John 21:1-25 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Lake of Galilee. This is how it happened:
A group of us were there—Simon Peter, Thomas, “The Twin,” Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, my brother James and I and two other disciples.
Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come too,” we all said. We did, but caught nothing all night. At dawn we saw a man standing on the beach but couldn’t see who he was.
He called, “Any fish, boys?”
“No,” we replied.
Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!” So we did, and couldn’t draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many!
Then I said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At that, Simon Peter put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore. The rest of us stayed in the boat and pulled the loaded net to the beach, about 300 feet away. When we got there, we saw that a fire was kindled and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.
“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went out and dragged the net ashore. By his count there were 153 large fish; and yet the net hadn’t torn.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he informed Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples that he would meet them in Galilee. But the disciples came to Galilee, and so far, no sign of Jesus. That’s when Peter proposed a fishing trip, his go-to response when things weren’t working well. All the others who were fishermen agreed, and they set out that night with high hopes, but caught nothing. Then as dawn was breaking, they saw a man standing on the shore.
He called, “Any fish, boys?”
“No,” we replied.
Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!”
So we did, and couldn’t draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many! Then I said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At that, Simon Peter put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore. The rest of us stayed in the boat and pulled the loaded net to the beach, about 300 feet away. When we got there, we saw that a fire was kindled and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.
Jesus’ relationship with Peter began with a miraculous catch of fish, and now the same thing was happening. Still, it was John and not Peter who realized that was Jesus on the shore. For weeks, Peter had been tormenting himself mercilessly with his failures to support Jesus and his renunciation of him at the high priest’s house. Frankly, Peter had convinced himself that he was beyond redemption and that Jesus had likely given up on him. Peter was actually afraid to face Jesus. What could Peter possibly say, “Well, Lord, sorry I let you down, denying you and running off. But when John cried out, “It is the Lord!” Peter was so overjoyed that he quickly donned his tunic and swam to shore. There was Jesus on the shore, calmly frying fish and obviously preparing breakfast.
“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said; and none of us dared ask him if he really was the Lord, for we were quite sure of it. Then Jesus went around serving us the bread and fish.
This was the third time Jesus had appeared to us since his return from the dead.
After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others?”
“Yes,” Peter replied, “you know I am your friend.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon, son of John, do you really love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I am your friend.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
Once more he asked him, “Simon, son of John, are you even my friend?”
Peter was grieved at the way Jesus asked the question this third time. “Lord, you know my heart; you know I am,” he said.
First, look at the way Jesus speaks to Peter. The name “Simon” means a small pebble, but Jesus has previously re-named Simon as Peter, a huge rock. Now Jesus reverts to Simon’s original name, perhaps because when Jesus needed him to act as a huge rock, he behaved like a small pebble instead. At this point, Peter is relieved, for he has imagined that Jesus would never speak to him again at all. Now let’s look at the questions.
Why does Jesus ask Peter the same question three times? Peter denied Jesus three times, so Jesus is giving him the chance to redeem himself by an equal number. Then there’s the language of the questions. Jesus asks the question twice using the word agapas, which in its Biblical usage often speaks of an all giving, uncaused, unselfish love. Peter answers Jesus using the word philio, which in Biblical usage sometimes has in mind a more reciprocal love, a friendly affection. Some translations express Peter’s answer as, “I am your friend.” Certainly, Peter should understand the distinction between the two kinds of love; however, by now Peter is a realist. While Peter has made extravagant promises about the level of his love for Jesus in the past, claiming that he will never fall away even if all others fall away, now he realizes that he has completely failed to fulfill those promises. Now Peter only promises what he thinks he might be able to deliver, the love of a friend, not an extravagant, all-encompassing love.
Jesus understands Peter’s dilemma but feels he can work with Peter’s current assessment of himself. Now Jesus goes on to outline Peter’s future role in the church.
Jesus said, “Then feed my little sheep. When you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
Jesus knows that eventually Peter will be crucified and that Peter will demand to be crucified upside down, just to honor Jesus. But Jesus also knows that before martyrdom, Peter will spend long years helping lead the church, discipling younger men to take over, and writing some of the most pungent epistles in the New Testament. When Jesus tells Peter, “Follow me,” Peter realizes that Jesus is recommissioning him, restoring him to leadership, and renewing their relationship at a far deeper level than before. The Ashantes in Ghana have a saying that “We don’t bring old palm nuts to make soup.” Jesus is effectively telling Peter that the denials and cowardice are “old palm nuts” and that a new period of ministry is dawning for Peter. Peter, meanwhile, is thrilled for he knows that this day will be the start of something deeper and more glorious than anything he has experienced before.
20-25 Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following, the one who had leaned around at supper that time to ask Jesus, “Master, which of us will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord? What sort of death will he die?”
Jesus replied, “If I want him to live until I return, what is that to you? You follow me.”
So the rumor spread among the brotherhood that that disciple wouldn’t die! But that isn’t what Jesus said at all! He only said, “If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you?”
I am that disciple! I saw these events and have recorded them here. And we all know that my account of these things is accurate.
And I suppose that if all the other events in Jesus’ life were written, the whole world could hardly contain the books!
While this translation allows John to identify himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, most other translations preserve his anonymity. One of the reasons Jesus loved John so much was that John was humble and did not take credit. Even though James and John started out with the nicknames “Sons of Thunder,” John changed during the time he worked with Jesus. It was James and John’s mother who tried to demand choice places for them in Jesus’ kingdom, not either of the men themselves.
John had no illusions about himself; he knew he would eventually die. What John did not anticipate was that he was the only disciple to die a natural death and not to be martyred. Later in life, John contributed three of the shortest but most meaningful epistles to the New Testament and then was granted the visions he described so vividly in the Book of Revelation.
John was the only disciple who accompanied the women all the way to Calvary, and it was John to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother Mary. Even though Jesus already knew he would rise from the dead, he also knew his remaining time on earth would be quite short and that Mary would need protection from someone else. Only John had proven faithful, so John was the one chosen to care for Mary. Tradition states that eventually John took Mary to Ephesus, where he built a small house for her and where she died a natural death.
What can we learn from the story of Jesus as he feeds his friends breakfast on that lake shore? The night Jesus was betrayed; he already knew that Peter would deny him three times and that most of the disciples would run away and hide rather than support him. But Jesus received Peter and gave him new commands, not simply reinstating him but charting a new direction for future ministry. Eventually, Peter would be the one receiving the revelation about including gentile believers. Only someone of Peter’s determination and stature could sway other church leaders so that they would open the way to Jesus for all who would believe. Before Peter died, that “friendly” love would indeed become an all-encompassing, all-giving, and unselfish love, a love that would echo down the centuries. Peter would become a symbol for all of us who would ever deny Jesus, trying to take the easy way out, but who would eventually repent.
Jesus’s love for Peter transformed Peter from a little pebble to a huge solid rock. That same love is still available to each one of us. Let us pray.
PRAYER: Father God, we confess that we have denied You many times by our thoughts, by our words, by our deeds. Please forgive us and transform us into strong men and women of faith on whom others can rely. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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