Introductory Remarks:
The Gospel of John ended in chapter twenty. John adds this addendum as an epilogue.
The Appearance of Jesus to the Seven Disciples
Verse 1, "After these things Jesus shewed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberius; and on this wise shewed He Himself."
LGT "After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples upon the sea of Tiberius: and He manifested thus."
During the forty days that Jesus walked the earth after His resurrection, He only manifested Himself occasionally to the disciples. The Sea of Tiberius is the Sea of Galilee or the Lake of Gennesaret as recorded by the synopsis's, Matthew, Mark, and Luke..
Verse 2, "There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples."
LGT "There were together Simon Peter and Thomas the one called Didymus and Nathanael the one from Cana of Galilee and the [sons] of Zebedee and two other of His disciples."
There were seven of His disciples gathered together in Galilee. We know that James and John were the sons of Zebedee, but we have no way of telling who the other two might be. Bruce says, "this group has gathered together in one of their old haunts by the Sea of Galilee."
Verse 3, "Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a-fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing."
LGT "Simon Peter says to them, I go to fish. They say to him, We also come with you. They went forth and went into the boat, and in that night they took nothing."
Some commentators condemn Peter for going fishing as if he was abandoning his commission from the Lord to take up his previous carrier as a fisherman. Peter is just doing what comes natural to him, and the others follow suite.
Verse 4, "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
LGT "And when day was now breaking, Jesus is standing on the beach, nevertheless the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
It was still dark and the morning was beginning to break. The fact that the disciples did not recognize Jesus was possibly because of the imperfect light.
Verse 5, "Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered Him, No."
LGT "Jesus therefore saying to them, My boys, have you any thing to eat? They answered, No."
The Greek word for 'any meat' is prosphagion, pros = in addition to, and phagion = to eat. Jesus says, Children, gr. padia, "It is a colloquial expression like 'My boys or lads.'[An expression commonly used for men at work]. So the correct translation is 'My boys, have you anything to eat. Jesus asks the question expecting a negative answer.
Verse 6, "And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."
LGT "And He said to them, Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find. They cast therefore, and now no longer were they able to draw it on account of the multitude of the fishes."
Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find."
Jesus created the ocean with fish; He should know where they were located. At this point, the disciples thought that Jesus was some stranger on the beach who had noticed some signs that there were fish on the right side of their boat.
"And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."
John uses the imperfect verb ischuon with the negative showing that the disciples were tugging at their nets. "We may take it that He knew there was an abundance of fish on their starboard side: as for the disciples, the old instinct of implicit [embedded in them] obedience asserted itself almost before they became fully conscious of His identity. Their casting net immediately became so full of fish that they could not haul it into the boat; they had to let it drag along behind" (Bruce).
"Christ here exhibited two proofs of His divine power. The first consisted in their taking so large a draught of fishes; and the second was, when, by His concealed power, He preserved the net whole, which otherwise must unavoidably have been broken in pieces" (Calvin).
Verse 7, "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fishers coat unto him, (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the sea."
LGT "Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, The Lord it is. Therefore Simon Peter having heard that it is the Lord girded on the upper garment, for he was without clothing, and cast himself into the sea."
"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter,"
Here we have the usual way in which John, the author of this Gospel, refers to himself.
"It is the Lord."
It was John who first recognizes the Lord, and points this out to Peter, and Peter, dressed only in his undergarments, puts on a shirt, and dives overboard. John is first to recognize the Lord, but Peter wants to be the first to speak with Him.
"He girt his fishers coat unto him (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the sea."
Peter had only his undergarments on, and so he puts on his shirt (outer garment) out of respect for the Lord, and dives into the sea, so he could be first to see the Lord. It is undoubtedly Peter's zeal for the Lord, that caused him to swim ashore ahead of the boat, and not impulsive rashness that motivated him.
Verse 8, "And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fishes."
LGT "And the other disciples in the small ship came, for they were not far from the land but were somewhere about two hundred cubits, dragging the net with the fishes."
The other six disciples came in the little ship dragging their catch in the net. Two hundred cubits is just over one hundred yards, the length of one of our modern football fields, including the end zones.
Verse 9, "As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread."
LGT "When therefore they got out upon the land, they see a fire of coals lying and a fish lying on [it] and bread."
When the disciples get to land they see a fish being grilled over hot coals and lying next to the grilling fish some toast.
Verse 10, "Jesus saith unto them, bring of the fish which ye have caught."
LGT "Jesus says to them, Bring of the fishes you have caught just now."
