21 21:1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 21:2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 21:3Simon 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.
4 21:4Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 21:5Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 21:6He 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. 7 21:7That 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. 8 21:8The 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.
9 21:9When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 21:10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 21:11So 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. 12 21:12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 21:13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 21:14This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 21:15When 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.” 16 21:16He 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.” 17 21:17He 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. 18 21:18Truly, 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.” 19 21:19(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.”
20 21:20Peter 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?” 21 21:21When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 21:22Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 21:23So 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?”
24 21:24This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
25 21:25Now 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.
Then he was betrayed, crucified, and dead—but, to their great surprise, he came back from the dead. Naturally, the fact that Jesus was alive would be a great comfort, but two things he said to them would cause great consternation. When he appeared to them after his resurrection, he told them he was sending them as the Father sent him (20:21). Furthermore, he continued to maintain that he was not staying with them physically but was ascending to the Father (20:17).
Thus consider the plight of these poor Galilean fishermen who comprised the inner circle of Jesus of Nazareth. They are to make disciples of all nations, but Jesus is going away. What do they need from Jesus in order to accomplish this task? They need exactly what he gives them here in chapter 21. They need assurance that he will know where they are even if he is not physically present. They need assurance that he can provide for them, that he is indeed alive from the dead, that Peter’s betrayal has not disqualified him. They need to know that Jesus knows and controls their destinies and that they should indeed continue to follow him.
Response
John’s Gospel begins with a man from a town with a bad reputation, but it ends with a man whose deeds are so many and magnificent that the world cannot hold the volumes necessary to describe them all. John shows that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the Rabbi, the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, the Son of God, the King of Israel. He is the temple, destroyed and rebuilt in three days. He is the bridegroom, the one greater than Jacob, the prophet like Moses, the Savior of the world. Jesus is the one sent of the Father, the judge, the giver of life, the bread of life, the giver of living water, the light of the world, the I Am, the giver of sight, the good shepherd, the door, the resurrection and the life.
John has presented Jesus as the fulfillment of the temple, the Lamb of God who fulfills the role of the Passover lamb, the bread of life who fulfills the manna from heaven, the Rock who fulfills the rock in the wilderness, giving the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the sinner’s friend, the soul’s shelter, the one who paid our debt, removed the Father’s wrath, died in our place, and rose to shatter the fearsome grip of death.
To know Jesus and believe in his name is to have eternal life. To follow him is to walk in the abundant life he came to give, never thirsting, never hungering, because the soul is satisfied in him, because all who follow him love one another, forgive one another, and join together in transcendent unity to seek the glory of God together.
Seven of the disciples are together in John 21:2. Peter is listed first, and the way he leads and takes action in chapter 21 fits with the leader we see him to be elsewhere. Thomas, who was absent from the other disciples in 20:19–23, then convinced when present in verses 24–29, is there too, along with Nathanael. Also present are the sons of Zebedee, referenced by their father’s name for the first time in John’s Gospel, and two unnamed disciples.
John does not provide enough information by which we could criticize Peter and the others for going fishing (21:3). There is no indication that by doing so Peter and the others meant to abandon the task Jesus had given them. Since we have not been given an exhaustive account of everything Jesus or the disciples said and did (cf. 20:30), we are not in a position to suggest that their fishing shows that they have lost faith or are neglecting their calling. Waiting for Jesus to send the Spirit in power, they go fishing to provide for themselves and their families until their new responsibilities become clear.
John describes the events in this chapter such that anyone familiar with the similar events in Luke 5:1–11 would be invited to compare and contrast the two occasions. As in Luke 5:5, in John 21:3 the disciples catch nothing in a night of fishing. The dim light of the early morning scene (v. 4) seems to explain, at least in part, the disciples’ uncertainty as to whether or not they are in fact encountering Jesus (cf. vv. 7, 12). Verse 8 relates that the disciples were about a hundred yards from shore. The distance and darkness keep the disciples from discerning that the man on the shore is Jesus (v. 4). Jesus asks if any fish have been caught, and he receives his answer in verse 5. As in Luke 5:4, in John 21:6 Jesus provides instructions about letting down the nets again for a catch. As in Luke 5:5–6, where nets are let down and a great haul of fish is brought in, in John 21:6 the nets are let down and so many fish are caught that the nets cannot be brought into the boat.
