seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), 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.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He 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.
7 Then 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. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
a. John 21:1 Greek Tiberias
b. John 21:2 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.
c. John 21:8 Or about 90 meters
This is from the easy English site..... and I did read the enduringword and blueletterbible.com commentaries as well.
Immediately, Simon Peter put on his outer clothes and he jumped into the water. Perhaps he knew that he needed to speak to Jesus more than the other disciples. The other disciples had run away when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Only one disciple, probably John, had remained. The other disciples had not been loyal to Jesus. Perhaps Peter felt that he had been even less loyal. This may have been because he had promised to die for Jesus. But, only a few hours later, he had told people that he did not even know Jesus. He was afraid of what they would do to him. When he saw Jesus again, Peter probably felt very guilty about this. But he did not hide. Instead, he rushed to meet Jesus.
Already Jesus had fish, which he was cooking on a fire. So he did not actually need the fish that they had caught! This teaches us an important lesson. Jesus can give us what we need. He does not need our help to do this. But we need his help to work for him.
After breakfast, Jesus walked away from the other disciples. He took Simon Peter with him. Jesus wanted to talk to Peter in private. In this conversation, Jesus called Peter by his original name: ‘Simon’.
Jesus used two different Greek words for the word that we translate as ‘love’ in this passage. In verses 15 and 16, Jesus used a form of the word ‘agape’. This refers to love that is completely unselfish. It means to love without a thought about our own desires. It means to love without a desire to receive any reward. ‘Agape’ describes the kind of love that God has for us. ‘Agape’ is the word that John used in John 3:16.
But the three times that Peter answered Jesus, he (Peter) used the Greek word ‘phileo’. This refers to the kind of love that friends have. It means to care for somebody. It is a weaker kind of love than ‘agape’. Perhaps Peter felt that he was not yet ready to declare that kind of ‘agape’ love for Jesus. Once, Peter had said that he would die on behalf of Jesus. Perhaps Peter was remembering how, instead, he had lied to protect himself. In verse 17, Jesus used the word ‘phileo’, too. Perhaps he was saying, ‘Are you even my friend?’ Perhaps that was what upset Peter.
But Peter knew that Jesus did not really have to ask these questions. Jesus already knew how Peter felt. Jesus knows how we feel, too. He knows how much we love him. But still he wants us to tell him.
This is the end of the fourth Gospel. Peter and those Zebedee boys have gone back to fishing..... and as I recall.... a lot of preachers were upset by that. Peter and the Zebedee boys had been part of an extremely inspiring mission. They probably didn't really grasp how Jesus did everything. Sure they called feeding all those people and healing all the sick by the term miracle. But now it was over..... the leader they hoped would take the throne away from Rome and replace the chief priest with a real follower.... had been murdered on a cross..... now the body was "missing" and all their dreams of saving everyone from Rome and the corruption in the church were dashed. So Peter and those Zebedee boys went back to fishing.I'm not going to talk about my dad this time.... other than to mention that my dad loved to fish and he took me with him as much as he could. So I get why Peter and those Zebedee boys decided to go back to fishing. I also get why they didn't catch anything.... after all.... they probably weren't really trying to catch fish.... they probably spent the night talking about what had happened.
There's something healing about the waves crashing to shore. There's something healing about the waves rocking the boat. It's almost like being an infant again.....rocked in a mother's arms....... It's so soothing.... and let's face it.... those three needed a break.
I'm glad Peter didn't walk on water when he left the boat. I'm glad God put restrictions on the Apostles. I wouldn't want them having the knowledge of good and evil along with everlasting life without some restraints.
So..... what will Peter and those Zebedee brothers.... and of course John [whom Jesus loved]..... do now?
