John Calvin Commentary John 21:25

"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 would not contain the books that should be written." — John 21:25 (ASV)

There are also many other things that Jesus did. So that no one would view his narrative with suspicion, as if it had been written with bias because Jesus loved him, he anticipates this objection by saying that he has omitted more than he has written. He does not speak of every kind of Christ’s actions, but of those that relate to His public office; nor should we think that the hyperbole is absurd, when we tolerate many similar figures of speech in pagan authors.

Not only should we take into account the number of Christ’s works, but we should also consider their importance and magnitude. The majesty of Christ, which by its infinity swallowed up, if I may say so, not only human senses but heaven and earth, gave a miraculous display of its own splendor in those works. If the Evangelist, looking at that brightness, exclaims in astonishment that even the whole world could not contain a full narrative, should we wonder at it? Nor is he at all to be blamed if he employs a common and ordinary figure of speech for praising the excellence of Christ’s works. For we know how God accommodates Himself to the ordinary way of speaking because of our ignorance, and sometimes even, if I may be allowed the expression, stammers.

Yet we should remember what we previously stated: that the summary which the Evangelists have committed to writing is sufficient both for regulating faith and for obtaining salvation. The person who has duly profited under such teachers will be truly wise.

And indeed, since they were appointed by God to be witnesses to us, and as they have faithfully discharged their duty, so it is our duty, in turn, to depend entirely on their testimony and to desire nothing more than what they have passed down to us. This is especially true because their pens were guided by the sure providence of God, so that they might not overwhelm us with an unlimited mass of narratives and yet, in making a selection, might make known to us all that God, who alone is wise and the only fountain of wisdom, knew to be necessary for us. To Him be praise and glory forever. Amen.