John 21

John Chapter 21

I find this final chapter of John to be an interesting chapter. It is the final chapter in the Gospel of John and one that finds the disciples going back and doing what they did before they met Christ. It starts out with the Disciples sitting around and gathered together at the sea of Tiberias. One thought I have here is why are they sitting around doing nothing? Simon Peter stands and says “I’m going fishing” and the other six of them rise and say they will go with him. I’m unsure as to why the disciples are back at the sea and not out spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Maybe this fishing trip arises out of hunger, maybe because they are unsure of what to do. If the later is the case, then maybe they are just simply doing what they know how to do. So we see Peter step up and start to lead, but to what and to where?

So as they are out fishing Jesus shows up on the shore and calls out to them “Friends haven’t you any fish?” He tells them to put their nets out on the right side of the boat and they will catch fish. One thought here, first of all Jesus knows they haven’t caught anything because he’s Jesus, second he doesn’t suggest, but tells them to put their nets on the right side of the boat. I just think it’s interesting that they are fishing on the left side (unclean side) and Jesus comes along and tells them to fish on the right side (the clean side) and when they do it Christ’s way, they catch more than they can haul in. When John realizes who it is, he tells the others and specifically Simon Peter. Simon, who has taken off his outer garment puts it back on and dives into the water and swims to shore. Question – Why did he put his outer garment back on? Was it because the water was cold? Was it because he was modest? Or was it a way to cover himself up because he was ashamed that he was caught doing something besides what Christ had told them what to do? It is also thought that he might have been fishing naked, which would have been normal back then, and he simply puts his loin cloth back on before going into the water. The other thought is that he might have tied up the loose parts of his outer garment so that it would not get caught up while he was swimming.

They come ashore and Christ, who had not been fishing, has fish and bread cooking on an open fire. This speaks to the provision of Christ just like the feeding of the five thousand and the wedding feast where he turned water into wine. He invites them to eat and to also bring some of the fish they had caught. During this time Christ begins to ask Simon Peter if Peter loves him. This is interesting because Christ asks Simon three times, the same number of times that Simon had denied Christ. The first time he instructs Simon to feed his lambs, the second to take care of His sheep, and the third to feed His sheep. This is a picture of a well-rounded Shepard. Christ is the ultimate Shepard and He is commissioning Simon Peter to take care of the flock that Christ has gathered.

There is so much more information in this chapter, all the neat rabbit trails of details that could be taken, but these have stood out to me and I thought them to be interesting.