Chapter BY Chapter

John 21:1-25

Jesus Helps The Disciples Fish

​

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.  Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

 

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.”  He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.  That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

 

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.  Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.  Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.  This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

 

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”  He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”  He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.  Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”  (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

 

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”  When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 2 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”  So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

 

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

 

*******  

 

The last chapter ended with the following:

 

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

 

Now what does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

1. The word “Christ” means anointed in Greek.

2. The word “Christ” is used interchangeably with the word, “Messiah.”

3. The word Messiah (or Meshiach) means “anointed” in Hebrew.

4. What does it mean that Jesus was anointed?What is the significance of that?

   • Priests in the Old Testament would anoint the prophets and kings.

   • Jesus was the only one in all of history to be anointed by God.

   • How was Jesus anointed by God?

     • By the Holy Spirit descending on him.

     • What is the significance of this?

 

What is the significance that Jesus is the Son of God?

1. John 3:16 calls Jesus the “monogenEs” son of God, that is, the only unique Son of God.

2. God called Jesus his Son with his own voice out of heaven.This is the only person that God calls his Son with his own voice out of heaven.

3. Jesus called himself Son of Man.In the Old Testament, Son of Man refers to the Messiah.It refers back to Genesis 3:15 and Daniel 7:13-14, where the son of Man, not only defeats Satan, but is worshipped.

 

This significance of the Christ and the Son of God is that this is the person that fulfills all the promises of the Old Testament.

 

In Matthew 4:18-20, Jesus called Peter as follows:

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

 

Now, here in John chapter 21, we find Peter fishing for fish, and Jesus helps him catch some fish! 

 

Some may question the account of Jesus first meeting Jesus in John chapter 1.  In John chapter 1, John the Baptist says, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”  Two men follow Jesus from that point and one of them is Andrew, Peter’s Brother.  Andrew finds Peter and says, “We have found the Messiah!” 

 

Here is how we know that these are two different occurrences.  Andrew finds Peter and tells him, “We have found the Messiah,” right after John the Baptist says “Behold the Lamb of God,” according to the sequence given in Matthew’s gospel.  In John’s gospel, Jesus does not tell Peter to follow him till after John the Baptist is arrested.  So, it is interesting to note here that when Jesus calls Peter to follow him, Peter already believes that Jesus is the Messiah. 

 

So, Peter says he is going fishing.  Six other disciples that are there say that they will go with him.  But they don’t catch anything for the entire night.  Now there were two basic types of fishing nets in that time.  There was a dragnet, which was about 24 to 36 feet wide and 300 yards long.  It had corks on the top rope to float it and weights on the other rope to make sure it hits the bottom.  This would take a while to deploy and about 16 to 20 men to haul it in on each end.  The other type of fishing net was a casting net.  The casting net was circular and about 24 to 36 feet in diameter.  The rope around the perimeter had weights to make sure it would hit the bottom and trap any fish under it.  It was common for the fishermen to just dive in naked and collect the fish under the net.  The circular rope could also have been extended so that it could be pulled in and lifted up to a boat.  It could also be constructed so the net would catch the fish by the gills.  It is probable that they were using a casting net because John says that Peter was naked.  This was so he could dive in and get the fish if he needed to. 

 

Example of casting net in Galilee on video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yChnW7v4ON4)

 

Ancient Galilee boat from about the time of Jesus: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_w5qPO99Ns)

 

So the fishing boat they were in was probably like a long row boat.  The seven disciples could probably barely fit in it.  Jesus is standing on the shore, and he says to them, “Children.”  Why does he call them children?  The Greek word for children here is “paidia,” which is often translated, “little children.”  Some translations translate it “friends,” but that is not accurate. 

 

Why do you think Jesus calls them little children?

 

Jesus calls them little children because this is a term of endearment. 

 

By calling them little children, he is saying, “I know you, and I love you.”

 

He is going to treat them to a special treat out of endearing love.  It only matches that he should call them “little children.”

 

“Do you have any fish?” Jesus says. 

 

Now remember when Jesus told the man born blind to go to the pool of Siloam and wash off his eyes to be healed?  He did it in this way so that he could come back to the man when he could see without him knowing it was the one that healed him and ask, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

 

Jesus is doing the same thing here.  He is setting up the disciples for a surprise.  Jesus knows they have not caught any fish, and he knows where all the fish are.  He knows this.  He knows everything. 

 

They haven’t caught any fish all night.  In the previous video, we could see how easy it was to catch fish in the Sea of Galilee, even today.  Perhaps, Jesus was setting this up.

 

The disciples answer, “NO,” because they have caught no fish.  This would be highly unusual for the Sea of Galilee at that time.  The Sea of Galilee had at least 37 species of fish.  Some species such as the sardines they would keep throwing back and they would become even more populous.  It can be a real bother to clean the small fish for the amount of meat you get from them.  When I lived in Minnesota, my dad took us smelt fishing one time.  When the smelt run, you can just put your net in the river and it fills up with smelt.  Well, we caught two big trash cans full of smelt in about 45 minutes.  Now, smelt are small fish, but I would say they are bigger than sardines.  We took them home and I was helping my dad clean fish till midnight.  There were still most of the fish left to clean.  My dad stayed up all night cleaning fish.  I helped my dad clean fish all day long Saturday until the middle of the evening.  On Sunday after noon, there were still fish to clean and we cleaned fish till the middle of Sunday evening till they were all cleaned.

