Jesus Appears at the Lake
John 21:1-14
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Last time in John 20 we were with the disciples on Sunday evening a week after Jesus was raised from the dead. Like He had done for the other disciples on resurrection Sunday, Jesus showed His hands and side to “doubting Thomas” and called him to stop unbelieving but to believe. Thomas immediately responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20.28).
Thomas’ profession of faith is the climax of Christology in John’s Gospel. He wrote this accurate testimony so that you will come to the same conclusion as Thomas and make the same profession of faith. That is what John urges us to do at the end of John 20, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31). Seems like a good ending for John’s Gospel. But it doesn’t end there. So we come to John 21.
After the highpoint of Jesus’ death and resurrection, John 21 almost seems like a letdown. How does this last chapter fit? The answer is that John 21 provides an epilogue to balance the prologue, to tie up loose ends, and to point the disciples and the church forward. You might say it answers the question, “What now?”
John’s prologue (John 1:1-18) connects Jesus Christ to the eternity of God and the beginning of creation; now his epilogue points forward to the continuing work of Jesus through the church. In a sense the epilogue is anticlimactic now that God has broken into space and time as the Word become flesh; now that Jesus manifested God’s glory in His life, death, and resurrection; now that He has finished the Father’s work to redeem His people from sin and condemnation! But it also pictures for us the day-to-day working out of faith, depending on the grace of Jesus and the power of the Spirit.
John 21 addresses some questions that would be left unanswered had the Gospel ended after John 20:31, such as:
- What was the relationship of the Lord Jesus to the disciples after His resurrection? (John 21:1-14 answers this).
- What happened with Peter after his denial of the Lord? (John 21:15-19).
- What about the return of Christ? (John 21:20-23).
- What about all the other things that Jesus did? Why didn’t John and the other writers give a more complete biography of Jesus? (John 21:24-25)
So John is tying up some loose ends to complete the story and answer some remaining questions. And at the same time, he is showing us the risen Christ in relation to His disciples and through them how He relates to us. Today we will look at John 21:1-14 when Jesus appears to some disciples at the Sea of Galilee.
1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” 11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”–knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. 14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
John sets the scene for us by saying, “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias [that is, the Sea of Galilee], and in this way He showed Himself . . .” The statement “after these things” refers, of course, to the story of our Lord’s first and second resurrection appearances to His disciples (see John 20:19-29). The first appearance was when the disciples were in hiding—without Thomas; and the second was with Thomas present. That’s why John closes this section in John 21:14 by saying this present story is the third of His appearances to His disciples as a group after He was raised from the dead.
John emphasizes the word “showed” in this section. He uses it twice in John 21:1 and concludes with it in John 21:14. It means “to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown.” Jesus is showing His disciples who He is and what He does.
This time Jesus manifests Himself “at the Sea of Tiberias [that is, the Sea of Galilee].” The two previous times they saw Jesus it was in Jerusalem where He had died and rose again. What are they doing back up in Galilee? Matthew and Mark help us here. In Matthew 26:32 at the last supper after telling His disciples that they will all stumble because of Him Jesus says, “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Mark 16:7 tells us that the angels at the empty tomb instructed the women to “… go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” In Matthew 28:10 Jesus Himself appears to the women and says to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Matthew 28:16 reports their obedience to that command: “… the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.” So they are supposed to be in Galilee.
John 21:2 informs us who was there, “Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.” Seven disciples, no mention of the other four, maybe they were non-fishermen. This is likely the same group, plus Thomas, that Jesus first called as His disciples back in John 1 if the two unnamed disciples are Peter’s brother Andrew and Nathanael’s friend Philip. It’s interesting that the two listed first are Peter the denier and Thomas the doubter.
That brings us to,
1. The decision of Peter. (John 21:1-3)
The reason for it. John 21:3, “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’” Why did Peter make the decision to go fishing?
John doesn’t really give us Peter’s reasoning here, just his decision. Most commentators speculate about it. Did Peter do it out of a sense of purposelessness? Did he lack a certainty of his call because of his past failures? Possibly. Was it out of necessity? Did he go fishing simply to put food on the table and cash in their pockets? After all, a man has to make a living. Perhaps. Was it to stay busy while they waited? Was he restless, tired of doing nothing? Fishing was what he knew. He was a fisherman. What else was he going to do? Could be. Or was it a desire to go back to his old life, to the comfort of the familiar? Was he disillusioned? Was he discouraged? Was he disobedient? All of these are possible. John doesn’t say why and maybe the Holy Spirit has left it vague so that we might identify with Peter when we have our own excuses for turning back to our old life.
The result of it. But even though we can’t be dogmatic about the reason for it, we can be certain of the result of it. The first result of Peter’s decision was that others joined him. Peter is a leader, so like rubber ducks they all line up behind him, “We are going with you also” (John 21:3). Even though Peter had failed, he was still a leader. You know you are a leader when others follow you, for good or for bad. So John reports (John 21:3), “They went out and immediately got into the boat.” THE boat, not just “a boat”. The definite article is there pointing to a particular boat, maybe it was the very boat Peter and Andrew had or James and John had forsook when they left to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11) after He said to Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
The ultimate result of their night of fishing was (John 21:3), “… that night they caught nothing.” The disciples were experienced professional fishermen. They knew where to go, what to do, and where to do it, yet they caught nothing. Their nets were empty and now it is daybreak. It reminds me of what Jesus told His disciples in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Andreas Kostenberger observes, “Remarkably, the disciples never catch a fish in any of the Gospels without Jesus’ help.” (John [Baker], p. 590).