The parallels with the Luke 5:1–11 episode may very well have enabled John to recognize Jesus in John 21:7. He no sooner informs Peter than Peter girds himself and dives into the water to swim ashore. The others drag the net ashore (v. 8).
This narrative presents Jesus in resurrection power. He knows where the fish are and knows what his disciples need to do in order to catch them. He speaks a word of command to his disciples, they obey, and the net is filled with fish. When the disciples arrive at the shore, they see that Jesus has made preparations for them. The charcoal fire that Jesus has readied (v. 9) recalls the only other charcoal fire seen in John’s Gospel, the one at which Peter denied Jesus (18:18). Jesus has fish and bread ready for the disciples, and he invites them to bring some of the fish they caught as well (21:10).
Just as Peter sprang into action when he realized Jesus was on shore, so when Jesus says to bring fish from the fresh catch, Peter drags the full net ashore. The fish were evidently counted, and John provides the number: 153. Various explanations have been offered for this number, but the most straightforward and reliable one is that John is merely providing an accurate historical detail.
Whereas the great catch of fish in Luke 5:6 caused the nets to break, this time the nets hold unbroken (John 21:11). In verse 12 Jesus invites the disciples to come and dine, and John relates that the disciples are somewhat uncertain as to his identity. It seems they know it is the Lord but would like to have that fact confirmed, yet they dare not ask. Perhaps the darkness has prevented the removal of all their doubt, or perhaps they are yet to get their minds around his resurrection. In verse 13 Jesus distributes the bread and fish to them, and John notes that this event is the third time Jesus has appeared to the disciples after his resurrection from the dead, following his two appearances in the locked room in John 20 (vv. 19–23, 24–29).
As everything must be confirmed by two or three witnesses (cf. 2 Cor. 13:1–2), the three postresurrection appearances of Jesus in the Gospel of John attest that he is indeed alive and in the flesh. Just as the text implies that Thomas could have physically touched Jesus (John 20:27), so 21:12 implies that Jesus physically ate breakfast (cf. v. 15; Luke 24:41–43).
21:15–19 The Restoration of Peter. After the enormous catch of fish in Luke 5:6–7, Peter fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (5:8). Jesus then replied, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (5:10). Luke relates that when they (Peter and his partners, the sons of Zebedee; 5:10) got ashore, “they left everything and followed him” (5:11). The sequence is similar in John 21: a great catch of fish is followed by an interaction between Jesus and Peter, with John making an appearance, concluding with Jesus’ calling Peter to follow him.
Jesus seeks to reverse at this charcoal fire (John 21:9) what happened at the other one (18:18). There Peter denied Jesus three times (18:17, 25, 27), and here Jesus will have him affirm his love three times. The question that Jesus puts to Peter at first seems odd: Jesus asks Peter if Peter loves him more than the other disciples do (21:15). The comparison seems out of place until we consider the way that Jesus calls Peter to express that love. Jesus is not asking Peter to boast that he is more devoted than others. Rather, Jesus affords him the opportunity to affirm his surpassing love and then tells Peter how that love must be shown: by feeding the lambs that belong to Jesus. If Peter loves Jesus as much as he claims, he will see that the lambs that belong to Jesus are fed.
Jesus then asks Peter again if he loves him, and when Peter answers in the affirmative and states that the Lord knows he does, Jesus tells him, “Shepherd my sheep” (v. 16 AT). A third question grieves Peter, and Peter confesses that Jesus knows everything, including Peter’s love. In his reply Jesus mixes terms from the first two replies, saying, “Feed my sheep” (v. 17).
The “lambs” and “sheep” that belong to Jesus are the people whom the Lord Jesus will call to himself (cf. 10:3, 11, 16). The “feeding” and “shepherding” that Jesus calls Peter to do is the work of pastoral ministry, the work of teaching the Bible, leading the flock, and caring for the sick or wounded. What Peter later writes in 1 Peter 5:1–4 indicates that he gladly embraced and discharged the duties of a pastor.
Some have drawn attention to the fact that Jesus asks the first two questions using the verb agapaō for “love,” with Peter answering that he loves Jesus using the verb phileō. The third time Jesus switches to the verb phileō, Peter again answering that he loves Jesus using phileō. Nothing, however, should be made of this interchange of synonyms. John typically varies the terms he uses, and the Father is said to love the Son using both verbs (e.g., John 3:35; 5:20), just as the love Jesus has for the beloved disciple is described with both verbs (e.g., 20:2; 21:7). The idea that agapaō is used for God’s special love does not stand up to analysis. After all, Amnon’s rapacious love for Tamar is described using agapaō in the Greek OT (2 Sam. 13:1, 4, 15).
