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?



Ver. 23. Among the brethren] So are all Christians. Sanctior est copula cordis quam corporis.



That that disciple should not die] Some to this day deny that he is dead. Beza tells us of a certain impostor in his remembrance, that gave out at Paris that he was John the Evangelist, and was afterward burnt at Toulouse. Some have fabled, that after he had commanded his grave to be made, and had laid himself down in it, the next day it was found empty, and he raptured up alive into Paradise, whence he shall come together with Enoch and Elias at the last day to confound Antichrist. O quantum est in rebus inane! It is not for us to "follow cunningly devised fables," 2Pe_1:16, but to attend to that sure word of truth, as unto a light shining, &c., Joh_21:19, accounting every particle of it precious, since the change of one letter may breed so much error and cause so much contention.