Chapter 21
1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
The Doctrine of the Resurrection: Jesus appeared to the disciples at least 4 separate times after His resurrection (v.14 + His final words with them). It was extremely important that He show Himself to them…witnesses were needed… and because of those witnesses, we believe today, some 2000 years later.
The Doctrine of the Calling of God: Looks like 7 of the 11 apostles were going to go fishing with Peter. Peter was called and ordained by Jesus Himself to be the shepherd (pastor) of that church in Jerusalem, but Peter here chooses to go back to his former occupation, fishing. He, as well as the others, had previously left all of this and chosen to follow Jesus; but, now they are giving up on that ‘calling’, it appears. The senior pastor here influences the others to compromise. Only a few days or weeks after His command to them and they were off course!
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
The Doctrine of the Resurrection: Jesus could change how His resurrected body appeared.
The Doctrine of the Calling of God: Jesus will let you pursue your vain ambitions but will soon ask you “How’s that going for you?…” Jesus Christ purposely caused them to have a lousy time in their old lifestyle. Peter chose catching fish over reaching lost souls. Jesus doesn’t give up on you, even though you give up on Him (or, at least, on His calling). It is interesting that in the middle of their vain pursuits, God blesses them. Don’t be doing things on the ‘wrong side’. A main teaching point here is that Jesus will meet your needs, dear man of God; you don’t need to rely on a ‘secular’ job; if things get tight, don’t go back to ‘your old job’. This might also be teaching that it is shameful to pursue such… ‘was naked’. When you come back to your senses, you need to cast yourself into where Jesus is; dive into where He is at. Peter was the only one who dove in; the others chose to take the easier way, and to bring all the fishes in.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
The Doctrine of the Calling of God: Jesus is going to meet your basic needs right away once you listen to Him and obey Him. Jesus had His own fish for them. When Jesus blesses you for repenting and going back to His calling for your life, He blesses in a big way… 153 fish! Jesus will teach you to follow Him… to trust Him.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
The Doctrine of the Calling of God: After dining (having your needs met), Jesus will challenge you to follow Him wholly. Here he challenges the Senior Pastor. Jesus was asking Simon (didn’t use his Christian name) if he loved Jesus more than fish! Seems totally preposterous, but it was a legitimate question. At the time, Peter went fishing instead of taking care of the disciples, the church; busy fishing for fish (the things of the world) than fishing for men (soulwinning, edification of the saints).
The Doctrine of Loving God: Jesus Christ asked Peter if he (agape) loved God more than he loved these silly stinky slimy fish. Peter replied distinctly, to protect himself; he said that he (phileo) loved God more than the silly stinky slimy fish. The second question given by Jesus Christ was to help Peter get out of the trap he was in; for Peter didn’t, at that time, phileo love God more than the silly stinky slimy fish. So God asked him without the comparison added (i.e. ‘more than these’ was dropped). The third question was to bring out Peter’s true level of love for God; Jesus Christ asked him if he ‘phileo’ loved God (and without any comparisons, for we already basically proved that Peter loved fishing more than God at that time). Peter failed the test of whether he agape loved God…did he at least phileo love God? Jesus Christ told Peter that if he truly did phileo love God, then he would do the work that God had called him to.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. 20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? 24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
The Doctrine of Martyrdom: It is believed that Peter was crucified upside down; and, that, all the disciples except for John were martyred. Jesus told Peter that if you love me, follow on to martyrdom, as Jesus had done. There was some intra-disciple rivalries going on. Peter wanted to know what the ‘Pastor’s Pet’ ‘s future was (John’s). Rumor mills get started and can be very dangerous and hurtful. “What is that to thee” is Jesus’ response to your concerns about others and their call of God or God’s blessings in their life. John sounded a bit confident and boastful as he counters Peter’s statements here (in my humble opinion)…