full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all 12 there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art Thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and 14 fish likewise. This is now the third 2 time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, after that He was risen from the dead. 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love 3 Thee. He saith 16 unto him, Feed My lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith 17 unto him, Feed My sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed My 18 sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou The count was suggested no doubt because the haul was so unprecedentedly large. It was sufficient not only for supplying their immediate wants, but their wants during the period of their waiting, and to enable them to show hospitality to other disciples who were gathering and were strangers in Galilee. Our Lord never performed miracles merely for the display of the power by which He performed them. He performed these miracles that He might be identified by His disciples in the very highest regions of proof, and for the beneficent purpose of supplying the wants of His followers on this great occasion of their gathering in Galilee by His own command. 2 This was the third time He had appeared to the apostles in their distinctive character, or collected together. 8 It is worthy of special notice that the word rendered love in Peter's answer, σe, is one of lower significancy than the one thus translated in our Lord's question, ἀγαπάς με ; He does not claim that he is more devoted to Christ than John, or James, or Nathanael; but he does profess to love Him, notwithstanding the past, as a poor sinner may love, although far below the standard such a Friend deserved. 4 "Lambs and sheep include the whole flock and are here employed to show that the pastoral care of Peter and all Christ's ministers is to be exercised over all the members of the flock, young and old, strong and infirm, rich and poor, high and low, without distinction of age or condition." (Dr. J. J. Owen's Commentary, in loco.) As sheep and lambs embrace the entire flock, so it has also been remarked that the two verbs employed (ẞóσke, feed, and woiμawe, shepherdise, or guide as a shepherd) include every provision for the spiritual wants of the flock, and every kind of supervision and care required. 5 Peter was no longer young; he was probably several years the senior of the wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither 19 thou wouldest not. This spake He, siguifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He 20 saith unto him, Follow Me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he 21 that betrayeth Thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, 22 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. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to 24 thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. 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 could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. Lord. In the conclusion of this address He seems to describe the infirmities of old age, and the death of one who comes to the grave through these infirmities. If Peter was nearly forty years old when he was thus addressed, and laboured for nearly forty years after the ascension, then we may understand by what death he was to glorify God. Others suppose that our Lord's words to him are to be taken simply as a figurative prophetic designation of the binding of the hands of one about to be led to execution, and that in the stretching out of the hands there is a distinct allusion to crucifixion as the mode of his death. 1 Probably towards that mountain where He had appointed to meet His assembled followers. 2 Shall and do are in italics. The question in the Greek is, ouros de Tí; And what this man? i.e. What shall he suffer? or, How with him? The question was prompted by the close intimacy that existed between the two disciples and the loving regard of Jesus for St. John. With childlike simplicity John records the answer, and corrects the saying that had gone abroad, that Christ had foretold he should never die. He will not allow that interpretation of the words, "If I will that he tarry till I come," most glorious to himself. All that the Saviour foretold in regard to John was that he should live until His advent at the overthrow of Jerusalem. That event was passed, and John was standing, waiting for that other advent when he should go into the presence of that Saviour by whom he was so tenderly loved. 3 The simple idea seems to be that if everything should be put down in detail it would be too cumbrous and voluminous for the world or the mass of men to receive and profit by. There is as much wisdom in the reticence of Scripture, or in its precise limitation, as in what it actually contains. CHAPTER XIV. LAST DAYS AND CONCLUDING WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLE. ST. JOHN FAR ADVANCED IN YEARS.-EPISTLES WRITTEN LATER THAN THE GOSPEL. BREVITY OF. THE SECOND AND THIRD PERHAPS AGE. GENUINENESS OF EPISTLES INDICATIVE OF MOST EVIDENT.-SUBLIME THOUGHT A1 FOUNDATION OF THE FIRST.-FIVE GREAT TOPICS. THE SECOND LEGEND.-PRO IF the Gospel according to St. John was written some fifty years after the events to which it relates, the Epistles that bear the name of this apostle were evidently written considerably later, about the year 90; the Second and Third probably when he had begun to feel some of the infirmities of age. He was far advanced in years, and drawing near to the end of his earthly career. The pen of inspiration is held by the hand of one trembling with age, yet ripe in wisdom and Christian experience. That the apostle St. John was the author of these three letters there is no room to doubt. In regard to the First, we find Polycarp, who suffered martyrdom A.D. 168, and who was St. John's disciple, freely quoting (in his Epistle to the Philippians, chap. vii.) 1 John iv. 3. Eusebius distinctly refers to the use Papias made of this Epistle, rūs προτέρας Ιωάννου ἐπιστολῆς. 