Section 180
Appearance to the seven disciples while fishing
By the Sea of Galilee
| John 21:1-25 |
|---|
| 1After this Jesus again manifested himself to the disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. He manifested himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael (from Cana of Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two of Jesus' other disciples were together. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” So they immediately went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught any fish to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it and were unable to draw it in because of the large number of fish. 7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the small boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards away. 9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with a fish lying on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just now caught.” 11So Simon Peter went aboard and drew the net ashore, full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Although there were so many, the net had not torn. 12Then Jesus said to them, “Come eat breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13Then Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did likewise with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus had been revealed to his disciples after he had been raised from the dead. 15When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I care for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16Jesus said to him a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Peter said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I care for you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17Then Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you care for me?” Peter was grieved that Jesus said to him the third time, “Do you care for me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything0x3B you know that I care for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you would dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted to go0x3B but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and bring you where you do not want to go.” 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.) After saying this, he said to Peter, “Follow me.” 20Then Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them (the one who had leaned back on Jesus' chest at the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”) 21When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22Jesus said to him, “If I wish for him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23So the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die0x3B he only said, “If I wish for him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” 24This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25There are also many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were to be written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have room for the books that would be written. Amen. |
Notes
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee is a beautiful blue freshwater lake. Because it is shaped like a harp, it is called Yam Kinneret (Numbers 34:11) in Hebrew, from the word kinnor, which means “harp.” It was also known as the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1) after the large city, built by Herod Antipas, which is located on its shores. It was also called Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1)
The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, which brings water from the melting snows of Mount Hermon to the north. Additional water comes from the numerous springs around the lake, many of which are hot springs. The hot water from these springs allows even tropical fish to thrive. The very high rate of evaporation from the lake raises the humidity to an average of 65% in the area over and around the lake; such an environment also enables tropical plants and fruit to grow.
The lake is now 12.5 miles long and 7 miles wide, with a circumference of 32 miles. It may have been slightly longer in Jesus’ time, since the lake may have receded somewhat in the north near Bethsaida. The surface of the lake is about 700 feet below sea level.