Jesus appeared to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).
21:1 The disciples had left Jerusalem and returned to Galilee, as Jesus had instructed them (Matthew 28:10). However, they were directed to wait at a certain mountain which the Lord had designated (Matt. 28:16). In this incident, recorded by John, the disciples are not at a mountain but at the Sea of Tiberias (also known as the Sea of Galilee).
21:2,3 Seven of the disciples are together and Peter decides to go fishing. The others follow his lead. This may have been nothing more than an attempt to provide for their families, but it may represent a return to their former vocation due to impatience or discouragement as they waited for Jesus to come to them.
The Lord, though risen from the dead, was not continually with His disciples. He was weaning them from His physical presence. At the same time, He was teaching them of their need to rely on Him, teaching them of their inadequacy apart from Him.
So it’s not surprising that in spite of their professional experience, they caught nothing all night. Their lack of success may have been the result of Jesus’ sovereign intervention. He had called them to be fishers of men, not fishers of mackerel. If they were out of His will, then it is not surprising that they caught nothing that night.
21:4,5 At daybreak, Jesus called from the shore (though they did not recognize Him): Children, you do not have any fish, do you?
Jesus reveals His omniscience, His perfect knowledge of every detail of their lives. It is the same for us — He knows our abundance and our lack, our strengths and our weaknesses, our hopes and our fears. When we seek His kingdom and His righteous purpose, all things necessary will be added to us so we can fulfill His kingdom purpose. But apart from Him, we can do nothing of eternal consequence (John 15:5).
21:6 Jesus then directed them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they enclosed so great a catch that they could not haul it in. Notice that their success was as close as the other side of the boat but required the direction of Jesus. So it is for us.
21:7 The blessing of abundant fish opened John’s eyes to the identity of the man on the shore and he said to Simon, It is the Lord. Simon threw himself into the water and swam to shore (in verse 8 we learn that the distance was 100 yards). That’s a heart of childlike love and faith, as if Peter was thinking, I know I failed Him but it's my Lord.
Notice how quick John is to discern the Lord’s presence. Notice how quick Peter is to act when the Lord is present.
How typical of Peter. When he heard the news of the empty tomb, he ran all the way with John, but whereas John stopped at the entrance, Peter burst into the tomb (John 20:3-8). Now he dives into the water. He wants nothing more than to be close to Jesus. (If that’s your desire then go ahead and jump in the water — Jesus will meet you on the shore. And if you grow weary, He will meet you walking on the water).
21:8 The others came in the boat, dragging the net.
21:9-13 Jesus, ever the Servant, had prepared breakfast for them.
Notice that Jesus laid the fish on a charcoal fire. The only other reference to charcoal in the New Testament was outside the house of the High Priest Annas, where Simon Peter was warming himself as Jesus was being tried. It was there that Peter denied His Lord (see John 18:18). Now, at another charcoal fire, Jesus invites Peter to breakfast and invites him to examine his heart.
Jesus graciously refers to the catch as, The fish which you have now caught (21:10). Truthfully, they caught nothing without His guidance but the Lord is always so full of grace, a humble, merciful Savior.
Though they had forsaken Him at Gethsemane and may have been out of His will in going fishing without His command, Jesus’ response is, Come and have breakfast (21:12). He is the Sacrificed Lamb of God, Risen Lord of glory, King of the universe, Lord of the nations, soon to be restored to the glory of heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father, yet serving breakfast. How common. But it is in the ordinary places and times that Jesus meets us. Truly, He came not to be served but to serve.
Notice also the gracious response to repentant sinners. In Revelation 3:14-20, Jesus stands at the door of an unfaithful church which has excluded Him, commands them to repent and yet says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me. When we fail and fall but return to the Lord humbly and sincerely, His response is to receive and restore us. In fact, He is already standing at the door knocking. It is His knocking that prompts us to open our life to Him in humble repentance. His response to the door opened is to come in and renew fellowship with us.
Jesus serving breakfast to His disciples is a true portrait of the servant heart of our Lord. But where did He get the bread and fish? The bread was already on the fire when the boat came in so He didn’t obtain it from the disciples. He obviously didn’t buy it in heaven nor is it likely that He walked into a nearby town in His resurrection body and bought bread. There were also fish on the fire before the disciples brought any. John includes this detail to remind us of God’s perfect provision rising out of His perfect knowledge of our need and His perfect power to create. He is the God who who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist (Rom. 4:17). He spoke a universe into being. Bread and fish which did not exist a few minutes ago do exist now. There will always be provision for those who serve the Lord.
21:15-17 When they had finished eating, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked, Do you love Me more than these? Jesus used the word agapao, the highest Greek word for love. It is the love of God for people and the love of people for God. Simon answered, You know I love You but he used the word phileo, the love of people for people, brotherly love.
Simon is responding with a new humility, “Lord, I can’t say I love you with Godly love but I do love you.” This is the Simon who, on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, had boasted, Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away (Matt. 26:33). But no longer so boastful. Now it’s, “Lord I love you the best that I can.”
Jesus’ response, Tend My lambs. That’s how we show our love for God, by obeying, serving.
Jesus repeats the question, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? (21:16), again using agapao. Simon responds, Yes, Lord, you know that I love You, again using the word phileo. Jesus answers, Shepherd My sheep.
A third time Jesus asks (21:17), Simon son of John, do you love Me? But now Jesus uses the word phileo, as if to say, “Do you really love me with your human capacity to love?” Simon was grieved that Jesus asked again and he responds, Lord You know all things; You know that I love You (phileo). Jesus responds, Tend my sheep.
