And thank you, Homer, for persisting in this request. It prompted me to reconsider the passage, and now I am leaning toward a different explanation.Paidion,
I was hoping to hear your comments regarding the issue I raised in my July 27 post about Jesus' ability to predict Peter's martyrdom, in particular because of the many variables that would be involved. Thanks
If we were to look at only the words of Jesus and not those of the commentator, we would probably never guess that the words referred to the martyrdom of Peter:
Truly, I tell you, when you were young, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." John 21:18
Peter was an impetuous person. When he was young, he could fasten his own belt. He needed no one to help him. He could also go wherever he wanted. Jesus seems to have been saying that when Peter grows old, he must rely on other people, to stretch out his hands to someone else to fasten his belt for him. Peter will not even be able to decide where to go any longer. His caretaker will take Peter to places where the caretaker wants to go, not necessarily where Peter wants to go.
This passage is followed by the parenthetical :
(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.)
The question is, was this parenthetical explanation of Jesus' words, added to the text by a later commentator? If so, it may not have been much later, as the expression seems occurs in papyrus 109, which is supposed to have been written in the mid to late second century. I noticed, however, that the word for "death" in the manuscript is not "thanatos" found in later manuscripts, but only two Greek letters "th" and "a". These letters were not underlined to indicate an abbreviation. The customary way to abbreviate a word was to write the first and last letter, not the first two letters. However, it may have still been "thanatos" with the final letters erased or missing. I do not have a copy of the manuscript, only a transcript.
On the other hand, the parenthetical explanation may have been that of the author, namely the apostle John himself. He wrote his gospel years after these events occurred, and it is possible that as he remembered the words of Jesus, he thought about the death of Peter, and it occurred to him that Jesus words may have referred to Peter's death.
I suppose that those who believe that the Bible is inerrant in every detail, would not even consider the suggestion that John may have misinterpreted Jesus' words. Yet, as I see it, that may have been the case.