John 21:1-14

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "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.

 

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

 

He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

"No," they answered.

 

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.

 

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. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

 

Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

 

Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

 

Seven of the disciples were together by the Sea of Tiberias and decided to fish together, but caught nothing. They saw a man on the shore who asked them whether they had caught anything to eat and told him no (rather than friends, he actually calls them “children”). At that point, they didn’t know it was Jesus.

 

But he told them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Their nets caught so many fish that the disciples couldn’t haul them back into the boat. This gave John (probably John – “the disciple whom Jesus loved”) the clue he needed, and he told Peter that it was Jesus. So Peter put his clothes on and swam to shore while the others came behind in the boat.

 

Jesus had something for them to eat – fish over a fire, and bread. He told them to bring some of their fish, too (they had caught 153 large fish, but their nets hadn’t broken – amazingly). So Jesus invited them to breakfast. The disciples knew it was Jesus, so they didn’t dare to ask who He was. This story concludes with the words, “This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”

 

This story is almost too simple for the amazing things that happen. It feels matter-of-fact, but it has some amazing and strange. A huge catch of. An untorn net, despite the huge catch. But most of all, a man on the shore who addresses these seven disciples familiarly, points them to their catch of fish, and has breakfast waiting for them. And the text says it was Jesus, showing himself to his disciples for the third time.

 

The disciples didn’t see Jesus only once. Even Thomas saw Jesus at least twice, because he was here for this. As odd as it would be for them all to have the same hallucination or imagination at the same time, it would be even more odd for it to happen repeatedly. They must have actually seen Jesus several times. And we are encouraged to believe. Jesus actually rose from the dead!

 

Father, people sometimes get tired of hearing that Jesus rose from the dead. I sometimes hear it and think, “Yeah, I get it. I’ve heard that before.” But it is not just some bare, meaningless fact. John is careful to tell us again and again that the disciples saw the risen Jesus because we must believe this. If we are to believe in Jesus, if we are to trust Him and receive a relationship of peace from Him, we have to know that He lives! He lives! Thank You that the disciples saw him so many times to confirm for me that I have a real offer of a relationship with a living God. Thank You that Jesus is still at work in the world, still able to do miracles, still able to meet our needs – even simple needs like breakfast. You are so good!