 

So, Jesus says, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”

 

Does God have a sense of humor?  Some people criticize the Bible by saying that there is no sense of humor in it.  The Bible is full of humor and here is one of the places where you find it. 

 

So the disciples cast the net on the right side of the boat and now they catch so many fish that they cannot haul in the net full of fish. 

 

Jesus knows where all the fish are at.  Maybe he even told the fish where to go. 

 

Because of the big catch, John says to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

 

Peter throws his outer garment on and makes his way to the shore. They are about 100 yards out.  The other disciples come in the boat dragging the net full of fish.  That must have been quite a chore.  I remember when my dad took us smelt fishing, we took my little sister too.  She put her net in the river and the fish that filled her net would have dragged her into the river if I hadn’t grabbed onto her and helped her pull the fish in.

 

When they get to land, Jesus has a charcoal fire with some fish and bread laid out on it and ready for them to eat.  Now, how do you think that the meal got there? 

1. Did Jesus produce it by magic?

2. Did Jesus go fishing while they were fishing?

3. Did Jesus make the bread from scratch, or buy it, or did he produce it magically?

 

So Jesus says, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”

 

The net was full of large fish, 153 of them.  Now the Sea of Galilee still has 37 species of fish in it.  One species of fish that is common there are sardines.  It is probably difficult to NOT get any sardines in your fishing net.   But Peter caught 153 large fish and no sardines!

So Jesus gave the bread and the fish to them. 

 

Now, this is the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised form the dead, and the only time this story is mentioned in any of the gospels.  Jesus had already given the disciples the great commission according to John 20:21-23. 

 

Why does John include this story in his gospel?

1. What does this story tell us about Jesus?

2. What does this story tell us about the disciples?

3. What does this story tell us about the resurrection of Jesus.

4. What does this story tell us about the great commission?

   • When you are fulfilling the commission that Jesus gave you, he cares about your every need.

   • Jesus wants us to reap in abundance, not just spiritually, but also physically.

   • Jesus loves us.

 

After they ate breakfast, Jesus has to deal with Peter because Peter had denied him three times. 

 

Jesus asks Peter if he loves him 3 times.  Each time, Peter affirms that he loves Jesus.  The third time he is grieved because he is reminded that he denied Jesus a third time, and now Jesus is asking him if he loves Jesus a third time.  Each time, Peter responds, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” The third time, Peter adds, “You know everything.”

 

After Peter’s first response, Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.”

 

After Peter’s second response, Jesus says, “Tend my sheep.”

 

After Peter’s third response, Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.  Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

 

With each of Peter’s responses, Jesus increases the responsibility for Peter.  Jesus’ commands go from feeding lambs, to tending sheep, to feeding sheep, then even to Following Jesus.  When Jesus first called Peter, he said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  Do you think that there is anything different about following Jesus when he says to Peter this time, “Follow me?”

Jesus makes it very obvious all that following him will mean for Peter.  Peter asks about John, “What about this man?”  Jesus says, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”  It is very plain from this that Peter will die as a martyr for Jesus. 

 

John identifies himself here at the end of his gospel.  “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.”

Some people have thought that the words, “we know that his testimony is true,” were added at a later date by someone else. 

 

Who is the “we” here?

 

Why doesn’t John say, “We know that my testimony is true?”

 

First of all, John is writing in third person throughout the gospel.  He refers to himself throughout the gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  This is a 3rd person reference.  Therefore referring to his testimony as “his testimony” is not a problem. 

 

Now, why would he say, “We know?”  Saying, “I know my testimony is true,” would have no effect.  John gave this gospel verbally for decades.  It would be natural to say at the end of his testimony, “We know his testimony is true.”  By saying it this way, he is including all the listeners, believers that already acknowledge John’s testimony as true.  It would be natural for the listeners to also join in by saying,

 

“We know his testimony is true.”

 

“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

 

John knew he wrote his gospel differently.  He included some things that the other gospels did not include, and he did not include all that the other gospels included.  After reading all four gospels, it becomes very apparent that miracles that Jesus did were very prolific.  He healed people at will.  He had power over matter, as well as space and time.  The purpose of the book is in the previous chapter.  It is not necessary to record all that Jesus did to give people good reason to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  By believing, you have life in his name.  This last chapter is about that abundant life.  The abundant life is centered in Jesus.  It is not about self-realization. 

 

Notice that Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?”  We must love Jesus even more than our fellow believer.  Just like Peter fished all night and caught nothing, there may be times that we think we are getting nothing. 

