John 21: 24-25 Briefly

COURSON, JON (2005) Application Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.

ELLIS, DAVID J. (1986) 'John' in F.F. Bruce (gen.ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/ Zondervan.

Jon Courson

From Pastor Courson's website he has a recent sermon from May 30 on John 21.

As I have noted, I have listened to Pastor Courson on radio/online since 1987. He takes a rather dispensational, plain literal, perhaps fundamentalistic hermeneutic, in general with his interpretation of Scripture. This is quite useful for straight bible reading and basic interpretations, but in my mind does not always produce a more correct theology:

John 21:24-25

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

24 This is the disciple who is testifying to 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, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.

Pastor Courson does not deal with the contextual issues with this section of Scripture. Notice the stars with the New American Standard Version. Scholarship will provide explanation shortly. Courson does not deal with contextual problems, but also takes the idea that the world could not contain all the books that could be written about Jesus Christ as plain literal.

From his commentary:

The world could not even hold all that could be written about Jesus Christ. (605).

It seems to me that over the years I have come across two atheistic critics which use this claim from John 21: 25 as a premise that demonstrates that the Gospel of John is ridiculous and false.

Ellis suggests that this concept is exaggerated metaphor and hyperbole. (1263). The ideas and stories in the gospels could basically, based on what Ellis writes, continue on to infinitude. But they never would.

Ellis reasons that verse 25 may have been added by a scribe at a later date. (1263). It may or may not be inspired Scripture.

Bible Hub

Examples from two commentaries:

Meyer's NT Commentary

Cited

Not only is the inharmonious and unspiritual exaggeration in John 21:25 un-Johannean (unsuccessfully defended by Weitzel, loc. cit. p. 632 ff., and softened down by Ewald, with a reference also to Coh xii. 12), it is also apocryphal in character (comp. similar hyperboles in Fabricius, ad Cod. Apocr. I. p. 321 f., and Wetstein in loc.), but also the periodic mode of expression, which does not agree with the Johannean simplicity, as well as the first person (οἶμαι), in which John in the Gospel never speaks; moreover, nowhere else does he use οἴεσθαι, which, however, is found in Paul also only once (Php 1:17). The variations are (see the critical notes) of no importance for a critical judgment.

Benson Commentary

John 21:25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did — Many which none of the evangelists have recorded; which, if they should be written every one — Every fact, and all the circumstances thereof; I suppose — This expression, which softens the hyperbole, (if this be one,) shows that John wrote this verse; the world itself could not contain the books that should be written — The construction of this verse, in our present translation, is fully justified by adducing from the Old Testament expressions equally hyperbolical. 

Cited

“I agree perfectly,” says Dr. Campbell, “with those interpreters who think that the hyperbole contained in this verse is much more tolerable than the torture to which some critics have put the words, in order to make them speak a different sense.” “Perhaps,” says the pious Dr. Doddridge, referring to what St. John here declares respecting the many other things done by Jesus, which have not been recorded, “it may be a most delightful part of the entertainment of the heavenly world, to learn from our blessed Lord himself, or from those who conversed with him on earth, a multitude of such particulars of his life as will be well worthy our everlasting admiration.

A reasonable contextual approach would be to view this explanation as figurative literal. In other words, the Apostle John (or scribe) is explaining that there would be a virtually endless supply of Jesus Christ stories. Writers could produce material on Jesus Christ as God-man, endlessly. But this will not happen. The science and common sense would not allow an endless supply of books to fill the earth in a plain literal way, but it is fanciful metaphor.