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| Chapter 21 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way showed He Himself: 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples. 3 Simon Peter said unto them, "I am going fishing." They said unto him, "We also go with thee." They went forth and entered into a boat immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said unto them, "Children, have ye any meat?" And they answered Him, "No." 6 And He said unto them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find." They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it in for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was naked) and cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little boat (for they were not far from land, but, as it were, two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fishes. 9 As soon then as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon and bread. 10 Jesus said unto them, "Bring of the fish which ye have now caught." 11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty three; and though there were so many, yet the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said unto them, "Come and dine." And none of the disciples dared ask Him, "Who art Thou?" knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took bread and gave it to them, and fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was risen from the dead. 15 ¶ So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou Me more than these?" He said unto Him, "Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee." He said unto him, "Feed My lambs." 16 He said to him again the second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou Me?" He said unto Him, "Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee." He said unto him, "Feed My sheep." 17 He said unto him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou Me?" Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, "Lovest thou Me?" And he said unto Him, "Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love Thee." Jesus said unto him, "Feed My sheep." 18 "Verily, verily I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girded thyself and walked whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." 19 This spoke He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said unto him, "Follow Me." 20 ¶ Then Peter, turning about, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at supper, and said, "Lord, who is he that betrayeth Thee?" 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" 22 Jesus said unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me." 23 Then this saying went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus had not said unto him, "He shall not die," but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" 24 This is the disciple who testifieth of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. |
The resurrection appearances move away from Jerusalem to Galilee, The sea of Tiberius is another name for the Sea of Galilee John 6:1. v2 The disciples seemed to have kept together after the appearances of Jesus. v3 Peter obviously could not just sit around "I am going fishing." was his response to inactivity. As a lifetime fisherman the sight of his boat and the Sea of Galilee may have brought back memories of his past life. The language Peter used does not suggest a return to the life as a fisherman. They fished all night but caught nothing. It is an interesting fact that these experts were not able to catch any fish, but it does allow the hand of Jesus to help. v4,5 Jesus is standing on the shore but they do not recognize Him. His question, "Children, have you any meat?" puts pressure on the disciples admitting to failure. v6 This person, who the disciples did not recognize, tells them to fish on the right side of the boat, just a few feet, the width of the boat away from where they had been fishing all night. The boat did not move, the same net but, same skilled fisher men, but now the nets were full, all because of the words of Jesus. v7,8 The event immediately brought John to realize that Jesus was the man. When Peter hears this he jumps in to the sea to swim to Jesus. (This has happened to Peter before Luke 5:1-11). Peter obviously did not feel that his going fishing was wrong. He felt that he should be properly dressed to meet the Lord . The other disciples bring the boat to the shore,(two hundred cubits, about 100 yards) dragging the net full of fish with them. v9 The Son of God still remembers the physical requirements of His disciples who had been working all night, breakfast awaits. v10 Jesus tells them to bring the fish they had caught, to see the catch when following the Lords instruction. v11 "A hundred and fifty three," it must have been a very large catch for John to comment on it and the fact that the net was not damaged. A damaged net would have lost some of the catch. A Christ directed service will not be lost. v12,13 The Son of God asked for His workers to relax and join Him for breakfast, the disciples have just had a fresh demonstration of who He was. He even appears to have done the serving of the food. The rest of the chapter only concerns John and Peter. Peter has already been forgiven for his failure Luke 24:34 but now Jesus prepares him for the coming days ahead. Jesus goes through three different area but each based upon Peters relationship and commitment to Jesus. v15 "do you love Me more than these?."was the first question. The love for Christ is more important than the love for other people. "more than these?" indicates that the other disciples must have been close. Peter had previously said that he would remain loyal more than any one else Mark 14:29; John 13:37, but failed. Peter replies that he love Jesus, "Feed My lambs." Jesus tells Peter that he is being trusted with the young Christians. v16 Jesus asks again "Peter, do you love me?" A different task is given, "Feed My sheep." Be my shepherd for my sheep. v17 Jesus asks a third time, Peter must have been very concerned as to why the questions, may be it had something to do with his three denials. Up to now Jesus had used the word for love agape a love not expecting love in return, while Peter has used the word for love of phileo; a word for affection, not so committed as the other. Jesus now uses phileo; Peter knows that Jesus can read his mind and responds "you know I love you" "Feed My sheep." To Jesus His sheep are precious, He gave His life for them, Peter needs full love to be the earthly pastor. v18,19 Jesus predicts some future events in Peters life, this task was going to be costly to Peter. In the early years of Peter’s ministry he had great freedom but when he was old he lost this freedom, "stretch forth thy hands," is thought to signify crucifixion Early church history confirms that Peter died in a similar way to his Lord. v19 "Follow Me." Peter has been told to have a faithful walk in the Lord, even as Jesus did to the cross. v20 John had obviously followed closely during this commitment of Peter. Peter now notices John and asks ‘what is the future for this man?’ v22 Jesus answer was a rebuke (telling off) for Peter, ‘John’s future is not your concern, just do God’s will for your life.‘ v23 The early church had taken this remark by Jesus indicated that John would not die, but John points out the "If" which says that a persons life is all up to Jesus and what happens, it is no concern of others. v24 John now confirms that he was the disciple v20, who had heard all of the talk between Jesus and Peter. He also confirms that all he had written he had witnessed and it was the truth, he refers to "we" but we do not know who were the other witnesses. v25 John repeats what he had said in John 20:30,31. Again we are reminded that our Gospel records do not give a full account of the life of Jesus while on earth. |
Easy English Translation
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