 

This reminds me of the time when God brought me from Michigan to New York.  I was in a car accident and my neck was twisted.  This resulted in sleep apnea.  The Director of my workplace would not let me take a day off to have the sleep study and subsequent appointments.  This lead to my unemployment.  The mask I was given didn’t seem to be working properly, so I was having a slow recovery.  I couldn’t walk for more than ¼ mile without severe pains in the veins in my legs.  Finally, I found a different mask online and that got the apnea and the walks on track.  In the meantime, I couldn’t find a job opening anywhere.  They weren’t even hiring at taco bell.  I ran out of money and was facing an eviction.  I called my sister and told her about the eviction.  She said, “Perfect!”  I asked how that was perfect.  She told me that mom was getting out of the hospital and would need some supervision for a while.  So she paid for a U-Haul.  I put all my stuff in the U-Haul and headed to pick mom up from the hospital.   Mom was still unstable.  One day, she took off, abandoned her car somewhere and stayed with a friend without letting us know where she went.  Well, I activated an amber alert and submitted a picture of her.  After she returned, she was so angry that her picture was all over the news for an amber alert.  She was divorcing her 3rd husband and she had me type a letter for her about all of her complaints about him.  While I was typing this letter, I said, “Are you sure that you want to do this?  All of your complaints are about his physical problems and you saw your 2nd husband through his brain cancer till he passed away?  After all, his health insurance pays 100%.”  After this, she accused me of trying to force her to get a divorce when she didn’t want a divorce.  So I said, “Here, if you don’t want a divorce, tear this letter up.”  She grabbed the letter and tore it up. The next day she called Jim and asked him to come back.  He came back and they went somewhere together.  When they returned they gave me an eviction notice.  So, I had 30 days to leave.  I contacted a friend I met online and she said, “Come over here.  I have a big house and I like to help people out.”  So, I went there.  One day, this lady went off her meds and was calling from a friend of hers 110 miles away with some paranoid ideas.  So, I called the state police and let them know that she was not taking her life sustaining medications as well as where she was.  When she came back, she called me a “coyote” and told me to leave her house.  So, I got in my Jeep and decided to head to Iowa because I had just enough money to get there.  I was done with Michigan.  I called my sister and told her what was going on.  She said, “Don’t do that.  My roommate is leaving in a couple months, I’ll pay your gas and motel till you get here and you can stay here a while till you get resettled.”  So, I stayed at my sister’s place.  I was getting some interviews, but they were all saying, “After the New Year we will have a second round of interviews and then we will go from there.”  My sister was getting impatient.  She wanted me to get any kind of a job, which was not practical because that would exclude me from the interviews coming up.   So, she kicked me out.  I came upstate and I was sleeping in a parking lot at night and I would go to a state park in the morning to wash off in a creek, then to the library for the day to look for jobs and send resumes.  One day, I was standing naked in the middle of the creek washing off.  I left my cell phone was right on the shore line.  Now imagine this:  I was standing in the middle of a creek, naked, in a state park.  Well, actually, you may not want to imagine that.  The cell phone rang.  The first thing the caller said was, “Exactly where are you right now?”  I didn’t exactly want to say, “Standing naked in the middle of a creek in a state park.”  So, I said, “Ummm, what do you mean?”  The caller said, “Your cell phone is a Michigan number.  This job is in New York.”  Whew!!!  So, I got myself into a homeless facility, and since I had a Jeep, I was giving people rides to apply for jobs or to new jobs they had.  I ran out of money and I was still giving people rides.  I was giving people rides back one day and the gas gauge was just below ¼ full.  So, I told all the riders that the gas gauge was low and I had no money, so they should say a prayer about it.  It was silent all the way back to the homeless facility.  Well, I continued giving rides.  But the gas gauge stayed in the same place.  This went on for several weeks.  There was one day that a lady gave me $10 to take her somewhere.  That put the gas gauge between ¼ full and ½ full.  It only took one day to use up that gas and the gas gauge went back to the same spot just below ¼ full.  No one else gave me money for gas.  A few weeks later, I had a job at taco Bell, a job at H&R Block, and a job at a technical company.  I was driving to all these jobs, and the gas gauge stayed in the same place.  After a few weeks, I had three paychecks, but no bank would cash them or let me open an account because I had an overdraft from a bank in Michigan.  It took me a couple weeks to figure out I could cash checks at a specific grocery store.  So, I cashed the checks there.  Then I thought, “I’ll just leave the gas tank as it is and watch the gauge go down.  It took me another 3 weeks to get my account at the Michigan bank straightened out and start a new bank account.  My gas gauge stayed the same and didn’t go down until I was able to start a new bank account. 

 

So, Jesus knows everything.  His plan is abundant.  Whether a believer is a fisherman, or an apostle, or just someone that preaches the gospel for 6 decades, that life should glorify God and relish the love of Jesus, giving back every ounce of that love.  That abundant life begins now!

 

Jesus gave Peter a net full of large fish and no sardines!

 

Likewise, we have no sardines to give back to Jesus!

 

Song: Giving You My All - Soul Survivor - Tom Field