"By the Lord's gift they had caught them: and yet, He courteously says, that they have caught them" (Bengal).
Verse 11, "Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken."
LGT "Simon Peter therefore went up and drew the net onto the land full of large fish, a hundred [and] fifty three: and [though] there were so many the net was not rent."
Many commentators, including Augustine, to have some spiritual significance, have spiritualized the number of fish in the net; such as the gospel net will never break as the 'fishers of men' go into the entire world preaching the Gospel. Even our beloved McGee gets caught up in this kind of spiritual speculation, saying that the net not breaking is a type of the net of the Gospel not losing any of its catch. We will stick with the simple truth as John presents it, that is, that Jesus performed another miracle, and the disciples were obedient to His commands; lets not read too much into what is represented here. The Lord says what He says, and there is no confusion when the Lord speaks. "Peter never landed a haul of fish without counting them, and John, fisherman as he was, could never forget the number of his largest takes. The number is given, because it was large, and because they were all surprised that the net stood the strain. The only significance our Lord recognizes in the fish is that they were food for hungry men" (The Expositor's Greek Testament).
Verse 12, "Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask Him Who art thou? Knowing that it was the Lord."
LGT "Jesus says to them, Come have breakfast. And none of the disciples assumed to inquire of Him, Who are you? Knowing that it is the Lord."
"Come and dine."
The Greek word for 'dine' is aristesate, which means to take the first meal of the day, that is, breakfast (also demanded by the context). So our Lord had begun preparing breakfast for the tired fishermen. "The meal described here, however, evidently took place at an early hour, and would seem to answer more clearly to the Greeks breakfast which was taken directly upon rising" (Vincent)
"And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art Thou?"
Literally, none of His disciples assumed to inquire of Him, Who are You? By now they all knew it was the Risen Lord.
"The disciples, it appears, were conscious of a certain uneasiness in the presence of their risen Lord. there was something quite familiar in having Him with them by the lakeside, yet there was something quite unfamiliar in the company of One who had returned from the dead. Formerly they would not have thought of asking Him 'Who are you?' - but now they felt as if they ought to ask Him; yet they could not bring themselves to do so, because, after all, they knew who it was. Of our present experience of the risen Christ Albert Schweitzer wrote, in a well-known passage: 'He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old.' And those disciples, although they saw Him then (as we do not now) with outward vision, experienced something of the same kind: they knew Him quite well, and yet in a sense they saw Him as a stranger, One who henceforth belonged to another order of existence. But He put them at their ease, inviting them to come and share the breakfast, which He had prepared for them. The bread and the fish represented the harvest of the earth and the harvest of the sea. In Luke's record of His Easter appearance to them in Jerusalem it was they who gave Him 'a piece of broiled fish' (ichthys) but that was to strengthen their faith, not to supply His needs; here it is He who feeds them, as He had fed the multitude by the lakeside during His earlier ministry. If He had not explicitly ordained the bread and the cup to be memorials of His passion on the night in which He was betrayed, we could well envisage the emergence of a sacramental meal of bread and fish in the church. As it is, we may wonder how much the early Christians use of fish, as a symbol both of Christ and of His people owes to the part played by fish in the feeding narratives of the Gospels. We know, of course. That the five letters of Greek ICQUS [we have all seen this symbol inside a fish on the back of cars] ichthys were treated as an acrostic of the title 'Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior' (Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter), but this may have been the rationalization of a practice already established on other grounds" (The Gospel and Epistles of John - F. F. Bruce).
Verse 13, "Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise."
LGT "Jesus comes and takes the bread and gives to them, and the fish in like manner."
"Jesus acts as host at this early breakfast, His last meal with these seven faithful followers" (Robertson). "Jesus approaches and takes the bread and gives to them, and the fish (used here collectively) in like manner. Evidently there was something solemn and significant in His manner, indicating that they were to consider Him as the Person who supplied all their wants. If they were to be free from care as His Apostles, they must trust Him to make provision for them, as He had this morning done" (The Expositors Greek Testament).
Verse 14, "This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, after that He was risen from the dead."
LGT "This [is] now [the] third time Jesus was manifested to the disciples having been raised from the dead."
"The two former occasions being recorded in 20:19, 26. The appearance to Mary Magdalene is not counted, because the Evangelist expressly says to His disciples. (Vincent). This note by John is designed more importantly for proof of His resurrection.
Jesus and Peter
Verse 15, "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Feed My lambs."
LGT "When therefore they had breakfast, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon [son] of John, do you love Me? Yes Lord, You know that I have affection for You. He says to him, Feed My lambs."
