John 21: The Catch of 153 Fish

"After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ 6 He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16 A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ 17 He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

Introduction

This third post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples brims with interesting narrative, dialogue and questions that 21st century readers bring to it. Let's go through a few of them, so that you can see the richness of the text and the debates it has occasioned. First, is ch. 21 an integral part of the original Gospel or was it added "later?" Many scholars see 20:30-31 as a conclusion to the Gospel, preparing the reader for the experience of not seeing Jesus but still believing in him. In addition, the latter parts of ch. 21 appear to be written to calm the uncertainties of the Johannine community which had expected the return of Christ before the death of the beloved disciple. The author is saying that Christ didn't promise to return before the beloved disciple's death (21:23). But the language of ch. 21 and the continuity of themes with ch. 20 (appearances of the Risen Lord) suggests that the passage was written as part of the original Gospel.

Then there are interesting questions provoked by the story itself. When the disciples return to fishing, are they doing so as a one-time event now that they are back in Galilee? Or is it a return to their former mode of living? If the latter, do they return to this mode of living as an indication of their desperation or lack of faith, or is it a strong and affirmative move, such as returning to one's work confident that the empowerment promised by Christ would soon come? From a literary perspective, is this narrative supposed to be an analogue of Luke 5:1-11--the great catch of fish? If so, the notion of mission--catching fish/people would function as the leading theme of Jesus' ministry, both at its beginning and end. Then, as the narrative continues, we ask the question of whether the author of the Fourth Gospel is subtly trying to elevate the beloved disciple over Peter by having him recognize Jesus before the others do (v.7) and then having Peter act impulsively by casting himself into the water (v.7). Then, in the last part of our passage, vv. 15-19, Jesus quizzes Peter at length about whether he loves Jesus more than "these." Apart from the uncertainty of what "these" refers to (see below) is the debate over the significance of the different verbs for love (agapan and philein) used in this passage. Is Jesus trying to say something to Peter about the nature of his love as a disciple?

Wel, we could go on for quite some time on these questions, but the heart of our task this week is to exposit what appears to be clear about this text. I would divide it into three points: (1) the mission rearticulated; (2) the meal recelebrated; and (3) the meditation between Jesus and Peter.

I. The Mission

The miraculous draught of fish in Luke 5 led to taking in of so many fish that the nets were bursting and the ships sinking. In contrast, the miraculous catch of John 21 leads to a determinate number of fish without the nets breaking. The difference is significant. While Luke wanted to emphasize the great number of the catch, John wanted to stress both the number and the resultant "unity" of the net. The catch was of 153 fish, a number that has stimulated almost as many explanations as there were fish, but the author is really interested to tell us that "though there were so many, the net was not torn" (v. 11). The Greek verb for "torn" is skizo, which can literally be rendered into English as "schism." There was no "schism" when the disciples brought in their great catch of fish. The miraculous catch of fish in John's Gospel encourages those in the mission of Christ to long, pray and work for unity--since the original catch of fish stressed that the "nets" were intact. The first point, then, is one that echoes Jesus' high priestly prayer:

"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.." (17:20-21).

The miraculous catch of fish assures the reader that unity of the Church is the desire of Jesus.

II. The Meal

After the beloved disciple has recognized Jesus and the miraculous catch is hauled onto shore, Jesus invites the disciples to breakfast. Like Joseph in the biblical narrative where he recognizes his brothers but cannot say anything, so the disciples now recognize Jesus even though none of them dared ask if it really was him (v. 12). The significant thing about the meal, which is meant to presage the Lord's Supper, is that the provisions for the meal are the joint responsibility of Jesus and the disiciples (v. 10). Jesus was cooking breakfast when the disciples showed up on shore, but he wanted them also to supply some of the fish for the meal. But in contrast to the story in Luke 24, where Jesus' breaking of bread with the disciples provides the occasion for their recognizing him, in John 21 the sharing of provisions allows a deeper fellowship over the meal.

III. The Meditation

Finally, there is the conversation between Peter and Jesus on love in vv. 15-19. Before probing a detail or two in the text, we should be clear on the purpose of these five verses. They are intended to rehabilitate a fallen Peter. He had denied Christ after vigorous protestations to the contrary. In fact, he had denied Christ three times. Here, in vv. 15-19, he affirms his love for Christ three times, thus reversing, as it were, the effect of the denial. And, the fact that he affirms love is significant, for love is the symbol of the Christian life. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (13:35). Peter loves Jesus fiercely, and so has been redeemed fully by Christ.

Let's close this essay by pointing to the problem of the different Greek words behind the word "love" in these verses. In the first question Jesus asks Peter if he loves him (agapein) more than "these."* [*The "these" can have three referents--either the business of fish and nets, or, in two ways, the love of the other disciples (do you love me more than these disciples love me or do you love me more than you love these disciples?), and your guess is as good as any commentator's.] Peter answers Jesus with the verb philein--I love you. Then the next two questions and answers have only the verb philein. Scholars differ among themselves whether the verbs really have a distinct meaning field--the traditional explanation that philein is "brotherly" love while agapein is "divine" love is maintained by almost no commentator today. Nevertheless, one way to explain Peter's obvious discomfort in v. 17 is because he may have heard in Jesus' shifting of verbs a kind of sense that Jesus was lowering his expectations of Peter. In any case, multiple ideas present themselves within the context of these three overall ideas.

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