The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (130 page)

20:7 the napkin . . . the linen cloths:
Corroborating evidence of the Resurrection. No thief would have taken the time to unwrap Jesus' corpse and fold his burial clothes neatly in the tomb. In any case, the grave robbers of antiquity usually stole the expensive linens and left the body behind, not the other way around. 
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20:9 the Scripture:
For important resurrection passages,
See note on Lk 24:46
. 
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20:12 two angels:
Luke likewise mentions two angels (Lk 24:4, 23). 
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20:14 she did not know:
Failure to recognize the risen Jesus immediately is also noted in 21:4 and Lk 24:16 (CCC 659). 
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20:17 Do not hold me:
Mary wants to keep Jesus with her, but he must first ascend to the Father. Only then will he come again to his disciples in spiritual and sacramental ways.
See note on Jn 14:18
.
my Father and your Father:
Jesus is the Son of God by nature (1:18); believers are sons and daughters by grace (1:12); and all have the same Father (CCC 443, 654). 
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20:19 that day:
The evening of Easter Sunday. 
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20:20 his hands and his side:
The point is that Jesus is raised not simply with
a
body, but with the
same
body that was crucified and died only days earlier (20:25, 27). He carries these marks of his earthly sacrifice with him even when he ascends into heaven (Rev 5:6) (CCC 645). 
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20:21 Peace:
A traditional Hebrew greeting.
See note on Jn 14:27
. 
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20:22 he breathed on them:
Anticipates the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, which will take place 50 days later (Acts 2:1-4). Here we see that the risen humanity of Jesus has become a sacrament of the divine Spirit (6:53-58; CCC 1116). • John uses an expression that recurs in significant contexts in the Greek OT. It appears in Gen 2:7, where the Lord breathes life into Adam; in 1 Kings 17:21, where the Greek version specifies that Elijah resuscitated a boy with his breath; and in Ezek 37:9, where God raises an army of corpses to new life by the breath of the Spirit. 
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20:23 forgive the sins:
Jesus' ministry of mercy and reconciliation will continue through the apostles (2 Cor 5:18-20; Jas 5:14-15). The power to "forgive and retain" sins in the name of Jesus is elsewhere described as the authority to "bind and loose" (Mt 16:19; 18:18; CCC 553, 730). • The Council of Trent connects this episode with the institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Sess. 14, chap. 1), by which Christ distributes divine forgiveness to the world through the successors of the apostles (bishops) and their assistants in the presbyterate (priests) (CCC 976, 1441, 1461). 
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20:26 Eight days later:
The second Sunday of the Easter octave. 
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20:28 My Lord and my God!:
The climactic confession of faith in John's Gospel (CCC 448, 644). 
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20:30-31
A statement of purpose by the evangelist. He has written the Fourth Gospel both as history and as witness, in the hope that a factual portrayal of the Christ's life will not just inform readers, but challenge them to accept him and his claims with true faith (Lk 1:1-4). 
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21:1 Sea of Tiberias:
Another name for the Sea of Galilee.
See note on Jn 6:1
. 
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21:2
At least five of these seven disciples are apostles. John, who is one of the
sons of Zebedee
(Mt 10:2), remains consistent until the end in withholding his name from the Gospel narrative. See introduction:
Author
and chart:
The Twelve Apostles
at Mk 3. 
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21:3 that night:
Net fishing was done at night (Lk 5:5). The most popular fish were tilapias, now called "Peter's fish". 
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21:7 It is the Lord!:
John is the first to recognize Jesus on the shore. It is unclear whether his identity was veiled because of the distance, the lingering darkness, or a dullness of spiritual insight (20:14, Lk 24:16; CCC 645). •
Allegorically
(St. Gregory the Great,
Hom. in Evan.
24): the presence of Christ on land signifies the stability and peace of his Resurrection life, as distinct from the instability and commotion of mortal life still experienced by the disciples as they labor upon the waves of the sea. 
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21:9 charcoal fire:
This expression, used only here and in 18:18 in the NT, sets up the following conversation between Jesus and Peter. The point is that Peter is given a second chance to affirm his love for Christ in front of a fire after three times denying him in front of a fire (18:15-18, 25-27). 
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21:11 a hundred and fifty-three:
The number of fish hauled ashore is symbolic. St. Jerome claims that Greek zoologists had identified 153 different kinds of fish (
Comm. in Ez.
14, 47). If this is the background, the episode anticipates how the apostles, made fishers of men by Christ (Mt 4:19), will gather believers from every nation into the Church (Mt 28:18-20). 
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21:13 took . . . gave:
The breakfast recalls the feeding of the 5,000 in 6:1-14, since these are the only two meals in John eaten beside the Sea of Galilee and the only two where bread and fish are served.
See note on Jn 6:11
. 
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21:14 the third time:
i.e., that Jesus appears risen to the group of disciples. Individual encounters like the one in 20:16 are not included in this numbering. 
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21:15-17
Three times Peter reaffirms his love for Jesus as personal restitution for the three times he denied him (13:38; 18:15-18, 25-27). The dialogue in Greek makes use of several synonyms: two different nouns are used for
sheep,
and two different verbs are used for
feed, know,
and
love.
Although this may be a stylistic feature to avoid redundancy, others think it more significant, especially with the verb
love.
In his first two questions, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him with "willing love" (Gk.
agapaō
), but in the third question he asks if Peter loves him with merely "friendly affection" (Gk.
phileō
), which is the word Peter uses in all three of his responses. An intended distinction between these terms would indicate that Jesus, desirous of a complete and heroic love from Peter, was willing by the end of the conversation to settle for his friendship. 
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21:15 more than these?:
Peter is challenged to live up to his own words, since earlier he declared that even if the other disciples should fall away from Christ, his commitment would never falter (Mt 26:33).
Feed my lambs:
Jesus entrusts to Peter the task of shepherding his entire flock. This supreme leadership position over the Church gives him a unique share in the authority of Christ, who is still acknowledged by Peter as the "chief Shepherd" (1 Pet 5:4). It is important to recognize that no tension exists in the mind of Jesus between his own role as the "good shepherd" and the delegation of pastoral authority to Peter (Jn 10:11; CCC 553, 881). • Vatican I declared that in this episode Christ made Peter the visible head and chief pastor over the universal Church (
Pastor aeternus,
chap. 1).
See note on Mt 16:13-20
. 
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21:18 stretch out your hands:
An allusion to Peter's martyrdom by crucifixion. Tradition holds that it took place in Rome around
A.D.
67. 
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21:23 The saying spread:
This verse is included to correct a misunderstanding among believers that the Apostle John would remain alive until Christ returns in glory. 
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21:24 This is the disciple:
Equivalent to the evangelist's personal signature. See introduction:
Author.
we know:
Apparently this comment was inserted, not by the evangelist, but by other Christians who knew the facts about Jesus as John did and willingly testified to the veracity of his Gospel. 
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21:25 many other things:
John claims that his Gospel is accurate, not that it is comprehensive or exhaustive (19:35). He has given enough information about the life and ministry of Jesus to elicit faith from his readers (20:30-31; CCC 515). 
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The Seven "I am" Sayings of Jesus

