John 21:1-11

vv 1-3)Going fishing

John recorded another of the several appearances of the resurrected Jesus to His disciples.

The scene now changes from Jerusalem to the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). It seems that the disciples had journeyed north to their homes in Galilee.

This account is also recorded in: Matthew 28:16

Matthew 28:16 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

I find it interesting that Peter is the first mentioned at the top of the list. He was one among seven.

Despite all that he has done God isn’t through with him.

“Two others”- “There were ‘two other,’ and they are unnamed, and I believe purposely unnamed. They represent the anonymous and hidden multitudes of faithful souls, whose names are never published in human documents, whose deeds are never reported in human reports. To these He manifested Himself as surely as to the others. Those ‘two other’ represented the majority of the saints” - Morgan

What do you make of Peter going fishing?

Some believe that Peter was wrong to go fishing, and that this was a compromised return to the former occupation. Others believe Peter disobeyed no command of Jesus as was simple wise and practical. In the end, only the attitude of Peter’s heart could determine if he was disobedient to go back to fishing.

My take on it is that: Previously to the crucifixion the necessities of life were taken care of by charity: Luke 8:3

Luke 8:3 ESV

3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

As it is probable that the scandal of the cross had now shut done those funds, not fully knowing how they were to be employed purposed to return to their former occupation of fishing, in order to gain a livelihood.

What this is probably best shows us is that Peter and the other disciples were uncertain as to what they should do next. This contrasts sharply with their assured sense of purpose from the day of Pentecost.

They fished through the night and had no success.

What sort of application do you see in verse 3?

“To be a fisherman, a man must expect disappointments; he must often cast in the net and bring up nothing but weeds. The minster of Christ must reckon upon being disappointed; and he must not be weary in well-doing for all his disappointments, but must in faith continue in prayer and labor, expecting that at the end he shall receive his reward”- Spurgeon

This also could illustrate the uselessness of human efforts apart from divine help, especially in the matter of fishing for souls.

Before we move on notice where Thomas is. He is apart of the group again, never to leave the God he loves.

vv 4-6) Jesus directs them

[4] Jesus was waiting for them as they rowed toward the shore in the morning, although they did not recognize Him. This could be because it was either still dark, preoccupied with their failure, or perhaps they were prevented from knowing Him by God’s power.

[5] Jesus spoke to them with a common greeting. It would be the same as, “Young men, have you anything to eat?” To which they said, “no.”

[6] As far as they knew, He was just a stranger, walking along the shore. Yet, in response to His advice, they cast the net on the right side of the boat, and lo and behold!

A great load of fish. So many that they could not pull in the net! This shows that the Lord Jesus had perfect knowledge as to the location of the fish in the lake.

Why is that important?

It teaches us that when the Lord directs our service, there are no more empty nets. He knows where there are souls ready to be saved, and He is willing to direct us to them- if we will let Him.

It’s also probably important to not that this wasn’t a test of trust in Jesus, because they didn’t know it was Him until the fish were caught. This was probably a test of their ability to find the guidance of God in small and unsuspected ways- such as a stranger calling out fishing instructions from the shore.

What might be the application?

This can illustrate the principle that we should never be afraid to changer our method, as long as it is at the direction of Jesus.

The disciples did as the Man of the shore asked and were successful beyond expectation. Being a perfect example of doing work without Divine guidance and with Divine guidance.

We should expect blessing if He is directing our service. Jesus never commanded these disciples to go fishing (not that what they were doing was wrong), but Jesus did command us to preach the Gospel and make disciples.

“It is a miracle, certainly, but yet neither the fisherman, nor his boat, nor his fishing tackle are ignored; they are all used and all employed. Let us learn that in the saving of souls God worketh by means; that so long as the present economy of grace shall stand, God will be pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” - Spurgeon

Perhaps, if they had not fished at night, Christ would not, have given them fish in the day time. He doesn’t often come to bless idlers; he acts sovereignly, but he generally gives his blessing to those churches that do the most for him.

vv 7-8) Recognition of Jesus

John reached the tomb before Peter and recognized the fact of Jesus’ resurrection before Peter. Here John also recognized the identity of the stranger on shore before Peter did. John knew that anything this wonderful had to come from the Son of God.

John might have been first in recognition, but Peter would be first in devotion. He threw on his outer garment and threw himself into the water to reach Jesus as soon as possible.

In considering the outer garment would imply that Peter was probably only wearing a loin-cloth, and picks up his garment worn by fishermen.

He looks up, recognizes Jesus, casts all other care aside, slips on his outer-garment, for no one during this period would appear in undress before their superior.

We are not told whether he swam, waded, or walked on water… This is because it didn’t matter what mattered was getting to Jesus.

vv 9-11) Invited to breakfast w/ Jesus

What a beautiful moment. Jesus was still a humble servant. He took the trouble to prepare a fire and cook the food for His disciples.

The order of events shows that Jesus had food for them before the great catch of fish were brought in. What they caught added to the menu; it did not make it.

The application seems to be that Jesus doesn’t need what we bring to the table/ or menu here. He has it all under control but would like to add what you bring.

Jesus isn’t dependent on my poor efforts.Doubtless in heaven we shall learn what while many people were saved through preaching and personal witness, many others were saved by the Lord Himself without any human help.

The number of fish plus the net would probably weigh as much as three hundred pounds, or more. This amount of detail lets us know that this was an eyewitness account and a fisherman’s perspective.

I find interpretation fascinating:

Augustine thought that because 153 is the sum of numbers 1 to 17- which eh thought to be the number of commandments (10) added to the seven fold gifts of the Spirit.

Some have noted that 153 is added numerical value of the Greek words Peter and fish.

Some thought, in Hebrew characters Simon Iona is equivalent to 118+35= 153

One of my favorite: Some ancient writers believed there were 153 different types of fish in the world and this catch represented a full harvest of the entire world.

Some thought that 100 stood for the Gentiles, 50 stood for Israel and 3 stood for the Trinity.

While there is some freedom in regards to how one might interpret this, we do want to be cautious to avoid creating hidden meanings in the Biblical text. We want to keep in line with the rule of faith (the doctrine we hold to as believers).

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.