Another Look at the Scripture:

The last chapter of the gospel of John (chapter 21) contains a fishing expedition of seven(vs. 2)disciples. In this connection there is an interesting Greek word, kalchaino,which means two things: (1) to search for the purple-fish, (2) to search in the depths of one's mind, or to ponder deeply. The Greek story behind this curious word is that there existed in ancient Greece a mollusk from which the Greeks made a special purple dye. Divers would descend to the bottom of the ocean floorin search of this shellfish that was highly prized. This became a metaphorical expression for plumbing the depths of one's own mind. Thus searching for the fish, exploring the depths of the sea, finding unconscious contents in oneself, and exploring the inner mind are all related images and ideas.
When the disciples reached the shore, they found Jesus cooking a fish. Perhaps the fish in this story, which is almost ready to eat, is the meaning of Christ Himself, which is now ready to be assimilated into human consciousness. More symbolism is used as the Lord asks Peter three times, "Do you love me? Feed my sheep." Then we come to valuable insight into eternal thinking. The question is, why are Jesus and Peter discussing the future of the unknown disciple (John)? Just as Mark 9:1 says, "I tell you solemnly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." That is, they would not die before the Second Advent of Christ. Again in John 9:1 we read, "Truly I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." However, here in John 21, Jesus says to Peter, "If I want him to stay behind while I am coming." The Greek 'eos erchomai is translated "till I come." However in Greek grammatical construction the conjunction 'eos means "until" when it is combined with the particle an and with the verb in the subjunctive. When 'eos occurs without an and with the verb in the indicative it is translated "while." The grammatical distinction would appear to be quite clear, and in fact, in John 9:4, which has a construction similar to that of 21:22 ('eos without an and with the indicative) it is translated "while it is still day." It would seem, then, that the Greek does not have Jesus saying, "If I want him to stay behind till I come" but "If I want him to stay behind while I am coming."
It is my opinion that the Lordimplies a different mode of discipleship for the beloved disciple than for Peter. Peter is the activist minister. He is the one who is told to watch over and feed the flock of Christ. The beloved disciple is the one who is suggested to simplywait while Christ is coming. He is to abide (meno), doing "nothing" but being in a highly developed state of consciousness while Christ returns in judgment and in a mystical way, returning to the hearts and souls of people. The Lord was saying that there will be people who change the world by achieving a certain quality of consciousness and holding to it. Such a person does nothing, yet everything gets done. It is our greatest lesson to rest in the power of God and yield everything to Him. This is a more spiritual, mystical and effective way to serve our God.
Then comes the final stroke in John 21:25: "There were many other things which Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written." The fact is that the Divine Mind is so vast that our world and our worldly consciousness could not possibly hold the knowledge of it. The Word of God so far surpasses human understanding that if the whole world as we know it was filled with books about God's mind, there would still be an infinity of meaning not yet touched upon.