Church Fathers Commentary John 21:18-23

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; who also leaned back on his breast at the supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrayeth thee? Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what [is that] to thee? Follow thou me. This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, that he should not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what [is that] to thee?" — John 21:18-23 (ASV)

John 21:18-19a

St. John Chrysostom: Our Lord, having made Peter declare his love, informs him of his future martyrdom—an intimation to us of how we should love: Verily, verily, I say to you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would. He reminds him of his former life, because while a young man has power in worldly matters and an old man has none, in spiritual things the opposite is true: virtue is brighter and manliness is stronger in old age. Age is no hindrance to grace.

Peter had always desired to share Christ’s dangers, so Christ tells him, “Be of good cheer; I will fulfill your desire in such a way that what you have not suffered when young, you shall suffer when old: But when you are old.” From this it appears that he was then neither a young nor an old man, but in the prime of his life.

Origen of Alexandria: It is not easy to find anyone ready to pass from this life at once; and so He says to Peter, When you are old, you shall stretch forth your hand.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That is, he shall be crucified. And to come to this end, Another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not. First, He said what would come to pass; secondly, how it would come to pass. For it was not when he was crucified, but when he was about to be crucified, that he was led where he would not.

He wished to be released from the body and be with Christ. If it were possible, however, he wished to attain eternal life without the pains of death. He went to this death against his natural will, but he conquered that will, triumphing over the human feeling—a feeling so natural that not even old age could deprive Peter of it.

But whatever the pain of death may be, it ought to be conquered by the strength of love for Him who, being our life, voluntarily underwent death for us. For if there is no pain in death, or very little, the glory of martyrdom would not be great.

St. John Chrysostom: He says, Where you would not, with reference to the natural reluctance of the soul to be separated from the body—an instinct implanted by God to prevent people from putting an end to themselves. Then, elevating the subject, the Evangelist says, This spoke He, signifying by what death he should glorify God—not simply that he “should die.” He expresses himself this way to intimate that to suffer for Christ was the glory of the sufferer.

But unless the mind is persuaded that He is truly God, the sight of Him can in no way enable us to endure death. Therefore, the death of the saints is a certainty of divine glory.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He who denied and loved, died in perfect love for Him for whom he had promised to die with misguided haste. It was necessary that Christ should first die for Peter’s salvation, and then Peter die for Christ’s Gospel.

John 21:19b-23

Our Lord, having foretold to Peter by what death he should glorify God, bids him follow Him. And when He had spoken this, He says to him, Follow Me. Why does He say, Follow Me, to Peter and not to the others who were present, who as disciples were already following their Master?

Or if we understand it of his martyrdom, was Peter the only one who died for the Christian truth? Was not James put to death by Herod? Someone will say that James was not crucified, and that this was fittingly addressed to Peter because he not only died but also suffered the death of the cross, as Christ did.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Peter, hearing that he was to suffer death for Christ, asks whether John was also to die. Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrays you? Peter seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

St. Augustine of Hippo: He calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” because Jesus had a greater and more familiar love for him than for the others, so that He had him recline on His breast at supper. In this way, John further commends the divine excellence of the Gospel which he preached.

Some think—and they are not contemptible commentators on Scripture—that the reason John was loved more than the others was that he had lived in perfect chastity from his youth. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?

Theophylact of Ohrid: That is to say, “Shall he not die?”

St. Augustine of Hippo: Jesus says to him, What is that to you? and He then repeats, Follow you Me, as if John would not follow Him because he wished to remain until He came. Then went this saying abroad among the disciples, that that disciple should not die. Was this not a natural inference for the disciples to make? But John himself does away with such a notion: Yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?

But if anyone so wishes, let him contradict this and say that what John says is true—namely, that our Lord did not say that disciple should not die, but that this was nevertheless signified by the words John records.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or let him say that Christ did not deny that John was to die—for whatever is born, dies—but said, I will that he tarry till I come, meaning, to live to the end of the world, and then he shall suffer martyrdom for Me. And therefore, they confess that he still lives but will be killed by the Antichrist, and will preach Christ’s name with Elijah. But if his sepulcher is brought up as an objection, they say that he entered it alive and went out of it afterward.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or perhaps one will allow that John still lies in his sepulcher at Ephesus, but asleep, not dead, and will offer as proof that the soil over his grave is moist and watery from his breathing. But why would our Lord grant it as a great privilege to the disciple whom He loved that he should sleep this long time in the body, when He released Peter from the burden of the flesh by a glorious martyrdom and gave him what Paul had longed for when he said, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ?

