Friday in the octave of Easter, April 23, 2022

John 21:1–14

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.

This appearance of the Lord Jesus took place at least a week after his Resurrection.  The Apostles, or, at least, the majority of them, have returned to Galilee.  Peter says to them that he is going fishing.  He could have told them this in the early evening so that, if they wanted, they could join him.  They must have been staying at the time in Peter’s house since he evidently has a boat ready for his purpose, presumably his old boat.  Five Apostles of the seven are named.  Andrew must have been one of the unnamed ones, and the other might have been Philip, since his friend Nathanael is there.  Of the rest, James the son of Alphaeus could have remained in Jerusalem for the benefit of the Lord’s adherents there (he later became the first bishop of the Christians of that city).  The Apostle John, the author of this Gospel, does not name himself and only refers to himself here when he mentions “the sons of Zebedee”.  St. Luke, the Greek Christian, also refers to the Sea of Galilee as the “Sea of Tiberias”.  He does so because it is a name his Greek readers would have recognized, and not “the Sea of Galilee”.  The sea would have taken on the name “Tiberias” after the founding of that city on its western coast in 20 A.D.  John, native to the locality, calls it the “Sea of Tiberias” perhaps for the sake of his original audience, either the Christians of Judea or of Asia Minor.

“When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.”  The Apostles may not have recognized him from a distance.  They may have continued to stick together with Peter as they had because they reasoned that if the Lord appeared again, he would certainly do so to Peter, and they wanted to see him again too.  “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” The Lord addresses them as “children”, which may be due to the fact that he was older than they.  In Greek, the word for “children” can also mean “slaves”, and so there may also be the sense of the Lord addressing his servants.  “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.”  This order brings to mind Luke 5, 1-11, where Peter and Andrew are in their boat and have caught nothing all night.  Following the Lord’s insistence, they cast their nets once again into the sea and caught so many fish that their net nearly tore and James and John brought their boat alongside in order to render assistance.  The realization of what had happened caused Peter to fall to his knees and beg the Lord to leave him, for he was a sinful man.  “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.”  and now on this occasion, perhaps the similarity of the two catches strikes Peter and he knows who this is, even without John’s cry.  It is odd that John includes the details of Peter being “lightly clad” (which is, literally from the Greek: “He girded up his outer garment for he was wearing only his undergarment”) and jumping into the sea, for they not only seem to add nothing to the general understanding, but appear confusing as well.  Why does John feel it is important for us to know that Peter put his clothes on when he saw the Lord, or jump into the sea?  John does not explain, but leaves it to us to see how excited Peter was to see the Lord.

“When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.”  The Lord is clearly expecting them and has already prepared some fish and bread for them.  They will need more for a filling breakfast, and so he calls on them to bring some of the fish he had given them to catch.  John remembers the exact number of fish they caught that morning: 153.  He seems to have counted them.  This is no rough estimate.  Various attempts have been made to explain the significance of the number, but none has really caught on with scholars.  As someone in my seminary class once said, “Maybe it just means that they caught 153 fish.”  Jesus does not cook all these fish for them, only “some” of them.  The Apostles could sell the rest at the market.  We see here once again how the Lord never gives just enough, but always gives super-abundantly.  Heaven will be far beyond what we can imagine now.

“They realized it was the Lord.”  Either because they saw him close up or because the Lord resumed his normal appearance.  “Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.”  The Lord provides the fish, he cooks it for them, and now he feeds them.  He allows them to participate through catching the fish he gave them and by receiving it from them, but it is the Lord who initiates the action and causes its success.  Likewise, in our lives, he sends us opportunities of various kinds; he allows us the free will to choose to pursue them; he grants the success; and he rewards us, in effect, for what he himself has done for us.  “This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.”  We continue to note John’s exactitude.  He provides the details that help us trust his eye witness testimony.  We can also show ourselves as trustworthy witnesses to the life of Christ and to his teachings by regularly studying the Scriptures and the doctrine of the Church.  Clear knowledge, thinking, and speaking is very convincing, especially these days when so many folks only repeat buzz words or hire spokesmen to obfuscate the truth and dilute responsibility.