Peter had denied Jesus three times, and Jesus now gives him the opportunity to confess his love three times. That this was grievous to Peter (John 21:17) does not mean it was not good for him. The opportunity to match his denials with professions of love grants to Peter an experience that matches and neutralizes the poisonous effects of his betrayal of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus makes plain to Peter that his love of Jesus is to be exercised in love for the people who belong to Jesus. Jesus also tells Peter that Peter’s love for him will result in Peter’s giving his life for him (vv. 18–19). Having told Peter that his destiny is to follow Jesus’ example by expending himself in the service of the people of God, then explaining that the self-giving lifestyle Peter is called to as a pastor of God’s flock will culminate in his own martyrdom, Jesus says, “Follow me” (v. 19). Such a direct statement from Jesus would have no doubt made a profound impression on Peter, precisely the kind of impression that would result in Peter’s writing what we find in 1 Peter 2:20–21.
21:20–25 The Beloved Disciple. Only at this point does it become apparent that, having finished breakfast (v. 15), Jesus and Peter have gone for a walk, during which Jesus has allowed Peter thrice to affirm his love. That they were on a walk comes out in verse 20, when Peter turns and finds the beloved disciple following them. The intimacy of this moment is not tainted by the presence of this beloved disciple, because the beloved disciple is close enough to both Jesus and Peter for neither to mind his being with them at such a time. This intimacy is communicated by the reminder in verse 20 that Peter had given a private signal to the beloved disciple at the Last Supper (cf. “motioned”; 13:24), and that the beloved disciple had been close to Jesus.
From what we see in the four Gospels, the only candidate who fits the description of the beloved disciple is John, son of Zebedee. Throughout the Gospels, Peter, James, and John are close with one another and with Jesus (these three were with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration and when he withdrew to pray on the night when he was betrayed), and from what we see in John especially we find that Peter and John were close to one another and to Jesus.
Jesus has just prophesied Peter’s destiny in 21:18, and given the closeness of their relationships, it does not seem out of place for Peter to communicate concern for John’s destiny (v. 21). Jesus tells Peter that John’s future is not for him to worry about; instead, he should concern himself with following Jesus (v. 22). The way Jesus communicates this asserts his sovereign control over the world: “If it is my will that he remain until I come . . .” (v. 22). These words imply that whatever happens to Peter and John shall be what Jesus has willed for them. Jesus tells Peter that he himself is in control, so Peter does not need to worry about the future. Peter is thus liberated from worry and can focus on following Jesus.
John explains in verses 23–24 that a misunderstanding arose in response to what Jesus said, and he clarifies that Jesus did not guarantee that John would not die. Peter was granted martyrdom, while John was granted a long life in which he could serve many, not least by writing his Gospel, three epistles, and Apocalypse. But what made both of their lives significant was the fact that for them to live was Christ, which made death gain (cf. Phil. 1:21).
The first-person plural “we” in John 21:24 does not demand that someone else has written these words. John himself wrote similarly in the first-person plural in, for example, 3 John 12: “We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.” John can be speaking of himself, therefore, in the words of John 21:24, which assert that the beloved disciple is the one who has testified in this Gospel. The assertion that he both bore witness and wrote declares that John authored this material, shutting out other theories about the composition of the Gospel. John claims that he wrote it, and that in writing it he bore witness.
John claims, moreover, that his testimony is true, and he words the claim so as to draw the audience into this acknowledgment of the truthfulness of his testimony. To reject what John has written is to reject his eyewitness testimony. To reject what John has written is to declare him a liar. To accept what John has written, however, is to believe, and by believing to have life in the name of Jesus (20:31).
John concludes his Gospel with a lovely statement. The words of 21:25 tell us that everything Jesus did goes beyond John’s ability to describe, beyond the world’s capacity to contain the books that would be written if it were all set down. John is asserting that what Jesus did just might be infinite in scope and significance. Think how massive the world is and how small, in relation to the size of the whole world, the Gospel of John is. How limitless and profound must the work of Jesus be!
1 Greek two hundred cubits; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
2 Or brothers and sisters