"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?
After a nice breakfast of fresh caught fish, Jesus asks Peter if he loved Him more than these. The question that arises from this phrase, is what, or who is the antecedent of the relative pronoun 'these?' it could be referring to 'these ones' or 'these things.' Is Christ asking Peter does he love Him more than the other disciples or does he love Him more than fishing? I believe Christ takes Peter aside and asks this question of him in a way that will give Peter courage after his dismal display of cowardice at the fireside in the outer court in front of the soldiers, and his denial to the young doorkeeper maid. I believe Christ is referring to these other disciples directly, but He also could be referring to his occupation. Peter would have to love Christ more than His disciples, to give up the occupation of fishing, which he also loved. It is interesting to note that Jesus uses agapas divine love, when He asks His question of Peter; now Peter responds with philos friendship love, in his response:
"Yea Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."
Peter responds directly to the Lord, omitting any reference to the disciples, or his fishing, by saying literally, You know I have affection for You. Peter uses the term for love that means 'deep affection or fondness for.'
"He saith unto him, Feed My lambs."
The sure way Peter can prove that he loves Jesus Christ is discipleship. There is no other passage of Scripture that is any more clear than this; Jesus chooses an uneducated hard working honest fisherman to 'feed the lambs.' The most amazing thing about this verse is that Jesus not only asks Peter to feed the lambs, but He will also give Peter the food to feed them, that is, 'the Word of God.' In this age of grace it still remains, that we show our love for Christ, when we share doctrine with our brothers and sisters in the family. I personally believe that every believer has the privilege to share what he or she has learned with family members, no one is exempt. I can remember hearing excuses for not speaking out, I am not a preacher, and a woman is not to teach, and I am not equipped to teach. Any one who has ever listened to a grace based Bible doctrine lesson, is equipped to share what they have heard or read. The more we read, study, listen and learn, the more we are equipped to share the good news of grace to other believers, no one is exempt from this super privilege
Verse 16, "He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? He saith unto Him, Yea Lord; Thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed My sheep."
LGT "He says to him again a second, time, Simon [son] of John, Do you love Me? He says to Him, Yes Lord, You know that I have affection for you. He says to him, Shepherd My sheep."
This is almost a repeat of the last verse. Except Jesus drops the 'more than these,' and goes directly to the core of Peter's thinking. And then the last phrase 'Feed My sheep' is literally shepherd My sheep.' I believe that Jesus is saying further that Peter is not only to feed the lambs doctrine, but he is to tend them as they mature in the Lord, so that no false doctrines creep in and spoil their fellowship.
Verse 17, "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, 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 saith unto him, Feed My sheep."
LGT "He says to him the third time, Simon [son] of John, Do you have affection for Me? Peter was distressed because He said the third time, Do you have affection for Me? And he says to Him, Lord You know all things, You are knowing that I have affection for You. Jesus says to him, Feed My sheep."
In this third question Jesus adopts the word Peter uses philos for love, Do you have affection for Me?
"Peter was grieved"
Peter was beginning to feel uncomfortable because he is not able to convince the Lord that he really and truly loves the Lord. Peter had denied the Lord three times, and now Jesus gives him the same amount of time for confession. I believe that in these three times the lord questions Peter, He is saying that Peter must truly understand that love is not mere lips-service, but now he will be able to show his love by feeding the flock that will be among him. Peter must first love the Lord before he can feed the sheep. This word love is strange to a lot of Christians, because it is devoid of all emotions and self-effort. Love by divine viewpoint, is recognizing our relationship with the Lord, and then responding to that love relationship. One of the worst things we can do is confuse love with our emotions; emotions are what caused Peter to cut off the centurion's ear with his sword, and what caused Peter to jump in the lake and swim ashore, when he realized it was the Lord on shore. Peter is very impulsive, and the Lord knows this. Most of the so-called fundamental churches today are fueled by emotionalism. We must never let our emotions rule, or our human viewpoint reign in our lives; we must seek the will of God in His Word and His Word alone.
Verse 18, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst wither 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."
LGT "Verily, verily, I say to you, When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked around wherever you desired: but whenever you grow old, you will stretch forth your hands, and another will gird you and bring [you] where do not wish to go."
Jesus is saying to Peter that now he is able to dress himself and walk around at his own will, but when he becomes old, someone will have to dress him and lead him to places against his will. There are many commentators that read a lot into this verse that is not there. We will let the context clear any misgivings that we may have. For now, this is a simple explanation of what we become with age.