If what is reported really takes place at John’s grave, it is done either to commend his precious death—since it did not have martyrdom to commend it—or for some other cause unknown to us. Yet the question remains: Why did our Lord say of one who was about to die, I will that he tarry till I come? It may also be asked why our Lord loved John the most when Peter loved our Lord the most. I might easily reply that the one who loved Christ more was the better man, and the one whom Christ loved more was the more blessed; only this would not be a defense of our Lord’s justice.

I will endeavor, then, to answer this important question. The Church acknowledges two modes of life as divinely revealed: one by faith and the other by sight. The life of faith is represented by the Apostle Peter, in respect of the primacy of his Apostleship; the life of sight is represented by John. Therefore, to the one it is said, Follow Me—that is, “Imitate Me in enduring temporal sufferings.” Of the other it is said, I will that he tarry till I come, as if to say, “You follow Me by enduring temporal sufferings; let him remain until I come to give everlasting bliss.”

To explain the meaning more fully: Let action, following the example of My Passion, be perfected; but let contemplation wait, still unformed, until at My coming it may be completed. It is a waiting—not simply remaining or continuing—but waiting for its completion at Christ’s coming. Now in this life of action, it is true that the more we love Christ, the more we are freed from sin. But He does not love us as we are; He frees us from sin so that we may not always remain as we are. He loves us, therefore, not for our present state but for our future one, when we will no longer possess that which displeases Him and from which He is freeing us.

So then, let Peter love Him, that we may be freed from this mortality; let John be loved by Him, that we may be preserved in that immortality. John loved less than Peter because he represented that future life in which we are loved much more. Our Lord said, I will that he remain (that is, wait) till I come, seeing that we do not yet have that greater love, but wait to have it at His coming. This intermediate state is represented by Peter, who loves but is loved less, for Christ loves us less in our misery than He will in our blessedness. Likewise, we now love the contemplation of truth as it will be then less than we will in our future state, because as yet we neither know nor possess it.

But let no one separate these illustrious Apostles. That which Peter represented and that which John represented were both destined to be fulfilled in their time.

Glossa Ordinaria: I will that he tarry, that is, “I do not will for him to suffer martyrdom, but to wait for the quiet dissolution of the flesh, when I shall come and receive him into eternal blessedness.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: When our Lord says to Peter, Follow Me, He confers upon him the supervision of all the faithful, and at the same time bids him imitate Him in everything—in word and deed. He also shows His affection for Peter, for we bid those who are most dear to us to follow us.

St. John Chrysostom: But if it is asked, “How then did James assume the see of Jerusalem?” I answer that our Lord enthroned Peter not as bishop of this see, but as teacher of the whole world. Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper. It is not without meaning that the circumstance of leaning on His breast is mentioned; it is to show what confidence Peter had after his denial.

For he who at the supper did not dare to ask for himself, but gave his question to John to ask, now has the supervision of his brethren committed to him. Whereas before he gave a question concerning himself to another to ask, he now asks his Master questions concerning others. Our Lord, then, having foretold such great things for him, committed the world to him, prophesied his martyrdom, and made known his greater love, Peter wished to have John admitted to a share of this calling. He says, And what shall this man do? as if to say, “Will he not go the same way with us?”

For Peter had great love for John, as appears from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, which give many proofs of their close friendship. So Peter does for John the same favor that John had done for him; thinking that John wanted to ask about himself but was afraid, Peter puts the question for him. However, since the care of the world was now going to be committed to them, and they could not remain together without neglecting their charge, our Lord says, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? This is as if to say, “Attend to the work committed to you, and do it. If I will that he remain here, what is that to you?”

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some have understood Till I come to mean, “Until I come to punish the Jews who have crucified Me and strike them with the Roman rod.” For they say that this Apostle lived until the time of Vespasian, who took Jerusalem, and that he dwelt nearby when it was taken. Or, Till I come means, “until I give him the commission to preach, for to you I now commit the pontificate of the world. In this, follow Me, but let him remain until I come and call him, as I do you now.”

St. John Chrysostom: The Evangelist then corrects the opinion that had spread among the disciples.