John 21:22

If I will that he tarry till I come - There are several opinions concerning this: the following are the principal.

1. Some have concluded from these words that John should never die. Many eminent men, ancients and moderns, have been and are of this opinion.

2. Others thought that our Lord intimated that John should live till Christ came to judge and destroy Jerusalem. On this opinion it is observed that Peter, who was the oldest of the apostles, died in the year 67, which, says Calmet, was six years before the destruction of Jerusalem; and that John survived the ruin of that city about thirty years, he being the only one of the twelve who was alive when the above desolation took place.

3. St. Augustin, Bede, and others, understood the passage thus: If I will that he remain till I come and take him away by a natural death, what is that to thee? follow thou me to thy crucifixion. On this it may be observed, that all antiquity agrees that John, if he did die, was the only disciple who was taken away by a natural death.

4. Others imagine that our Lord was only now taking Peter aside to speak something to him in private, and that Peter, seeing John following, wished to know whether he should come along with them; and that our Lord's answer stated that John should remain in that place till Christ and Peter returned to him; and to this meaning of the passage many eminent critics incline. For neatly eighteen hundred years, the greatest men in the world have been puzzled with this passage. It mould appear intolerable in me to attempt to decide, where so many eminent doctors have disagreed, and do still disagree. I rather lean to the fourth opinion. See the conclusion of the Preface to this Gospel.

That he tarry - That he live. The same word is used to express life in Philippians 1:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:6.

Till I come - Some have supposed this to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem; others to the day of judgment; others to signify that he would not die a violent death; but the plain meaning is, "If I will that he should not die at all, it is nothing to thee." In this way the apostles evidently understood it, and hence raised a report that he would not die. It is remarkable that John was the last of the apostles; that he lived to nearly the close of the first century, and then died a peaceful death at Ephesus, being the only one, as is supposed, of the apostles who did not suffer martyrdom. The testimony of antiquity is clear on this point; and though there have been many idle conjectures about this passage and about the fate of John, yet no fact of history is better attested than that John died and was buried at Ephesus.

What is that to thee? - From this passage we learn:

1. that our main business is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. that there are many subjects of religion on which a vain and impertinent curiosity is exercised. All such curiosity Jesus here reproves.

3. that Jesus will take care of all his true disciples, and that we should not be unduly solicitous about them.

4. that we should go forward to whatever he calls us to persecution or death - not envying the lot of any other man, and anxious only to do the will of God.

21:22 If I will that he tarry - Without dying, till I come - To judgment.Certainly he did tarry, till Christ came to destroy Jerusalem.And who can tell, when or how he died? What is that to thee? - Who art to follow me long before.