Peter goes fishing but Jesus sets the hook

John chapter 21 tells us a very interesting story. In fact it is the one story that ties up all the loose ends we talked about last time. It is the story that shows us that the disciples, finally after several years of walking with Christ, understood who He was. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 we learn that He appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection but it was not until this event took place did Jesus ascend into heaven. Why was this event so important. This event took place probably about 3 to 4 weeks after his resurrection. In Acts 1:3 we learn that Jesus stayed on the earth after his resurrection for about 40 days. In John chapter 20 the Bible tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and Thomas was not present. About 8 days later Jesus appeared to them again and this is when Jesus told Thomas to put his finger in the nail holes in His hands and to place his hand into the wound in Jesus' side. In Matthew it tells us that Jesus had told the disciples to leave Jerusalem and to wait for Him at the sea of Galilee. The trip from Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee was between 60 and 70 miles. No short distance to be traveled by foot. This trip alone would take several days. After they arrived they waited around for a time before this story starts to unfold. So what was this event. Let's take a look.

John 21:1-17

¹  After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.

After what things? After Jesus had appeared to the disciples and to all the others. He now will appear to the disciples one more time. This time for a different reason and the story we are about to read is how He did it. 

2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

So we have seven of the disciples. Peter, James, John, Thomas, Nathanael and two others. Why these two are not listed is interesting to me but I can find no reason in scripture for leaving their names out of the account. We have reason to believe all of the disciples were at the Sea of Galilee waiting on Jesus as they were instructed to do but these seven are singled out for this story. These seven are the ones that Jesus was not finished with. These seven needed something more from the Lord. Just like us, their faith needed a little boost. 

3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

This is one of the key verses in understanding this passage. Peter says to the others, "I am going fishing." It sounds innocent enough. After all they were fishermen, there was the largest fresh water lake in all of the land in front of them and they were just sitting around waiting on Jesus. Why not go fishing? This is one of the verses that is better explained by looking at the original Greek for a couple  of the words. "Going fishing" in the original text used a certain verb tense and the words chosen mean a continuous and repeated action. When Peter said, "I am going fishing," he did not mean I am going to do a little fishing he meant I am going back to fishing, the thing that I know. I am going to go fishing now and continuously and repeatedly. I do not know what else to do. Jesus has been crucified, He did rise from the dead but I can not just sit here any longer. I have to do something and the only thing I know to do is go back to fishing. His words carried enough weight that the six others opted to go along with him. They went and got into a boat and fished all night except for one problem. They did not catch anything all night. Sound familiar? In Luke 5: 1-11 we have the story of when Peter and his brother Andrew along with James and John were first called to follow Jesus. They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. They were cleaning and mending their nets and Jesus tells them to go out to the deep water. They argue at first but then decide to do as He suggested. He tells them what side of the boat to throw their nets and they catch a load so big that the nets started to break. Jesus then tells them to follow Him and He will make them fishers of men. I think Jesus is setting up these disciples to get their full attention. He knows that was a memorable day in their lives and now He is going to bring that back to their minds.

4 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.


5 So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." 

 Notice Jesus did not ask if they had any fish, He told them. You can almost hear the frustration in their answer. A short simple "No" was the answer. You have to wonder what are the disciples thinking at this point. Who is the genius on the shore? Wait how did he know we did not have any fish? Who is that? Jesus doesn't give them a whole lot of time to think about it.


6 And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 

Now He has their attention and he has them thinking about when He first called them. The bait has been set. 


7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.

There are several things about this verse that are interesting. To start with it was John who figured out is was Jesus. Peter was not sure until he heard John say it. When John says, "It is the Lord." Peter does something strange. He puts on more clothes and then jumps in the sea to swim ashore. Most people would strip clothes off before jumping into the sea. But Peter put more on. Why? This is our second key verse in understanding the importance of this story. If a man were to be doing most labor or going into battle he would simply cinch up his outer garment and tuck it or tie it out of the way. He would gird up his loins. But if a man were to shed his outer garment he basically stripped down to his underwear and would do this to save his outer garment from being ruined or stained. He intended on doing serious work. Not just a relaxing time of all night fishing. I personally think he was embarrassed and he wanted to hide the fact that he had given up on Jesus and had gone back to fishing. I also think he jumped in the sea to hide from Jesus, not necessarily so he could get there faster. There are not too many swimmers fully dressed that can swim a hundred yards faster than a boat being rowed by six men.
 
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

9 So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 


When who got out on the land? Obviously, the other disciples. I believe Peter was still in the water. On this morning, Jesus picked the menu and it was not all fruits and vegetables. In fact it was fish and bread. Also, the menu was a good reminder of how Jesus had fed thousands on more than one occasion with nothing more than bread and fish. Remember it was after one of these events that Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ and Jesus said he would build his church on the foundation of Peter's belief and he also told Peter just a few seconds later to get behind me Satan. So fish and bread were instrumental in reminding of those key events. Jesus had taught this lesson before but this time it will be heard and understood, Jesus is who He claims to be.


I also think the charcoal fire was specifically used for Peter. A charcoal fire has a very distinct aroma and aromas can trigger very specific memories in our brain. The last time a charcoal fire had been mentioned Peter was warming himself and denying that he even knew who Jesus was.  John 18:18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. While standing there several different people began to say that Peter was with Jesus and he denied it and in Mark 14:71 he not only denied it he swore and cursed and said he did not even know this man they were talking about. At the very instant that he denied Jesus the third time, in fact while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. Luke 22:60 ...And immediately, while he was still speaking a cock crowed. Then verse 61 tells us that when this happened Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times. And Mark 14: 72 tells us that Peter began to weep. Peter was broken and knew that he had let the Lord down.  Since the crucifixion of Christ, I am sure Satan had been working Peter over pretty hard about how he probably should have felt like a failure, not worthy of being a disciple of Christ. Jesus has every intention of fixing this way of thinking. 

