What Does John 21:22 Mean?
Jesus said to him, "If I will that he stay until I come, what is that to you? As for you, follow me."
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.THE KEY
Jesus leaves the other disciple’s future hypothetical and makes Peter’s present path the point: keep following me.
THE MEANING
Another person’s future remains in Jesus’ hands, but it does not define the reader’s relationship with him. The verse brings the focus to the present, ongoing movement of following Jesus.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
My path can only be understood once I know what Jesus plans for somebody else.
THE ROOT
ἀκολούθει
akolouthei
GROWS FROM
ἀκολουθ-
akolouth-
to follow, accompany, go after
“follow” in this verse is akolouthei. The verb carries the sense of going with someone, not merely agreeing with a direction. Its present imperative gives the command an ongoing force: keep following me.
ALSO GROWS
akolouthos: follower, companion
ἀκόλουθος
The related noun places companionship inside the idea of following.
akolouthia: following, sequence
ἀκολουθία
This related word shows the movement and succession held in the same word family.
μένῃ
menē
GROWS FROM
μένω
menō
to remain, stay, continue, abide
“stay” in this verse is menē. The same Greek verb is translated “abide” when Jesus speaks of remaining in him. English gives “tarry” and “abide” different sounds, while the Greek keeps them in one word family.
ALSO GROWS
menō: remain, stay, abide
μένω
In John 15:4, the same verb describes abiding in Jesus, linking another person’s possible remaining with the language of relationship.
monē: dwelling, abode
μονή
This related noun names a place of remaining; it appears as “mansions” in John 14:2.
THE PATTERN
Following God is a direct, ongoing path whose meaning is not borrowed from another person’s outcome.
And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.The steps of a strong one are set firm by the LORD, and he delights in his way.And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.THE THREAD
Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it stays in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.John 21’s “tarry” and John 15’s “abide” translate the same Greek verb, μένω (menō), meaning remain. The shared word makes Peter’s question about another person’s staying resonate with Jesus’ invitation to remain in him.
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