Congratulations on completing the Gospels! If you have been reading along with us, today you will have read all four Gospels. Today, we wrap up John by reading chapters 19–21.
Why Are There Four Gospels?
Just as in the Old Testament, where we see different explanations for events from different writers, we see the same thing in the New Testament. Each writer had different motivations for writing what they did.
Scholars believe Mark wrote the first Gospel. He was not an apostle but spent many years in ministry with Peter and Paul. He knew the account of everything they had told him and wanted to document it so people everywhere and across time would know that Jesus was the suffering servant (Mark 10:45). His focus was on who Jesus was and what His ministry was.
Shortly after he had written that Gospel, as it made its way around the churches, Matthew, who was an apostle, felt he had to set the record straight and give his own account. It would not matter that Jesus did all the things Mark wrote about unless you tie it to all the prophecy He fulfilled. Matthew knew Jesus and wanted everyone to understand why they had followed Him (Matthew 1:22–23).
Then Luke, who was also a friend of Peter and Paul and for a while Mark’s, decided the details were too important. He jumped in and did the research. He wanted to provide historical facts and proof (Luke 1:1–4).
John’s Eyewitness Account
But John was there with Jesus all the way. He was the apostle who was reclining on Jesus’s chest at the Last Supper (John 13:23). Scholars believe he was only a teenager when he was with Jesus, but some sixty years later, those memories were still vivid.(1) He remembers who was there at the foot of the cross with him (John 19:25–27). None of the other Gospel writers could make that claim—they were not there.
What I love about John is he doesn’t end the story at the cross or even the tomb. He takes us to the events that happened after Jesus arose. How He appeared in rooms, not a phantasm, but a physical manifestation of the Lord (John 20:19–20). Then we see Jesus eating with them (John 21:12–13). Being younger, John boasts a little about outrunning Peter on the way to the tomb (John 20:4), but admits that it was Peter who was bold enough to walk right in (John 20:6).
Peter’s Restoration
Peter was a leader, and when we see his obedience in throwing his nets on the right side of the boat (John 21:6), Jesus restores him. He had denied Jesus, and we do not know where he was during the crucifixion. But on the beach, Jesus tests him and tells him to continue the ministry (John 21:15–17). This will lead to his death, just as Jesus tells him while they are walking (John 21:18–19).
John’s Legacy
But John was the eyewitness. Even in that moment, he is following (John 21:20). He became a leader in the church at Ephesus. But he was always a servant, following, as we see him on the beach.
Now, in his twilight years, he recalls with clarity all the events that blessed him. Can you imagine having that close of a relationship with the Lord? You can. We all can. We just have to let go of the world and follow John’s example.
Tomorrow, we will read Acts 1-3.
Footnotes
- Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3.23. Early church tradition affirms John’s leadership in Ephesus during his later years.