Breakfast with His Disciples

(Gospel of John 21:1 - 21:14)
Afterwards, Jesus appeared again to his disciples in the following manner: Several of the apostles were by the Sea of Galilee, Simon-Peter, Thomas the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.  Simon-Peter told them he was going out fishing and the others said they would accompany him.  However, when they went out in the boat, they caught nothing all night. 

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn't recognize who it was.  He called out to them, “Hey boys, haven’t you caught any fish?"

"No, we haven't," they replied.

“Cast the net off your starboard beam and you'll find some!"

They did so, but they couldn't even haul in the net, because there were so many fish in it.

The disciple that Jesus loved told Peter, "It's the Master!"

When Peter heard this, he put on his clothes (for he had taken them off) and jumped into the water, as they were only about 200 cubits from land. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.  When they came ashore, they found fish cooking over a charcoal fire and some bread.

Jesus told them, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught."  So Simon-Peter boarded the boat and hauled the net onto the beach.  It contained 153 large fish, but despite it, the net hadn't torn.

"Come and have breakfast," Jesus invited them.  None of the disciples dared ask who he was -- but they knew it was the Master.  Jesus took the bread and served it to them and, similarly, served them the fish.

(This, therefore, was the third instance of Jesus revealing himself before his disciples after his resurrection from the dead.)

After they had finished eating, Jesus addressed Simon-Peter and asked him, "Do you, Simon, son of Jonas, love me more than the others do?"

"Yes, Master," he replied.  "You know that I love you."

"Feed my lambs," he told him and asked him again, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Master, you know that I love you," he again replied.

“Be a shepherd to my sheep,"  he told him, but asked, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?"

Peter's feelings were hurt when Jesus had asked him a third time whether he loved him, but he responded, "Master, you know all things, so you must know that I love you."

"Feed my sheep," Jesus told him.  "I tell you truly, when you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go, but when you become old you will stretch out your arms.  Someone else will dress you and lead you where you don't want to go.  (Jesus mentioned this to indicate the manner of death by which he would glorify God.)  Jesus then bid him, "Follow me!"

Peter looked back at the disciple that Jesus loved (the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and asked, "Master, who will betray you?”).  Peter questioned Jesus,”What will he do, Master?"

"If I wish him to stay here until I return, how does that concern you?  You must follow me!" Jesus commanded.

(A rumor spread through the community of believers that this disciple would not die.  Yet, Jesus did not say so, only, "If I wish him to stay here until I return, how does that concern you?”)

This is the disciple who was a witness to these events and who recorded them.  (And we affirm that his account is accurate.)  But there are other things that Jesus accomplished, so many that if each one were written down, I dare say the world would scarcely have room for all the books that would result.

Notes
1.  The Gospel of John seems to have come to end in the last chapter, but here we have what seems like an appendix, a coda, something added on after the work had been completed.  Perhaps this was a story heard by the author(s) and put it at the end of the book since it was too good to leave out (and it is).  But we also have another apt concluding paragraph with the Apostle John taking credit for the authorship of the gospel.

2.  The miracle of the abundant catch of fish is one of the miracles that, if it is true, must be just that, a miracle, not a misunderstanding, a parlor trick, an illusion, or an hallucination. 

3.  Interesting that the exact number of fish in the net is known, but the names of all the disciples present is not.  Who was it that made the count and came up with 153 fish?  If it were 150, one would assume it was an estimate, but 153 is precise.  Does the number convey some symbolic significance or esoteric meaning?  Perhaps it is like the story of the white hunter who was thrown exactly 47 yards by the tusks of a charging elephant -- he went back later with a yard stick to measure the distance.

4.  Seven of the 12 apostles are present during this miracle.  Among them were the sons of Zebedee, James and John.  Zebedee was a prosperous fisherman who lived near the fishing town of Bethsaida on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

5.  As is the case with the other postmortem appearances of Jesus, he acts somewhat weirdly, that is, not casually or naturally.  The gospel's self-declared author, John (the disciple Jesus loved, as he continually and annoyingly refers to himself) is the one who recognizes Jesus standing on the shore.  As usual, it is Peter who acts first.  The "big fisherman" impulsively jumps off the boat and swims ashore in an apparent eagerness to see Jesus.  (The distance was 200 cubits, about 100 yards.)  The story omits any greeting they might have had for each other.  Jesus simply invites them to breakfast.  No one says, "Hi, Jesus.  Hey, I thought you were dead!"  Jesus never explains himself.  The disciples know it is Jesus, but his appearance must have been altered in some way that made them have some initial doubt of it.

6. Jesus has breakfast ready, including fish.  But he asks Peter to bring him some of the fish they have just caught.  Did Jesus gut, bone, and cook them himself?  Jesus has a charcoal fire ready.  (Not a coal fire, for coal was not yet used as a fuel.)  Odd that he wouldn't have a wood fire, as one would expect.  Did he bring a bag of charcoal down from Heaven with him?  Ah, but it was a charcoal fire over which Peter denied Jesus; therefore he must now affirm him over a charcoal fire.

7. Jesus quizzes Peter whether he loves him or not.  He asks him three times, probably because Peter denied knowing him three times.  Jesus sounds like a nagging wife demanding that her husband tell her he loves her.  He tells Peter to feed and tend his lambs and sheep, that is, to take charge of his flock, his religious congregation.  He is more or less appointing Peter as the leader of his followers.  Peter is, of course, considered the first pope.  The illusion to the manner of Peter's death is somewhat vague.  Traditionally, Peter was crucified -- upside down -  in 64 AD.  The outstretched arms apparently refer to his crucifixion.

8.  The Gospel of John is purported to have been written by the Apostle John, the disciple that Jesus loved.  Few scholars today believe he could have been its author, or the author of Revelation and the epistles ascribed to John. Although authorities disagree as to the exact date it was written (65 AD is probably the earliest), the Gospel of John is believed to have been compiled well after the other gospels, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, (and subsequent to the death of the real John, unless he happened to have been unusually long lived).  While the other three books are considered synoptic gospels, that is, they provide an overall summary of events, John highlights particular incidents.  Therefore, the Gospel of John is generally conceded to have less authority as a chronicle, but, of the four canonical gospels, it is considered to possess the greatest spiritual depth.