Verse 19, "This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow Me."
LGT "But this He said signifying by what manner of death he would glorify God, and having said this, He says to him, Follow Me."
Peter had previously said to the Lord that he would gladly die for Him. Now the Lord is saying that is exactly what he will do. It is against nature for man to desire to leave his human body; and Christ is explaining in verse eighteen by illustration of old age, that Peter will have no choice in how he will die. Jesus is telling Peter that after a long career of feeding His sheep, Peter will have the honor of glorifying God by his martyr's death.
Jesus and the Beloved Disciple
Verse 20, "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth Thee?"
LGT "Peter having turned seeing the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also reclined at the supper and said, Lord, who is the one who delivered You up?"
As noted before, Jesus must have taken Peter for a walk along the shore to have a private conversation with him. John, as his usual reference to himself says, 'The disciple whom Jesus loved, which also leaned back on Jesus' breast, etc.' Peter looks back and sees John following.
Verse 21, "Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?"
LGT "Peter seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and this one what?"
Peter, having heard from the Lord in the last verses that he would feed the sheep, and then possibly die as a martyr, now wants to know what about John, what is going to happen to him.
"We have in Peter an instance of our curiosity, which is not only superfluous [unnecessary], but even hurtful, when we are drawn aside from our duty by looking at others; for it is almost natural to us to examine the way in which other people live, instead of examining our own, and attempt to find in them idle excuses. We willingly deceive ourselves by this semblance of apology, that other people are no better than we are, as if their indolence [laziness] freed us from blame. Scarce one person in a hundred considers the import of those words of Paul; Every man shall bear his own burden, (Gal. 6:5). In the person of one man, therefore, there is a general reproof of all who look around them in every direction, to see how other men act, and pay no attention to the duties which God has enjoined on themselves. Above all, they are grievously mistaken in this respect, that they neglect and overlook what is demanded by every man's special calling. Out of ten persons it may happen that God shall choose one, that He may try him by heavy calamities or by vast labors, and that He shall permit the other nine to remain at ease, or, at least, shall try them lightly. Besides, God does not treat all in the same manner, but makes trial of every one as He thinks fit. As there are various kinds of Christian warfare, let every man learn to keep his own station, and let us not make inquiries like busybodies about this or that person, when the Heavenly Captain addresses each of us, to whose authority we ought to be so submissive as to forget everything else.
Whom Jesus loved. This circumlocution [a roundabout way of speaking] was inserted, in order to inform us what was the reason why Peter was induced to put the question which is here related; for he thought it strange that he should alone be called, and that John should be overlooked, whom Christ had always loved so warmly. Peter had, therefore, some apparently good reason for asking why no mention was made of John, as if Christ's disposition towards him had undergone a change. Yet Christ cuts short his curiosity, by telling him that he ought to obey the calling of God, and that he has no right to inquire what other people do" (The Gospel of John - John Calvin).
Verse 22, "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me."
LGT "Jesus says to him, If I desire him to remain until I come, what [is it] to you? You keep on following Me."
Jesus is saying, Peter, you are going to die for Me, what happens to John is none of your affair; You must keep on following Me. This is a good lesson for Peter that he needs to concentrate on what Christ has called him to do, and let the Lord take care of His plans for John. Peter later wrote in his second Epistle, "Knowing that shortly I must put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me."
Verse 23, "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"
LGT "Therefore this word went out unto the brethren that that disciple does not die: Jesus had not said to him you should not die, but if I desire him to abide until I come, what [is it] to you?"
Peter misunderstood what Christ had said about John not dying, and John is anxious to set the record straight, that Christ was just telling Peter it was of no concern to him what He did with John.
Verse 24, "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true."
LGT "This is the disciple, the one who witnessed concerning these things, and who wrote these things, and we know that his witness is true."
"Here there is a definite statement that the Beloved Disciple wrote this Gospel account. 'We know' oidamen the plural use here seems intentional as the identification and endorsement of a group of disciples who know the author and wish to vouch for his identity and for the truthfulness of his witness. Probably we see a verse added by a group of elders in Ephesus where John had long labored" (Robertson).
Verse 25, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the 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."
LGT "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, not even the world itself, I suppose, would contain the written books."
"This of course, natural hyperbole [overstatement], but graphically pictures for us the vastness of the work and words of Jesus from which the author has made a small selection, And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book (John 20:30) and by which he has produced what is, all things considered, the greatest of all books produced by man, the eternal Gospel from the eagle who soars to the very heavens and gives us a glimpse of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (Robertson).
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