1. 
"I am the bread of life" 
John
6:35

2. 
"I am the light of the world" 
John
8:12

3. 
"I am the door of the sheep" 
John
10:7

4. 
"I am the good shepherd" 
John
10:11

5. 
"I am the resurrection and the life" 
John
11:25

6. 
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life" 
John
14:6

7. 
"I am the true vine" 
John
15:1

INTRODUCTION TO

Author
 The Book of Acts, like the Gospels, is anonymous. Tradition reaching back to the second century identifies its author as Luke, a Gentile physician and traveling associate of the Apostle Paul (2 Tim 4:11; Philem 24). Explicit testimony for the Lucan authorship of Acts comes from early Christian Fathers such as Irenaeus (
A.D.
180), Clement of Alexandria (
A.D.
200), and Eusebius (
A.D.
325). Though some modern scholars have questioned the Lucan authorship of the book, the evidence gives strong support to the traditional view.
(1)
Few question that the author of Acts was also the author of Luke. The opening line of Acts refers to a "first book" that the same author dedicated to the same man, "Theophilus" (1:1). This is a clear reference to the Gospel of Luke (Lk 1:1-4), a book unanimously ascribed by the early Church to Paul's companion Luke.
(2)
Both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts show concern for the sick, sometimes using medical terminology in their respective stories (9:18; 28:6, 8; Lk 4:38; 8:43-44). This is consistent with Luke's occupation as a "physician" (Col 4:14).
(3)
A careful reading of Acts reveals that its author was an eyewitness to several of the events recounted. This can be seen in the second half of Acts, where the author uses a series of "we" passages to include himself as a member of the missionary team headed by Paul (16:10-17; 20:515; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16).
(4)
There is no clear reason why the early Christians would attribute the Book of Acts (or the Third Gospel) to Luke unless there was some factual basis for his authorship in the tradition. Of all the people to whom the Book of Acts could have been attributed, how did a relatively insignificant figure such as Luke become associated with the work rather than a more prominent person, such as an apostle? The most reasonable answer is that Luke was known to have written the work.