John ending

The John ending - the true ending of the Gospel of John -- is an issue that is legitimately debated. There are strong reasons to conclude that its authentic ending is at John 20:31-31 as follows:

“

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are 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.

”

This faith-inspiring, pro-life ending is diluted and obscured by the subsequent John chapter 21, which as shown below is unlikely to be authentic for multiple reasons:

Self-contradictory use of "we"

John 21:24 contradicts itself to give away its inauthenticity: "This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true."

Uncharacteristic use of "I"

John humbly never referred to himself as "I", yet John 21:25 contains an uncharacteristic, hyperbolic "I suppose" that is at odds with the straightforward ending in John chapter 20.

Inconsistent term for "children"

John 21:5 quotes Jesus as addressing his own Apostles -- grown men -- as "little children," using a Greek term (παιδίον, Strong's G3813) that is different from the Greek term used appropriately earlier in the same Gospel when Jesus, as the teacher, addressed his Apostles as his students (τεκνίον, Strong's G5040).

"son of John"?

John 21 uses the bizarre phrase "son of John" four times to describe Peter, but that expression does not appear anywhere else in the entire Bible. None of the other Gospels, the New Testament letters, or the rest of the Gospel of John ever refers to Peter that way.

John was a common name then (and now), and so it would be very odd to refer to someone as "son of John."

At Matthew 16:17 , Peter is referenced as the son of "Jonah", which is more likely because "John" is found nowhere in the Old Testament while "Jonah" is.

Zebedee's sons?

John never used the name "Zebedee" anywhere in Chapters 1-20 of the Gospel of John. It is used in other Gospels to refer to James and John as "Zebedee's sons," but never by John to describe himself. The use of "Zebedee's sons" in John 21:2 was thus probably a later addition, not by John himself.

Not-used-elsewhere Greek words

"C.K. Barrett identifies some 28 greek words in John 21 that are only found in that chapter ... [and] about 1/3 of them are quite surprising when other more common Johannine words and phrases could have been used for the same effect."

Implausible reference to "153"

This ending contains at John 21:11 an implausible reference to the large, specifically precise number of 153, which is found nowhere else in the Gospel of John, as instead it refers to approximate round numbers as most authors would.

In addition, there was no reason or time for counting the fish, which were far too many for the group to eat. Jesus had called the fishermen-disciples to breakfast, and it is implausible that they would have kept Jesus waiting while needlessly counting a large number of fish in near darkness.

In the rare instances where a specific quantity is provided in the New Testament, it is typically a prime number. The (non-prime) number "153" sticks out as unlike anything else, as though someone merely thought of what would be a large number of fish.

Peter alone hauled the immense catch of fish onshore?

Seven disciples were in the fishing board, and yet John 21:11 states implausibly that Peter alone hauled the immense catch of 153 fish from the boat to the shore. There would be no reason for the others not to help, and this appears to be a mistake that a non-eyewitness and nonfisherman would make.

Peter questioned Jesus about John?

John 21 depicts Peter as complaining to Jesus about favoritism of John, after the Resurrection. This is unlike anything else in the New Testament and seems more likely to have been written by an admirer of John than by John himself. After all that they had been through by this point, such a questioning of Jesus at this point seems implausible.

Papyrus 66

Papyrus 66, the oldest extent fragment of a near-complete Gospel of John (estimated to be from about A.D. 200), contains only fragments verses 21:1-9, 12, and 17 from John 21:1-25 , which begin after a substantial gap and on a new unused page of the leaf, like notes on blank pages in the back of a book. Scholars misleadingly state that that chapter 21 is included in the earliest manuscripts when, in fact, most of it is missing from this earliest, most complete one.

John 21 implies that John had died

Several verses in John 21 rebut a misperception that John would not die, and that rebuttal implies that John had died contrary to a misprepresentation of what Jesus had said:

“

So the saying spread abroad among the brothers[b] that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

”

If John had died, then obviously he did not write the above or the remainder of the chapter.

Improbable dialog

This dialog at John 21:3 is unlike the more profound dialog that pervades the Gospel of John:

“

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.”

”

Compared with Codex Sinaiticus

"[I]n the ancient manuscript Sinaiticus, the scribe originally omitted 21:25 and had to go back and erase an ornamental Colophon in order to insert it."

In tandem with another insertion

"John 21:25 is often thought to be a later addition because in some manuscripts John 7:53 ‒ 8:11 is inserted after 21:24."

Unusual overlap with Synoptic Gospels

Much of John 21 overlaps with material in the synoptic Gospels, such as the miraculous catch of fish. But the Gospel of John is a unique work having very little genuine overlap with other Gospels: "The Gospel of Luke contains 59 percent unique material and shares 41 percent with other Gospels. On the other hand, the Gospel of John has 92 percent unique material and shares only 8 percent of material with the other Gospels."

Copy of 3 John

John 21:24 has an ending phrase that is oddly almost a verbatim copy of 3 John 12:

“	This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.	”
—John 21:24

“	Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.	”
—3 John 12

"Love me more"?

John 21:15 asserts that Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” But nowhere else does Jesus desire a greater love for or by one person than another. Rather, Christian love should be infinite towards all.

Analogy to Mark ending

Virtually everyone agrees that the Mark ending was a later addition, so it is proper to ask if the rehashed, duplicative content comprising John chapter 21 after the clear ending above, was likewise a later addition to the Gospel of John.

See also

• Conservative Bible Project
• Mark ending