1 The Muratorian fragment, written probably A.D. 170, and the Peschito version, which belongs to the same age, together bear witness to the genuineness of this Epistle. When we Euseb., Hist. Eccl., iii. 39. 2 Ewald, Introduc. to Comm., pp. 14–16. compare the subject matter and the style of the Epistles with the fourth Gospel, it is manifest that they must have proceeded from the same author. In the Epistles, as in the Gospel, we find "the same delicacy and diffidence, the same lofty calmness and composure, and especially the same truly Christian modesty, that cause him to retire to the background as an apostle, and to say altogether so little of himself: he only desires to counsel and warn, and to remind his readers of the sublime truth they have once acquired; and the higher he stands the less he is disposed to humble the brethren' by his great authority and directions." 1 The simple, sublime thought, that lies at the foundation of the First Epistle is FELLOWSHIP; "fellowship in its twofold aspect: the union of believers with God and His Son Jesus Christ, and the union of believers with one another." 2 It admits of these five divisions : 1. The Nature of Fellowship; presented (1) As effected by the incarnation and death of Christ, chap. i. 1-7. (2) As affording no ground for the denial of our sinfulness, chap. i. 8—ii. 5. (3) As the only efficient basis of brotherly love, chap. ii. 6-11. (4) Reason for addressing all Christians, the feeblest and youngest, on this subject, chap. ii. 12-14. (5) Non-fellowship with the world, chap. ii. 15–17. (6) Non-fellowship with antichristian error, chap. ii. 18-29. (7) Relation of fellowship to sonship and future glory, chap. iii. 1, 2. 2. The Fruit of Fellowship, Holiness. (1) Its binding nature, chap. iii. 3-9. (2) Brotherly love one of the fruits of holiness, chap. iii. 10-18. (3) Other fruits, chap. iii. 19-24. 3. The Law of Fellowship, Truth, chap. iv. 1-6. 4. The Life of Fellowship, Love, chap. iv. 7-21. 5. The Root of Fellowship, Faith. (1) Its efficacy, chap. v. 1–5. (2) The three witnesses to its all-sufficient foundation, chap. v. 6-12. (3) Faith in intercessory prayer, or prayer for one another, chap. v. 13–17. (4) Conclusion, Christians urged to maintain fellowship through Christ, chap. v. 18-21. It has been a question whether the Second Epistle is addressed to a church or the Church at large, ekλEKTI Kupią, "the elect lady," i.e, under the symbol of a godly woman; or to some individual woman, unnamed, 1 Ewald, Die Johann. Schriften, i., p. 431. 2 Schaff's Hist. of Apos Ch., p. 417. noted for her piety; or whether Kupía is to be taken for the proper name of the woman addressed. The weight of criticism seems to favour the view that it is to be taken as a proper name. This has been maintained by Benson, Bengel, S. G. Lange, Lücke, Alford, and others. The Epistle, in its few brief sentences, expresses great tenderness and affection for the elect Curia and her children. It enforces the commandment of brotherly love, with a warning against the doctrine of false teachers and against fellowship with them. It was written mainly to give utterance to John's gratification at the discovery, apparently made on one of his apostolical visitations in a distant city, that the children of this pious woman were walking in the truth; which is followed by an exhortation to observe the commandment as to brotherly love, and a warning against false teachers and fellowship with them. The Third Epistle is addressed to Gaius, a prominent man in the congregation of which he was a member, though it cannot be determined whether he was an elder or held any office in the church. After a salutation containing the remarkable wish that he might prosper and be in health "even as his soul prospered," the apostle refers with special commendation to his hospitality to missionary brethren. He next deplores the opposition of the ambitious Diotrephes, and warns against his example. Finally he commends Demetrius, the probable bearer of this Epistle, to the friendly and Christian regard of Gaius. It admirably sketches these three distinct portraits. In such care for the churches, and for individual believers, the old age and life of the apostle passed calmly away. He was "diligent in business." He not only preached, but was active with the pen, whereby he became a permanent witness for the truth and an instructor of the Church. These three Epistles were the last composed of his inspired writings, when he could not have been less than ninety years of age. They breathe the very spirit of heaven, and bear marks of a godly man, full of affection as well as of years, who was looking forward to the grave as not far distant. They contain the concluding testimony of the last survivor of the apostles, the last of the race of inspired men, and his tender exhortations to holiness and love. Love is the theme on which he dilates as he draws near to that world the very atmosphere of which is love, and to the God who is love. When in extreme old age he was too weak to walk into the assembly, but, as Jerome relates, was still borne thither; unable to deliver a long discourse, he would lift his trembling hands, and simply say, “Little children, love one another"; and repeat these words again and again. When asked why he constantly repeated this ex 1 Epist. ad Gal., vi. |