Bird's-eye view
Here at the very end of the book, the apostle John attaches his signature, so to speak. This is not the signature of a man seeking personal renown, but rather the signature of a witness in a court of law. The entire Gospel has been his testimony, his deposition, concerning the identity and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Having brought his account to a close with the restoration of Peter and a final word on his own destiny, he now concludes with a final affirmation of the testimony's truthfulness and a staggering statement about the inexhaustible nature of his subject. These last two verses serve as both a seal of authenticity and a final blast of doxology. They confirm who stands behind the words and then turn our attention away from the author and back toward the infinite Christ he has revealed.
Outline
- 1. The Author's Attestation (v. 24)
- a. The Witness Identified (v. 24a)
- b. The Witness Confirmed (v. 24b)
- 2. The Subject's Inexhaustibility (v. 25)
- a. An Unwritten History (v. 25a)
- b. A Holy Hyperbole (v. 25b)
The Authoritative "We"
Who is the "we" in verse 24, who affirm that the disciple's testimony is true? It is not some later editorial committee tacking on an endorsement. Rather, this is the voice of the apostolic circle, or perhaps the elders of the church at Ephesus where John was ministering in his old age. It is a corporate confirmation. John is the author, but the testimony he brings is not a private, individualistic affair. It is the testimony of the Church, grounded in the apostolic eyewitness accounts. This plural pronoun functions much like a notary's seal, providing a formal, communal attestation to the authority and veracity of what John has written. It tells us that this Gospel was received from the beginning as an authoritative and true account by those who were in the best position to know.
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
John 21:24
This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things and wrote these things...
The book closes by identifying its source. The author is "the disciple whom Jesus loved," the man who leaned on Jesus' breast at the last supper, the one who stood at the cross, the first of the apostles to reach the empty tomb. This is John, the son of Zebedee. Notice the two verbs: he "is bearing witness" and he "wrote." The witness is ongoing; it is a living testimony that continues to speak through the written record. But it is also a fixed, historical reality; he "wrote these things." This is not myth or legend that evolved over time. This is history, recorded by a man who was there. The Christian faith is not grounded in abstract principles but in historical events, testified to by named individuals. John is not just a compiler of stories; he is the authoritative source, the witness who saw and heard and touched the Word of life.
and we know that his witness is true.
Here is the corporate affirmation. As noted above, this "we" is most likely the church leadership surrounding John, who received this gospel from his hand. They add their solemn agreement. This is not just John's personal opinion; it is the established, known, and received truth. The word "know" is not a word of conjecture or hopeful wishing. It is a word of settled certainty. How do they know? They know because they knew the man. They knew his character. They knew the corroborating testimony of the other apostles. And most importantly, they knew the power of the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to the truth of Christ. The Church's confidence in the Scriptures is not a blind leap; it is a well-founded trust in the reliability of the apostolic testimony, confirmed by the Spirit of God.
John 21:25
And there are also many other things which Jesus did...
After grounding the authority of what is written, John immediately directs our attention to the immensity of what is not written. The Gospel, as detailed and profound as it is, is not an exhaustive biography. It is a curated, distilled, and purposeful selection of signs and sayings. John has already told us his purpose back in chapter 20: "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" (John 20:31). He did not set out to record every word and every deed. To do so would be impossible, which he now explains with a flourish.
which if they were written one after the other, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
This is a magnificent piece of sanctified hyperbole. John is not making a literal statement about the physical storage capacity of the planet. He is making a theological point about the infinite glory of Jesus Christ. If you were to try to catalogue every miracle, every conversation, every act of mercy, every display of wisdom from the incarnate Son of God, you would find the task to be endless. The person and work of Jesus are inexhaustible. His glory cannot be contained in a library, no matter how vast. This statement serves two crucial purposes. First, it fills us with awe. We are left contemplating a Savior so vast, so glorious, that the entire world is too small a vessel to contain the record of His deeds. Second, it underscores the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. John is not saying his account is lacking. On the contrary, this hyperbole reinforces the preciousness of what we do have. God, in His wisdom, has given us exactly what we need for salvation and life. The Bible is not the whole story in the sense of being exhaustive, but it is a whole story in the sense of being complete for its intended purpose. We have what we need. And what we have points us to an infinite Christ, whom we will spend eternity exploring, and whose glory will never, ever run out.
Application
The conclusion of John's Gospel leaves us with two foundational certainties. First, we have a trustworthy record. The testimony of John is true, and the Church has received it as such. We are not left to guess or speculate about who Jesus is. We can build our lives, and stake our eternities, on the solid rock of this apostolic word. We should read it, study it, and trust it without reservation.
Second, we worship an infinite Savior. While the book about Him has a final page, the Lord Jesus Himself has no limits. This reality should banish all boredom from our faith. There is always more of Christ to see, more of His glory to appreciate, more of His grace to experience. The world could not contain the books, which means our minds will never exhaust the subject. Let this final verse, then, spur us on to a lifetime of grateful study and worship, knowing that the Christ revealed in this book is the same Christ who reigns today, and that the depths of His excellence are ours to explore for all eternity. Amen.