03.8. At The Sea Of Tiberias (part 1)
At The Sea Of Tiberias (part 1)
John 21:1-25 I will make you fishers of men
Christians are closely linked with their risen and glorified Lord in heaven. As His followers they are serving Him here on earth till He comes. He is our Leader, our Captain, and the great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 12:2; Hebrews 13:20). This is clearly shown in the closing chapter of John’s Gospel, which portrays John again as the beloved disciple. While John 19:1-42 focuses on the union of Christ’s followers with the crucified One, and John 20:1-31 on their oneness with the buried and risen Lord, John 21:1-25 shows us our relationship with the Lord who ascended on high, and gave gifts to men (cf. Ephesians 4:7 ff.). He is the One who distributes spiritual gifts as He wills, and He leads us in our service for Him until His return. The fourth and fifth mention of John as the beloved disciple teach us important lessons about our present position as disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus (John 21:7; John 21:20).John 21:1-25 is obviously an epilogue. John 20:31 states the purpose of John’s Gospel: "(...) but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).
John 21:1-25 describes in a typical way how the Lord prepared His disciples for their task as fishers of men. He told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, which resulted in a miraculous catch of fish (John 21:6). In this way He led them in their future service by revealing Himself in His resurrection power and His absolute command of all things.Peter’s initiative to go fishing at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:3), meant a return to his earlier profession. Apparently he had forgotten that the Lord expected him to be a fisher of men. Years earlier He had told him so, when He called His first disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11). Peter tried to resume his old profession, but his encounter with Jesus changed everything. The Lord used the miraculous catch of fish and the following breakfast on the beach as the means to Peter’s public restoration among the disciples. He wanted to re-establish him in His service, and to indicate the special place that Peter had in His plans and purposes with respect to the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. Thus the closing chapter of this Gospel reminds us of the original calling of the disciples, and sheds new light on it. The risen Lord made a new start with His followers, and they definitely learned to follow Him as their Master.
Resurrection scenes In this context it is interesting to note that Jesus’ appearance at the Sea was now the third time He showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead (John 21:14). This would speak of a divine fullness, a complete confirmation of the truth of His resurrection. On this occasion we see a group of seven disciples to whom He presented Himself alive (John 21:2). In the previous chapter we find the first two appearances to a somewhat larger company of disciples - the first time Thomas being absent, the second time Thomas being with them (John 20:19 ff.). Besides these three occasions, there were more appearances between the time of His resurrection and His ascension (Acts 1:3), once to over five hundred brethren (1 Corinthians 15:6). The Lord also showed Himself on a more private basis to some of His disciples: first to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18), and then to Mary’s companions, the Galilean women and other women with them (Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 23:55; Luke 24:1; Luke 24:10). After that He appeared to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5), and later on that same first Lord’s day to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13 ff.). He was also seen by James (1 Corinthians 15:7). So there is enough evidence that the risen Lord manifested Himself more than three times. Chronologically, this third appearance at the Sea of Tiberias, may have been the seventh or eighth appearance of the Lord since He was raised from the dead. It is significant that this appearance took place in Galilee and not in Jerusalem, the city where He rose and appeared to the eleven on the first day of the week. In Galilee He had spent most of His years. This part of the land was despised by the Jews (John 1:46; John 7:52), and it was called "Galilee of the Gentiles" by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 9:1-2). In this region full of darkness and of the shadow of death, the Light of the world had shone. But now, after His resurrection and ascension, this great Light would continue to shine to the Gentiles and extend God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). The risen Lord would do so from heaven in the power of the Spirit and by the ministry of His disciples. But here another picture is used, namely that of the great Captain and His fishermen. The apostles would cast their nets into the sea of peoples and nations, and draw it up again with many converts. Galilee was also the place where they received the Great Commission, as it is commonly called (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18). The Lord even went before them into Galilee - this place of grace to the Gentiles. The disciples were to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.Another important lesson of this passage in John 21:1-25 is that we are fully dependent on the Lord’s instructions in our work for His name’s sake. Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), and all our efforts will be in vain.
What a painful lesson this can be! Headed by Peter, the disciples fished a whole night without catching anything (John 21:3). Then, in the morning mist, on the beach, they saw a Man they did not immediately recognize. He asked them whether they had any food (John 21:5). Some translations use the words "meat" or "anything to eat", while others read "fish". What is meant is fish, of course, that could be eaten with bread to make it tasty (cf. John 21:9).In short, the Lord asked them whether they had caught anything that night. They had to admit that all their efforts had been in vain. They still did not recognize the Stranger, but He spoke with so much authority that they obeyed His command, and cast the net on the right side of the boat. Once before they had cast out their net at the word of the Lord (Luke 5:6-7). And again the result was miraculous: they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish (John 21:6).
It is the Lord The dénouement followed immediately, for John, who knew the Master so well from being close to Him, understood intuitively that this Man could be none other than the Lord. He said to Peter: "It is the Lord!" Once again, Peter showed his impulsive character by jumping overboard to reach the Lord as quickly as possible (John 21:7). He had shown the same desire before, when the Lord walked on the sea (Matthew 14:28). It is good to long for the Lord’s presence! But the other disciples came in the little boat, dragging the net full of fish (John 21:8). In contrast to what had happened in Luke 5:1-39, the net was not breaking and the boat did not begin to sink. Peter was the one who dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three (John 21:11). When the first disciples were called, he was casting a net into the sea (Matthew 4:18).This miraculous catch of fish portrays the work which would be done, in dependence on the Lord, among the nations. The disciples were to cast out the Gospel net and to gather God’s elect, as many as had been appointed to eternal life. In contrast with the parable of the dragnet in Matthew 13:1-58, where we find both good and bad fish, we have only good fish here - a net full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three. John has no nominal confessors in view, but only genuine believers. The mention of the exact number suggests that the Lord knows all His own by name. None of them shall perish.The Book of Acts confirms that the apostle Peter held a very responsible place in this great work of fishing for men. He was, so to speak, to cast the Gospel net into the sea of peoples and nations. When he drew it ashore, it was full of converts, both Samaritans and Gentiles (Acts 8:1-40; Acts 10:1-48; Acts 11:1-30). Peter and John acted together in Acts 8:1-40, in the same way as they had done in Acts 3:1-26; Acts 4:1-37, where we find God’s work among the Jewish people. They had been partners in their old profession as fishermen (Luke 5:10). In their new activities, they were also good teamworkers - although they had distinct ministries. The Lord alluded to this after Peter’s restoration.
They personally had to follow Him wherever He would lead, but John’s ministry was to extend until the end time. It is not always easy to serve the Lord and to act as fishers of men. We see in this chapter that the Lord wanted to train the disciples for this purpose. When we pay attention to His commands, the results will be remarkable. But service in self-will ends in failure (John 21:5).Probably the miraculous catch of fish is also an allusion to the great response among the nations to the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom in the end time. In a coming day this Gospel will be preached again by converted Jews, and a great multitude of Gentiles will be saved (cf. Revelation 7:1-17). This Gentile multitude will come out of the Great Tribulation and enter the full millennial blessing of the Kingdom. This will happen after the rapture of the Church, which is composed of those who have not seen and yet have believed; and after the conversion of the remnant of Israel, who will look on Him whom they have pierced, and then will mourn for Him with bitter weeping (Zechariah 12:10). The Church is typified in John 20:1-31 by the gathered disciples, and the believing remnant of Israel by Thomas who touched the pierced hands and side of the Saviour.