John 21:4 informs us of Jesus’ appearing, “But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” Was it because they were about a hundred yards from the shore (John 21:8)? Was there an early morning mist from the lake that made it hard to see? Or was it because no one recognized the Lord Jesus in His resurrection body unless He revealed Himself to them?
That brings us to,
2. The question of Jesus (John 21:5)
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Children, have you any food?’” Actually the question presumes that they don’t, “Lads, you don’t have any fish do you?” “They answered Him, ‘No.’” Whenever you read that Jesus asked a question, you need to understand that He wasn’t looking for information. He knew that they had not caught anything. His question demanded their honesty and confronted their poverty. He wanted them to recognize and acknowledge their insufficiency. The fact is, we only trust in Christ to the extent that we recognize our own insufficiency, as well as His all-sufficiency. The apostle Paul reflected this when he was talking about the serious responsibility of preaching the gospel and he asked rhetorically (2 Cor. 2:16), “And who is sufficient for these things?” But then a few verses later he elaborates (2 Cor. 3:5), “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God ….”
Jesus was teaching them this lesson. Next we see,
3. The provision of fish (John 21:6, 11)
John 21:6, “And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”
Jesus provides the catch of fish as a matter of obedience. Granted, the disciples did not yet know that it was the Lord. John doesn’t explain why these tired, seasoned fishermen would have obeyed some stranger giving advice from the shore. MacArthur comments, “the command was as compelling to them as it was to the fish.” John point seems to be that if you do what Jesus commands, He will give the blessing.
Back in John 14 our Lord had said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21), and again “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” That’s why later in this chapter Jesus questions Peter about his love for Him.
The catch of fish is not only a matter of obedience, it also shows a measure of abundance, “So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.” Jesus is showing them here that faithfulness leads to fruitfulness. John 21:11 reports that when Simon Peter dragged the net ashore it contained 153 large fish. Why 153? Did John have some hidden meaning in that number? Bible commentators have speculated about that number and allegorized this story to exhaustion over the centuries. After studying all of these varied conjectures I am glad to report to you that I have come to a conclusion about the significance of 153. It refers to the number of fish they caught. John was an eyewitness and like any good fisherman he remembers the number. It was an abundance of fish, so much that they expected the net might break, but John reports (John 21:11), “… although there were so many, the net was not broken.”
Next we see,
4. The reaction of the disciples (John 21:7-8)
John—who was always inclined, it seems, to humbly veil his identity in this Gospel—tells of what he turned to say to Peter. “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’” (John 21:7a). Surely, this miraculous catch of fish reminded the disciples of that occasion at the beginning when Jesus called them to be fishers of men in Luke 5. Just like this time they had toiled all night and caught nothing (Luke 5:5). After Jesus had taught the multitude from Peter’s boat He said to Simon (Luke 5:4), “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And just like this time they caught a great number of fish, so much that it filled two boats to the point of sinking.
Perhaps Peter had been standing there in a state of shock; but once John said it, the realization sunk in and he wasted no time! “Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.” (John 21:7b). In Luke 5 after that first miraculous catch of fish Peter “… fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” (Luke 5:8). Now his reaction was to get back to Jesus as quickly as he could. It wasn’t really necessary for Peter to dive in, of course. The boat could have brought him just as easily. In the next verse, we’re told, “But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish” (v. 8). But perhaps it was the impatience of the heart that longed to be restored that made him feel the boat was taking too long.
There’s something wonderful about Peter’s eagerness to be near the Lord; it was like he was glad to be found out. He’s in the water and he’s swimming with his tunic on, and then he’s wading to the shore. Peter did love the Lord. He knew his own weakness, he knew his own failures, and he couldn’t get back to the Lord fast enough. He wanted forgiveness, he wanted restoration, and he gets it – we’ll see that next time.
That brings us to,
5. The conclusion of the event (John 21:9-14)
We see in John 21:9 the breakfast Christ prepares for them: “Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.” Jesus has provided for them. So He says to them (John 21:12), “Come and eat breakfast.” “Come and dine” (KJV). What an invitation! What grace! Jesus invites them into intimate fellowship with Him. John then writes, “Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are You?’—knowing that it was the Lord.” They knew by what Jesus said and by what He did. They all knew it was the Lord.
Then Jesus does something wonderful (John 21:13), “Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.” Would this have made their minds go back to the time when the Lord fed a multitude with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish (John 6:1-14)? If there had been any doubt that this was the resurrected Lord, perhaps this token act was enough to remove all question. John affirms to us, “This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead” (v. 14).
Jesus Himself serves them. How does the risen Lord Jesus relate to His followers? He provides for them and serves them. This is the blessing Christ provides for us. Jesus has the same care for us that He did for the disciples. He will provide for our needs and we will have sweet fellowship with Him.
Let me ask you today: do you feel like you have been fishing all night with no success? Is it because you are not obeying the Lord? Is it because you are trying to do it all in your own wisdom and strength? Is it because you have missed that sweet fellowship of spending time with Jesus as He feeds your soul? Is it because you have yet to trust the risen Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sin?
Respond to His calling you today, “Come and dine.” “Come, have your sins forgiven. Come, lay your burdens down. Come, let Me nourish your soul.”
