In the last chapter of the book of John, Jesus speaks of Peter and John's death. There were seven disciples that had gone fishing on this particular night and had caught nothing. They spot Jesus walking along the shore, not recognizing Him at first. After Jesus tells them where to cast their nets, the group caught a "multitude" of fish and then ate with Jesus at breakfast. It is during this time that Peter finds out about his "obituary notice" and immediately wants to know John's fate. There is some confusion as to what our Lord said concerning John's death. Jesus never said how John dies, but His response to Peter's question implies John will live a long life.
John 21:18-19 Jesus says to Peter, "when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Jesus explains to Peter that before his discipleship he could go wherever he wanted. Now, because of his belief and commitment to Jesus, "another" will take him captive and would lead to his death.
John 21:20-23 Upon seeing John, Peter asks Jesus, "what shall this man do?" Jesus says to Peter, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." Jesus is wanting Peter to be focused more on serving Him. If Jesus desires for John to still be alive when He returns, it shouldn't matter to Peter. In verse 23, "Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die." Here, John seems to put to rest a commonly believed notion amongst the disciples, that he(John) would never die. So, John did outlive all of the other disciples, but died a natural death.
Jesus predicts the manner of Peter's death. Jesus' response to Peter's death was more straight forward. Jesus says that when Peter reached old age, he would stretch out his hands and be led to where he did not want to go, verse 18. The phrase, "stretch out your hands", was a common way of alluding to crucifixion in ancient times. Late tradition suggests that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome by Nero around A.D. 68, however it is questionable since it is not recorded until the fourth century. As for John's death. Even though Jesus never stated exactly how John would die, it is the manner in which He answers Peter's question that tells us John would live a long life and die naturally. As stated earlier, John may have a recorded this account to counteract a commonly believed notion that Jesus predicted that John would NOT die. Most scholars believe that all the other disciples were dead by the time John had written this Gospel.
John 21:18-19 Jesus says to Peter, "when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Jesus explains to Peter that before his discipleship he could go wherever he wanted. Now, because of his belief and commitment to Jesus, "another" will take him captive and would lead to his death.
John 21:20-23 Upon seeing John, Peter asks Jesus, "what shall this man do?" Jesus says to Peter, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." Jesus is wanting Peter to be focused more on serving Him. If Jesus desires for John to still be alive when He returns, it shouldn't matter to Peter. In verse 23, "Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die." Here, John seems to put to rest a commonly believed notion amongst the disciples, that he(John) would never die. So, John did outlive all of the other disciples, but died a natural death.
Jesus predicts the manner of Peter's death. Jesus' response to Peter's death was more straight forward. Jesus says that when Peter reached old age, he would stretch out his hands and be led to where he did not want to go, verse 18. The phrase, "stretch out your hands", was a common way of alluding to crucifixion in ancient times. Late tradition suggests that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome by Nero around A.D. 68, however it is questionable since it is not recorded until the fourth century. As for John's death. Even though Jesus never stated exactly how John would die, it is the manner in which He answers Peter's question that tells us John would live a long life and die naturally. As stated earlier, John may have a recorded this account to counteract a commonly believed notion that Jesus predicted that John would NOT die. Most scholars believe that all the other disciples were dead by the time John had written this Gospel.
