John 21:1-8

After chapter 20 the gospel of John is, in a sense, finished. John has brought everything to its proper conclusion, the sober wonder of Calvary bursting forth in the triumphant exultation of the empty tomb, the greatest of Jesus’ works producing the greatest confession of faith, and the author’s purpose statement bringing it all to a close. But in another sense this is only the beginning, for just as Jesus prayed for His disciples ahead of time, He was about to send them into the world with a mission just like the mission He was completing. When He finished His work of accomplishing redemption, He then commissioned His disciples with a new work of taking the news of that redemption to the ends of the earth. And so John included chapter 21 as a sort of epilogue, in which he relates how the resurrected Jesus prepared the disciples for their new task, following in the footsteps of Christ.

¹Afterward Jesus appeared again to His disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: ²Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ⁴Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. ⁶He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ⁷Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.

Peter, likely still bitter in heart over his great failure, had prepared to return to his former life as a fisherman (remember, he was married and likely had a family to support); and six of the other disciples, perhaps confused and uncertain what to do now that Jesus was not with them, were ready to go with him. But Jesus had given His life to prepare these men for more than just salvation (discipleship), and He would not leave them now without any direction; so He appeared to them again and worked for them one last miracle; but whereas all the other miracles in John’s gospel symbolize Jesus’ own redemptive work, now, after His resurrection, He is working a miracle that symbolizes the disciples’ work which they were about to undertake. Remember when Jesus first called the disciples, and promised to make them “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). In this miracle, He is going to show them just what kind of men-fishers they would be. One who is fishing for men on the basis of his own strength and abilities will never be successful, no matter how knowledgeable he is; for a mere man can never open the heart of another man, no matter how he floods his ears with pleas and arguments. Thus the disciples, though experienced fishermen, did not catch any fish all night; then Jesus came. Where were the other 4 apostles?

The disciples didn’t know it was Jesus when the voice called out, “Haven’t you any fish?” It would have been an irritating question to a fisherman who had been trying to catch fish all night. A simple, “No,” was their reply. The stranger (Jesus) told them to throw their net on the right side of the boat. Now Peter had heard that before; in fact, the last time he heard that, he grudgingly obeyed and caught two boatloads of fish. He said to Jesus back then, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” This time around, he obeys, perhaps not even considering that it could’ve been Jesus. They were at a loss for what to do, since not a single fish had been caught. Yet, by obeying Jesus, the large catch is netted, and John says to Peter, “It is the Lord.” This time, Peter doesn’t say, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinner.” Instead, he zealously jumps overboard and wades/swims to shore to get into the presence of Jesus. It’s very different response. And the other disciples follow in the boat, towing the catch.