), were outside the city. Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Both Aramaic (NKJV “Hebrew”) and Greek were in common usage in Israel (the former dominant, e.g., in upper Galilee [northern Galilee], the latter among Jerusalem’s elite); Latin was used in the western part of the empire, but also (relevant for Judea) for military inscriptions in the east. (Some key inscriptions even in Jerusalem were in both Latin and Greek.)

19:22 What I have written, I have written. Now that the threat of unrest has passed, Pilate is no longer ready to accommodate the local leaders’ demands.

19:23 took His garments and made four parts. Divided clothing recalls Ps. 22:18 (cited in John 19:24; see note there), but also fits historical practice. Roman execution squads (typically about four men) had rights to whatever clothing or other effects remained on the prisoner. tunic was without seam. The inner tunic was normally formed by sewing two cloths together; a seamless tunic was thus specially made and valuable.

19:24 They divided My garments. Ps. 22:18 also mentions casting lots for one’s garment; soldiers used dice and other means to gamble. lots. See note on Acts 1:26.

19:25 Women were expected to mourn and were considered a low risk for acting violently. Soldiers might allow them to come near a dying prisoner even if the soldiers wanted to keep others away.

19:26 Woman, behold your son. Jesus’ mother might be a widow in her mid-40s; because men controlled most legal proceedings, having a male advocate was vital. Since Jesus as the eldest son was responsible for His mother’s care, entrusting this responsibility to another before He died was important. Jesus had younger brothers (7:3–5), who would normally take the responsibility, but Jesus entrusts her care to a disciple, treating him as a member of the family (cf. Mark 3:32–35). Testaments could entrust care for a family member to a designated person, and one who was dying could assign property or duties verbally. In contrast to many subsequent portrayals, Jesus’ cross left him close enough to the ground (like many other ancient crosses) for His mother and disciple to hear Him.

19:28 I thirst. Since Jesus cited Ps. 22:1 on the cross (Mark 15:34), some scholars suggest that Jesus’ words here evoke the thirst in Ps. 22:15.

19:29 sour wine. May evoke Ps. 69:21. Made of watered-down wine vinegar, it was cheap and appealed to ordinary laborers and soldiers, and hence, would have been available. hyssop. Might have been available on the premises because hyssop was used for Passover (Ex. 12:22), an association John’s earliest Jewish hearers may have noticed.

19:30 gave up His spirit. Could also be translated “gave the Spirit” (cf. 7:39). For wordplays in John’s Gospel, see note on 3:8.

19:31–32 bodies should not remain on the cross ... came and broke the legs. Some crucifixion victims may have died from asphyxiation, but they usually died more quickly from shock (due to blood loss from scourging and sometimes from being nailed to the cross) or dehydration. Those who did not die from blood loss could linger for several days, dying a slow and agonizing death. Deferring asphyxiation, a victim could sometimes rest himself on a seat in the cross, allowing himself to pull up his frame and keep breathing. When Romans wished to hasten someone’s death, they would break the victim’s legs, so that he could not hold himself up. Romans often left corpses on crosses to be picked clean by vultures, but in Jewish territory they would defer to unobjectionable local customs. Jewish law (Deut. 21:23), followed in this period, required burial before nightfall.

19:34 pierced His side. A soldier normally carried a lance (pilum), roughly 3.5 feet (a meter) long and consisting of a wood shaft with an iron head. Thrust with sufficient force, the lance could pierce the pericardial sac around heart and release its fairly clear fluid along with blood. The limited evidence we have suggests that soldiers sometimes pierced other executed people to make sure they were dead.

19:35 has testified ... his testimony. Ancient eyewitness authors often mentioned themselves in the third person (“he”), though the same author sometimes could mention himself elsewhere in the first person (as “I” or part of “we”; cf. 1:14).

19:36 Not one of His bones shall be broken. The wording fits Ps. 34:20, but also the proscription against breaking the Passover lamb’s bones (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12), relevant in this context. Some suggest that John mixes both texts; ancient Jewish teachers often linked or blended texts.

19:37 John here cites Zech. 12:10; some later rabbis construed the text as Messianic, but its immediate context in Zechariah probably refers to God.

19:38–42 The early Christian tradition of the site of the tomb is at least as old as the decade following Jesus’ interment. Tradition is unanimous—and custom required—that Jesus be buried outside the city walls, but the site is within the expanded walls of Jerusalem from the time of AD 41–43, so the tradition clearly points to a period before 41–43. The tombs on this site (the Catholic and Orthodox site of the Holy Sepulchre) date to the period in question; by the second century, a pagan emperor sought to deliberately desecrate the site because of its reputation as a local holy site. (By contrast, the Garden Tomb was a recent historical guess, belongs to the wrong period, and lacks any claim to authenticity.)

