John 21:23

John 21:23 says, Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet, Jesus said not unto them, he shall not die; but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"  The brethren were spreading the words of Christ incorrectly. They misinterpreted what Jesus said to conform to what they wanted to believe.  Many early Christians thought Jesus would return in their lifetime.  There are those today who base their beliefs on misinterpreting what the Bible says.  One aspect has to do with the second coming, which the brethren in that day were looking to also. Nearly every generation of believers has felt that Jesus's return was imminent.  The world of the early Christians was an evil place, and it has remained so ever since.  John corrected them by stating what Jesus really said.  We need to base our understanding on what the Bible actually says, not on what tradition may teach.  As for the second coming, we are not to make it the focus of our hope.  Spreading the gospel is our calling and there are fields white with harvest.  We need to be busy witnessing, realizing that when Christ returns, those without Him are lost forever.  Verse twenty-four adds, This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.  John did tarry longer than most of the disciples, and he recorded his time with Christ so we would have an accurate record of that time.  There are those today who say they have additional scripture, but those writings contain things that Jesus never taught.  Some today only believe the Old Testament to be scripture, while others want to discredit the Old Testament and follow only the New Testament.  We as followers of Christ must believe the whole Bible to be true.  Verse twenty-five continues, 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. We have recorded what we need to know in order to follow Christ. Though many other things could have been written, like what He looked like, these are unnecessary for salvation.  We simply have to believe what is recorded.