Written ~ 05-02-2024
Read John Chapter Twenty-One
John 21
What an awesome conclusion to the Book the John. It ends with a bunch of buddies having lunch on the beach…
John 21:1-3a…
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
If we go back to the first few chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus walking along the same seashore… it is the very beginning of His ministry and He’s calling His very first disciples… It’s where it all began…
Matthew 4:18-22 and Luke 5:1-11…
“Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.
Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed Him.
A little farther up the shore He saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And He called them to come, too. They immediately followed Him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
Fishing is what these men knew. They had been fishermen for many years before meeting Jesus, so they went back to doing what they knew best.
John 21:3-6…
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who He was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then He said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
You would think this scene would have been quite familiar to these guys. They had been fishing all night with nothing to show for it. But Jesus showed up and changed everything… Again.
John 21:7-9…
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved (John) said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
I love every single thing about this moment. John recognizes Jesus, Peter jumps in the water and in just a few minutes they are all on shore, probably laughing and exclaiming “It’s the Lord!”
John 21:10-11…
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.”
Why was it important for John to tell us that there were 153 large fish? I thought it was an interesting bit of information, so I looked to my favorite Bible Commentary for an explanation, here’s what it said…
- Simon Peter returned to the boat and pulled the net to land. If he did this by himself, he must have possessed unusual strength. One hundred and fifty-three fish plus a wet net would probably weigh as much as three hundred pounds. The observation of the exact number of the fish and the fact that the net did not break reflect both an eyewitness account and a fisherman’s perspective. John was impressed by the numerical size of the catch and the preservation of the net under the stress. These fish were probably sorted and distributed among the disciples.
After Peter brought the fish to shore they all sat on the beach and had breakfast together. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to His disciples, so I’m sure the men really enjoyed this time with Him. I wonder if they sat around the fire reminiscing about all the “good ole times” and the “remember when” moments.
John 21:15-17…
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “You know I love You.”
“Then feed My lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “You know I love You.”
“Then take care of My sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time He asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You.”
Jesus said, “Then feed My sheep.”
In the Book of Matthew it says this about Simon Peter…
Matthew 16:13-18…
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Jesus knows that Peter has the boldness to proclaim the Gospel message. The “rock” that Jesus is speaking about in verse 18 of Matthew is the foundational truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that He is the Son of the Living God. And upon that truth His church will be built. So when Jesus says to Peter in John 21:15-17, “…feed My sheep…” He is essentially letting Peter know that he will build the church with his message of Salvation.
In this last conversation and time alone with Jesus, I’m sure each one of the disciples did not want it to end. But in just a short from then, Jesus would make His final appearance and ascend to Heaven.
The last two verses of John 21 are the perfect ending to the recorded Gospels…
John 21:24-25…
24 “This disciple (John) is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”
I love that… if everything Jesus had done while He walked on this earth had been recorded, there would be more books written about Him than the world could contain. What a wonderful treasure we have in these four Gospels, the eyewitness accounts of the awesome things Jesus did and said. So when we read the Bible and learn more and more about Jesus, since it’s only scratching the surface, we must ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to increase our knowledge. Remember what it said in John 16:15? “The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.” If the Lord wants to reveal to us even more about His character, the Holy Spirit can speak to our hearts and divulge the truth as we continue to grow in our knowledge of Jesus. During one of the appearances of Jesus to the disciples it says in Luke 24:45, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” He can do the very same thing for us. Whenever we have questions or confusion over anything we read in the Scriptures, ask the Holy Spirit to open your mind!
Let’s close the book of John with the last two verses of chapter 20…
John 20:30-31…
30 “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His Name.”
What is the key thing we can take away from the Gospel message, not just from John, but from Matthew, Mark and Luke as well…
“…that we continue to BELIEVE that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him we will have LIFE by the POWER of HIS NAME!”
~AMEN~
- If after reading and studying the Book of John with me it has occurred to you that you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior… why not do it now? You have read all about Jesus, by now you know who He is and what He did for you on the cross and how He rose from the dead to set you free from sin and death… why not give your heart, your life to Him? This simple prayer can bring you into a personal relationship with Jesus and life with new expectations! Hope is just a prayer away…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, all the things I have done and said. Please forgive me for my unbelief. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse this heart of mine, white as snow. Help me not to doubt any longer and breathe life into me, fill me with Your light. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
- If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you!
- It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.