19:38 Joseph ... asked Pilate ... take away the body. Joseph shows courage. Family members would not be punished for requesting the body. For a member of the elite to request the body, however, was to take a significant risk: unless acting officially at the behest of the Sanhedrin, he could be associated with Jesus’ alleged treason, risking his own execution. Moreover, officials sometimes liked to pin such charges specifically on members of the elite so that they could confiscate their property. Although Pilate does not act against Joseph, Joseph could not know that in advance, and his request is courageous.

19:39 mixture of myrrh and aloes. After the Sabbath, those caring for the body would embalm it with the myrrh and perfume it with the aloes. Although higher figures are known (reportedly 70 pounds, or 32 kilograms, for Gamaliel, and incomparably more for Herod the Great), the spices here are expensive. By way of comparison, this extravagant act of devotion may have cost a hundred times that reported in 12:3 (see note there). In this case, however, no funeral would follow; those executed by the state could not receive public funerals.

19:40 bound it in strips of linen. Linen shrouds were common for Jewish burials (see note on Mark 15:46). The person being buried would be tightly wrapped in linen cloths to keep his or her members straight and the mouth closed.

19:41 in the garden a new tomb. A tomb so quickly accessible probably already belonged to Joseph (Matt. 27:60). Because Joseph was originally from Arimathea rather than Jerusalem, his family tomb here had not yet been used. For other tombs in or near gardens, cf. 2 Kin. 21:18,26.

19:42 Jewish tradition allowed washing and anointing corpses even on the Sabbath, but for the moment the body and spices are deposited. A body would be allowed to decompose for one year before its bones were placed in an ossuary (a stone box with a lid used to hold bones).

20:1 on the first day ... early. The Sabbath ended Saturday at sundown, and so is no longer a deterrent. Mary’s travel to the tomb in the dark, even though she is not from the environs of Jerusalem, requires serious commitment. stone had been taken away. In this area a tomb entrance was often covered by a disk-shaped rock, a yard/meter in diameter, requiring multiple people to move it. Such a stone lay in a groove but could not be moved from inside; the practice is common enough for John to take for granted here that his audience understands it.

20:2 taken the Lord out of the tomb. The authorities would have sometimes deposited the bodies of the executed in group graves designated for criminals, handing them over only after a year.

20:3 Aside from it being dark when Mary headed for the tomb, men in the ancient Mediterranean world often viewed women as undependable in their testimony. Even if they trusted her fully, however, they would want to discover where the body was.

20:4 the other disciple outran Peter. Ancient writers compared not only good and bad figures, but good and better ones. Athletic young men (as these fishermen likely were) sometimes competed with one another as friends; the beloved disciple’s strength expresses devotion to the Lord, as does Peter’s in 21:7,11.

20:5 stooping down. Some tombs had a low entrance (see also v. 11).

20:14 did not know that it was Jesus. Jewish people told stories of angels who came disguised and initially unrecognized, and sometimes of God disguising some people’s appearances. Jesus’ resurrection body differs from usual human bodies in this age (cf. Phil. 3:21).

20:15 supposing Him to be the gardener. Gardeners were of low social station.

20:16 Rabboni! Being from Galilee, Mary’s mother tongue would be Aramaic; “Rabboni” means something like “my master.”

20:17 not yet ascended to My Father. Gentiles had many stories of spiritual ascensions; Jewish people had stories of bodily ascensions, including the explicit Biblical example of Elijah. Ancient writers sometimes reported predictions that would be fulfilled only after the work’s conclusion. Go. Jesus sending Mary is striking, given the wider culture: both Jewish and Roman law normally regarded women’s testimony as of quite limited value. brethren. Language suitable for fellow Jews but here means more (see note on Acts 9:17).

20:19 first day of the week. The first Sunday evening after the crucifixion the disciples would still be inside in Jerusalem. Not only was the festival continuing, but they were in mourning. The first week of mourning was particularly heavy, making travel unusual (see note on 11:20); so far as they knew, they had several more days left in this week of mourning. doors were shut. The doors are probably barred or bolted. Peace be with you. The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, i.e., “Peace be with you.” This greeting constituted an implicit prayer to God for the well-being of the person addressed.

20:20 showed them His hands and His side. People often displayed wounds to demonstrate their commitment; here Jesus uses them to confirm His identity, just as documents often cited scars as identity markers.

