The Bible

 

John 21:15-25 : Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep

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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

 

True Christian Religion #764

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764. IV. This night is followed by morning, and morning is the Lord's coming.

The succeeding states of the church in general and in particular are described in the Word by the four seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and by the four times of day, morning, midday, evening and night. Since the present-day Christian church is in night, it follows that morning is at hand, that is, the first state of a new church. It can be established from the following passages that successive states of the church are described in the Word by the four periods of daylight:

Until the evening and the morning, two thousand three hundred [days], then will the holy place be made holy 1 . The vision of the evening and the morning is truth, Daniel 8:14, 26.

One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman says, The morning is coming, and night again, Isaiah 21:11-12.

The end has come, the morning has come upon you, you that dwell in the land. Look, the day has come, the morning has gone forth, Ezekiel 7:6-7, 10.

Jehovah morning by morning will set His judgment in light, nor will He fail, Zephaniah 3:5. God is in her midst, God will help her when morning breaks, Psalms 46:5.

I have waited for Jehovah, my soul waits for the Lord more than those that watch for the morning, those that watch for the morning. For with Him is a wealth of redemption, and He will redeem Israel, Psalms 130:5-8.

[2] In these passages evening and night mean the final period of the church, morning its first period. The Lord Himself is also called the morning in the following passages:

The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel talked to me. He is like the light of morning, a morning without clouds. 2 Samuel 23:3-4.

I am the root and offspring of David, the bright star of morning, Revelation 22:16.

From the womb of the dawn the dew of your youth is on you, Psalms 110:3.

These things are said of the Lord. It was because the Lord is the morning that He also rose from the tomb in the early morning, so as to begin a new church (Mark 16:2, 9).

[3] The Lord's coming is to be awaited, as is plainly established by His prediction of it in Matthew:

When Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him, saying, Tell us, what is the sign of your coming and of the ending of the age? Matthew 24:3.

After the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will the sign of the Son of Man appear, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory, Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27.

As were the days of Noah, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Therefore be ready, for at the time you do not expect, the Son of Man will come, Matthew 24:37, 39, 44, 46.

In Luke:

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith upon the earth? Luke 18:8.

In John:

Jesus said of John, If I want him to stay until I come... John 21:22-23.

[4] In the Acts of the Apostles:

When they saw Jesus lifted up into heaven, two men stood before them in white clothing, and they said, Jesus who has been lifted up from you into heaven, will come like this, as you have seen him going into heaven, Acts of the Apostles 1:9-11.

In Revelation:

The Lord, the God of the holy prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must happen. Behold, I am coming. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy 2 of this book. And behold, I am coming, and my reward is with me, so that I may give to each according to what he has done, Revelation 22:6-7, 12.

Further:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to bear witness of these things to you in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright star of the morning. The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who hears say, Come. And let him who is thirsty come; and let whoever will, take the water of life without payment. Rev:16-17.

Further:

He who bears witness to these things says, I am coming indeed. Amen, come indeed, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen, Revelation 22:20-21.

Footnotes:

1. Or literally: 'be justified'.

2. For 'the words of the prophecy' the Latin has 'the commands', but this is corrected in the Author's copy.

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