John 21:1-14
Intro Questions
A Miraculous
Catch of Fish at Lake Galilee
John 21:1–14
1After this, Jesus revealed Himself again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed Himself in
this way:
2Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of His disciples were together.
3a“I’m going fishing,” Simon
Peter said to them.
3b“We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the
boat; but that night they caught nothing.
4When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore. However, the disciples
did not know that it was Jesus.
5a“Men,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?”
5b“No,” they answered.
6“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” He told them, “and
you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of
the large number of fish. 7aTherefore the disciple whom Jesus loved
said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”
7bWhen Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer garment
around him (for he was stripped) and plunged into the sea. 8But
since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other
disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. 9When
they got out on land, they saw a
charcoal fire there, with fish†
lying on it, and bread.
10“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. 11So
Simon Peter got up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
12“Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” because they
knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to
them. He did the same with the fish.
14This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after He
was raised from the dead.[1]
[1] Knight,
G. W. (2001). A simplified harmony of the Gospels (pp.
251–252). Holman Bible Publishers.
Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Lake of Galilee. This is how it happened: A group of us were there—Simon Peter, Thomas, "The Twin," Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, my brother James and I and two other disciples.
Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing."
"We'll come too," we all said. We did, but caught nothing all night. At dawn we saw a man standing on the beach but couldn't see who he was.
He called, "Any fish, boys?"
"No," we replied.
Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of them!" So we did, and couldn't draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many!
Then I said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" At that, Simon Peter put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore. The rest of us stayed in the boat and pulled the loaded net to the beach, about 300 feet away. When we got there, we saw that a fire was kindled and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.
"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. So Simon Peter went out and dragged the net ashore. By his count there were 153 large fish; and yet the net hadn't torn.
"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said; and none of us dared ask him if he really was the Lord, for we were quite sure of it. Then Jesus went around serving us the bread and fish.
This was the third time Jesus had appeared to us since his return from the dead.
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
A Call from the Beach
Jesus had performed a similar miracle for the disciples before. Luke 5:1-11 records how the disciples had experienced an unsuccessful night of fishing, only to have a record-breaking catch on Jesus' instructions. At the time, the disciples had been amazed to see that not only did Jesus teach, heal, and cast out demons, but he also cared about their day-to-day routine. Here the disciples had gone back to what they knew best—fishing. And Jesus came to them right where they were, performing another miracle to demonstrate his great love for them. Jesus meets us where we are, gently showing us where he wants us to be. Is he standing on the beach calling to you? Pull in your boat and listen!
In this passage Jesus recommissioned Peter. Perhaps Peter needed special encouragement after his denial.
Willingness to Serve
In this beach scene, Jesus would lead Peter through an experience that would remove the cloud of his denial. Peter had denied Jesus three times. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Peter had repented, and here Jesus was asking him to commit his life. Peter's life changed when he finally realized who Jesus was. His occupation changed from fisherman to evangelist; his identity changed from impetuous to "rock"; and his relationship to Jesus changed—he was forgiven, and he finally understood the significance of Jesus' words about his death and resurrection. It is one thing to say you love Jesus, but the real test is willingness to serve him.
Impetuous Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to the shore when he realized that it was Jesus on the beach. Clearly he wanted to talk to Jesus and to experience Jesus' forgiveness.
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