The Bible

 

John 21

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1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They Cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.

10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

12 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 fish likewise.

14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed 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 thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16 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 unto him, Feed my sheep.

17 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 sheep.

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

20 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 that betrayeth thee?

21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

22 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 thee?

24 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.

   

Commentary

 

Explanation of John 21

By Rev. John Clowes M.A.

Explaining the Inner Meaning of John 21

Verses 21:1, 2. That after his resurrection, the Lord manifested himself in common or general principles to those who were principled in good and truth.

Verse 21:3. And this at a time, when they were teaching the knowledges of truth and good for the reformation of mankind, but whereas they taught from themselves, and not from the Lord, therefore their teaching was fruitless.

Verses 21:4, 5, 6. On which account they are gifted with interior light, yet faint, from the Lord, instructing them that they ought to do all things from the good of love and charity, and that thus natural men might be converted to the truth.

Verses 21:7, 8. Which instruction is perceived to be from the Lord by those who are principled in the good of life, and also by those who are in the good of faith, therefore these latter are more and more confirmed in truth, though as yet it was in common or general principles, whilst the former, by the truth of doctrine, seek to lead natural men to the good of life.

Verses 21:9, 10, 11. Therefore they are made sensible of the divine presence in the truth of good, and in the good of love, and obeying the divine command, they acknowledge the fruitfulness and multiplication of good and truth, in all their fullness in the church, and in their coherence, to be of the Lord.

Verses 21:12, 13, 14. Yet it is granted them of the divine mercy to appropriate to themselves that fruitfulness and multiplication, by incorporating into their own minds and lives both good and truth from the Lord, whereby all doubt is removed concerning the divine presence, and they are fully convinced of the glorification of the Lord's Humanity.

Verses 21:15, 16, 17. On which occasion exploration is made concerning the conjunction of truth and good in the church, and divine admonition given, that it is the office of truth, or of those who are principled in truth, to instruct all who are in innocence, likewise all who are in the good of charity, and lastly, all who are in the good of faith.

Verses 21:18, 19. Divine warning is also given at the same time concerning the separation of truth, or faith, from good, or charity, teaching that the faith of the church in its rise is in the good of innocence, but when it is in its setting, it would no longer be in that good, nor in the good of charity, but would be led by evils and falsities.

Verses 21:20, 21, 22, 23. But still the good of charity would remain with those who are of the Lord, even to the end of the church, and when there is a new church, and not with those who are in truth separate from good.

Verses 21:24, 25. For they, who are principled in the good of charity, bear faithful witness to the truth, being convinced of the truth by its light in their own minds, yet they cannot unfold the whole of the divine operation, because the church is not in a state to receive it.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7852

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7852. 'Roasted with fire' means good that is the product of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'what is roasted with fire' as the good of love; for 'fire' means love, 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, and 'what is roasted' that which has been infused with love, consequently good. In the Word what has been roasted is distinguished from what has been boiled. 'What has been roasted' means good, because it has been cooked by means of fire, while 'what has been boiled' is used to mean truth, because it has been cooked by means of water. A similar distinction is made here, for it says in verse 9, Do not eat any of it raw, nor boiled at all in water, but roasted indeed with fire. The reason for this is that 'the Passover lamb' means the good of innocence, which is the good of love to the Lord.

[2] All this shows what 'the roasted fish', in Luke 24:42-43, means in the spiritual sense, and also 'the fish placed over the fire of coals' when the Lord appeared to the disciples, described in John as follows,

After the disciples got down onto the land they saw a fire of coals that had been set, and a small fish lying over it, and bread. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the small fish. John 21:9, 13.

'A fish' means truth in the natural, 991, while 'a fire of coals' means good. Thus 'a small fish lying over it' means the truth of spiritual good within the natural. A person who does not believe in the existence of the internal sense within the Word inevitably thinks that the presence of the fish over the coal fire, when the Lord appeared to the disciples, and its being given them by the Lord to eat lack any deeper, hidden meaning.

[3] Since 'roasted with fire' means good that is the product of celestial and spiritual love, evil that is the product of selfish and worldly love is meant in the contrary sense by 'roasted with fire' in Isaiah,

He burnt part of it with fire, over part of it he ate flesh, he roasted a roast, in order that he might be satiated; also he was made warm. And he said, O brother, 1 I have been made warm, I have seen the fire. I have burned part of it with fire, and also I have baked bread over its coals, I have roasted flesh and am eating it. Isaiah 44:16, 19.

This refers to worshippers of a carved image. 'A carved image' means falsity of evil, which is portrayed by such an image. 'Roasting a roast' and 'roasting flesh' are working evil under the influence of a filthy love. With regard to 'fire', that it is in the contrary sense the evil of self-love and love of the world, or the desires belonging to those kinds of love, see 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575.

Footnotes:

1. The word in the original language consists of three Hebrew letters, which with the vowel points of the Massoretic Text read as the interjection he'ach (ah!). But the Latin treats the same three letters as the (vocative) noun ha'ach (O brother).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.