20:21 I also send you. A commissioned agent could act on the authority of the sender to the extent that the agent accurately reflected the commission.

20:22 breathed on them ... Receive the Holy Spirit. As God breathed into humanity the breath of life (Gen. 2:7), so Jesus here imparts the Spirit. In the OT, God alone could bestow the Holy Spirit, i.e., God’s Spirit. Jewish sources, including the OT, often associate the Spirit with prophetic empowerment (relevant for v. 21).

20:25 in His hands the print of the nails. Romans most often tied persons to crosses with rope, but sometimes nailed them, as a sadistic (but often death-hastening) variation on the execution. Unless the person were also tied to the cross, a person could not be simply nailed to it through the palm of the hand, as this would not support his weight (the hand would simply tear open). The Greek term translated “hands” does allow for the nails to be in the forearms.

20:26 See note on v. 19.

20:27 look at My hands. See note on v. 25.

20:28 My Lord and my God! The emperor who reigned when John’s Gospel was probably written, Domitian, reportedly desired to be called “Lord God” (Suetonius, Domitian 13). Those familiar with the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT, however, would already recognize Thomas’s confession as a divine title (e.g., Ps. 35:23).

20:30–31 Writers often reinforced a major point in a statement concluding a work or section. Jesus affirms Thomas’s recognition of Jesus’ deity as faith, but greater faith belongs to those who have not seen (vv. 28–29); now, John concludes, this book records the signs so that those who have not seen may believe. Writers often noted, as here, that they could have recounted many other stories (see note on 21:25).

20:30 this book. Papyrus was expensive, so only the well-to-do could afford long works; the Gospels, like other ancient biographies, were the appropriate length for circulation.

21:1–25 Twentieth-century critical scholars often viewed ch. 21 as a later addition to John’s Gospel, noting that it was anticlimactic after the conclusion of 20:30–31. While they were correct to note that 20:30–31 offers a conclusion to the body of the work, epilogues could continue after such conclusions (and works could end without either). Moreover, Greco-Roman antiquity’s most widely circulated work, the Iliad, has a closing anticlimactic section (Book 24). Today, noting the shared vocabulary and especially narrative connections with the Gospel’s body, an increasing number of scholars treat ch. 21 as an integral part of John’s Gospel.

21:3 going fishing. Commercial fishing around the lake was an important part of the local economy, although in this case, it may be simply to provide food for more immediate consumption. that night. Galilean fishermen could work with torches at night, farther from the shore; they could catch fish in a dragnet, which had weights around its wider edges so it could drag deep. (In the present account it could not be dragged between two boats, however, as only one boat is involved.)

21:6 right side of the boat. Some commentators have suggested that fishermen normally cast nets from the left side of the boat, because the steering oar was on the right side.

21:7 he had removed it. Fishermen were usually considered rugged and strong and accustomed to the rigors of working in the elements. Unless the morning was unusually cold, Peter had probably taken off his outer garment because of the exertion of his work; men often removed their outer garment when working hard. For his athletic prowess, see note on 20:4.

21:11 one hundred and fifty-three ... the net was not torn. People probably wove the nets from hemp or flax ropes; the net’s failure to break is itself viewed as miraculous. The large number of fish reinforces the miracle. Scholars suggest a wide range of reasons for the number 153 (e.g., it is a triangular number with a base of 17). Perhaps the disciples, excited about the catch, simply counted afterward.

21:15–17 Against those who read great significance into the two Greek terms translated “love” here, writers in John’s era (including John) often shifted words with the same meaning for the purpose of literary variation.

21:18 stretch out your hands. In his youth Peter, who was strong, girded himself (v. 7), but it would be different when he was old. One could stretch out hands in prayer or, perhaps here as in some other ancient sources, to have one’s hands tied before execution (see note on v. 19).

21:19 signifying by what death he would glorify God. Echoes 12:32–33, which predicts Jesus’ crucifixion. According to early tradition, the emperor Nero had Peter crucified upside down in Rome, c. AD 64.

21:21–23 For friendly competition, see note on 20:4. Early tradition suggests that the apostle John, unlike most of his colleagues, escaped martyrdom.

21:24 This is the disciple. Legal documents often concluded by naming witnesses. We know that his testimony is true. Many scholars believe that this line was added by John’s own circle, who knew him as the witness. Others suggest that it is similar to 19:35; the witness sometimes says “we” (1 John 1:1–3).

21:25 the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Writers often used similar hyperbole for emphasis, claiming, e.g., that the world could not contain all of someone’s exploits, lies, hardships or the like.