10  Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." 

11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

 I still think Peter is trying to avoid Jesus here. Jesus told all seven of them to bring some fish. I think Peter was just coming out of the water and so he is the closest to the fish and he volunteers. It could not have been easy for one person to pull this large catch ashore. Also we get a real glimpse into the heart of a fisherman here because like all fishermen someone took the time to count the number of fish. One hundred and fifty-three to be exact. Or maybe Peter was just stalling.

12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. 


13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 

14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. 

Notice that when Jesus said come have some breakfast, it was already prepared. In verse 9 it tells us that fish and bread was already on the fire. So why did Jesus want the fish that He asked for?  We are about to see exactly the answer to that question. Jesus was a master teacher and He is about to take these disciples to school.


15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."  

I cannot help but wonder if that was a quiet breakfast.  "So, Lord, what have you been up to?" Just sounds a little lame. Of course if the conversation were important we would have been told about it. What was important was the conversation that took place after breakfast. Jesus now singles Peter out. Why Peter? Well, for several reasons. He was the one who denied Christ and regretted it and really never got to tell the Lord that. He was hurt, beat down and based on his actions a little ashamed. He was the one that was ready to give up on the Lord and go back to fishing and he was somewhat of a leader to the others.

But Peter is not alone, there are several other disciples there that need to hear the same lesson. Remember in Mark 16:14 when Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection He scolded them for their unbelief. After all, they had been through so much together. Had they forgotten everything He had taught them, already.  And afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and he reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
When Jesus singled Peter out He asked him a very unusual question. He said, "Do you love me more than these?" I have always read this and thought that Jesus meant the other disciples. Peter do you love me more than these disciples? But I think I was reading it wrongly. As we have pointed out before it goes against Jesus' earlier teachings to take one of the disciples and elevate him above the others. In fact Jesus made several points to teach the disciples to serve each other and that the least was the greatest. So to ask Peter if he loved Jesus more than the others does not line up with Jesus' other teachings. Could it be that now Jesus holds or points to the fish that Peter went to get and he says to Peter, "Do love me more than these? Do you love me more than these smelly old fish. Peter responds by saying "Yes, Lord; you know I love you. " Actually we have here another verse that is better looked at in the original Greek. When Jesus says to Peter, Do you love me, the word love was the word "Agapao" which means to love unselfishly to the point that you would be willing to sacrifice. That is the word for love used in John 3:16. Jesus is definitely wanting Peter to think about the last night before Jesus was arrested. Peter had said he loved the Lord and was willing to die for Him. To prove his willingness to sacrifice for the Lord he was the one that pulled out a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane and hacked off the soldiers ear and was ready to fight to the death. Jesus had stopped him and told him that was not the way to handle the situation and I am sure this confused Peter.  And then right after this, he denied Jesus three times. Peter is hurt, confused and not really sure what he believes. Jesus is skillfully bringing all of this back to mind so he can show Peter what He wants him to do. Peter does not understand that yet. So when he responds to Jesus' question, he says, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." But the word for love that Peter used was a different word. That word was "phileo" which means to be a friend or to have the interests as another. So Jesus asks do you love me unselfishly to the point you are willing to sacrifice for me and Peter answer yes Lord I love like a friend and you know we have similar interests. Jesus then tells him, "Tend my Lambs." Or another way of saying it would be then take care of the Babes, the helpless lambs, in Christ and give them the milk they need to grow in Christ.

16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you  love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I  love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."  

The uses of the word love are exactly the same. Jesus says do you Agapao love me and Peter responds you know that I Phileo love you.  This time Jesus says to him, will then Shepard My sheep. Then lead the church. Shepard those that follow me.

17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep. 

So Jesus asks Peter one more time, "Do you love me?" This time Jesus changes the question. This time Jesus says, Peter do you "Phileo" love me? Do you really have the same interests as me? Are you really my friend? Peter is broken. The word "grieved" means to be distressed to be deeply hurt. It does not say that Peter was mad, aggravated or even upset but grieved. His heart is broken and for the first time he really sees Jesus for who He is. He really sees Jesus and all that He has done to woo and call Peter to follow Him. So Peter's response is different. This time he says, "Lord you know all things; you know that I love you." You are God, you are the messiah, you are all that you claim to be and you know that I completely and fully understand this now and you know that I really do love you. You truly are my friend and we do have the same interests. Peter understood that his love was not dependent on his actions but his heart. No longer did Peter have to prove his love by being the first to pull his sword but now he proved his love by what was in his heart and soul. So Jesus responds and says "Tend My Sheep." Peter if we really do have the same interests then do what I have called you to do. Take care of my sheep. Be their Shepard and lead them in the paths of righteousness for my names sake. Don't be a fisher of fish be a fisher of men. Be the foundation that I can build my church on.

What is it that God has called me to do? What is it that God has called you to do? No matter what it is God will equip us to do it and will keep us on track when we stray. If we truly are His friend. If we truly have the same interests. If we truly love Him. How many times did Peter mess up? Too many to count. How many times do I mess up? Way too many to count. But Jesus didn't give up on Peter and He hasn't given up on me and He has a plan for my life. Tony of Hernando,  let me ask you one question. Do you love Me? How would you answer this simple question?