Three times Jesus asks Peter, Do you love me? Three times, once for each denial on the night Jesus was arrested. Was Jesus rubbing it in? No, rubbing it out. Three times Peter failed in ministry. Three times the Lord invites him to reclaim his calling.
It is as if Jesus is saying, “For every time you fall, I will give you an opportunity to stand. For every time you deny Me, I will give you an opportunity to confess Me.” What a gentle way of removing the shame of Peter’s failure.
To whom was Jesus referring when He asked, Do you love Me more than these? Is He referring to the other apostles, “Do you love Me more than these other men love Me?” After all, Simon had once boasted, I will lay down my life for You (Jn. 13:37) as if to say, “Everyone else may abandon you but not me”.
Now it’s as if Simon is saying, “Lord, I can’t say that I love you more than these others. I can’t boast that my love is on the supernatural, agapao level of Your love for me. No more comparisons, no more ‘I’m bigger, better, more spiritual.’ But I do love you my Lord.”
Or maybe Jesus meant, “Do you love me more than these things — your boats, your nets, your business?” Peter responds by affirming his love for the Lord above all other loves.
“Then feed my sheep.” That’s how we prove our love for Jesus. Not with boastful words but servant works. We love the Lord by loving and serving His flock and by loving and serving those who are not yet a part of His flock and ministering grace to them, that they too may come in. On this day, as always, Jesus demonstrates what servant love looks like. He served His disciples.
Notice also that this is a public restoration of Simon Peter to his position of leadership. In their private meeting on Easter Day, Jesus no doubt had forgiven Peter and restored their personal fellowship. But now Jesus does this in front of the other disciples. It’s as if the Lord is saying, “Whatever sin may have separated us, that is forgiven, that’s over now. I am calling you again to be a shepherd to My flock.”
21:19 Jesus closes by renewing His call to Peter and to all, Follow me.
Final Resurrection Witnesses
1. Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time (I Corinthians 15:6).
The Apostle Paul does not tell us where this took place or who comprised the multitude. He does say that many were still alive at the time he was writing, more than twenty years later.
Many commentators suggest that this is the occasion referred to in Matthew 28:16-20, known as the Great Commission, when Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee and authorized them to carry the gospel to the nations. Matthew does not mention the presence of others besides the apostles, but that does not mean others were not present.
Women may also have been among those gathered, for they had received instructions from the angel at the tomb on Easter morning, Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him (Matt. 28:7).
It seems reasonable to suppose that Jesus would want to bless as many followers as possible, so this leads us to believe that the five hundred were present at the Great Commission. Because such a large gathering would have attracted unwanted attention anywhere near Jerusalem, He designated a particular mountain in Galilee.
These were not the most powerful nor most influential people in Israel. They were not the rich and famous. They were simply believers who followed Jesus’ directions and this qualified them to hear and receive His blessing and commission.
The response of those gathered was to worship Jesus (Matt. 28:17). They realized that they were standing in the presence of Israel’s long awaited Messiah, the Son of God. But some were doubtful (28:17). Again, a church that manufactured the resurrection of Jesus for the purpose of attracting the world would not have included the detail that some people saw the risen Jesus and disbelieved. If Matthew was lying and trying to present the best possible lie, he would not have added such an honest comment. Details like this testify of the truthfulness of the resurrection.
Jesus’ response to the doubters is both precious and typical, And Jesus came up and spoke to them (Matt. 28:18). He personally and humbly assured the doubters of the reality of His resurrection and surely all doubt fled, even as the shadows had fled the garden of Gethsemane as the glorious Son of God stood in resurrection majesty. Surely now the doubters became worshippers as Jesus spoke to them.
The Lord then declared His absolute authority in heaven and on earth and commissioned the disciples, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Jesus then promised His presence to His church, And lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).
2. Jesus appeared to James (I Corinthians 15:7).
The Scripture does not identify James but it is not likely that this was one of the apostles (two of whom were named James). They had already encountered the risen Lord. Probably this was James, the half-brother of Jesus, who later became a pillar of the Jerusalem church.
Early in Christ’s ministry, the Lord’s earthly family did not believe His claim to be the Son of God or the Messiah (John 7:5). But we read in Acts 1:14 that Mary, the mother of Jesus and His brothers (and we may suppose, His sisters) were present in the Upper Room, tarrying in prayer and awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, this resurrection appearance mentioned in I Corinthians 15:7 is the encounter that brought James to faith.
3. Jesus appeared to His disciples one last time before returning to the Father (Luke 24:44-53 Acts 1:1-12, I Cor. 15:7).
Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to His disciples for forty days, convincing them of the reality of His resurrection and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). We know from other Gospel accounts that His teaching ministry also included the necessity of the atonement and the inevitability of the resurrection.
In addition, Jesus also emphasized that the disciples were not to leave Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). He was referring to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who had not yet been given to the church but whose infilling would empower their ministry. It is not enough to know truth; God’s truth must be energized by God’s power.
Luke then describes, in 24:50,51 of his gospel and in Acts 1:6-11, the final resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples. The Lord led His disciples near Bethany, a small village on the east side of the Mount of Olives, only two miles from Jerusalem. After commissioning them again (Acts 1:8), He then lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven (Luke 24:50). In Luke’s parallel account in Acts, Jesus was lifted up in a cloud, no doubt the shekinah glory of God (Acts 1:9).
Evidently, the disciples continued to gaze into the sky, as it was necessary for two angels to reassure them, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). So it is that Jesus will return from heaven to the Mount of Olives. Until that time, we are commissioned with those first disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom to every nation.
4. Jesus appeared to Paul (I Corinthians 15:8).
In addition to these recorded appearances of Jesus during the forty days after the Resurrection, He also appeared to Paul, though several years after He had ascended to the Father. This happened on the Damascus Road and is recorded in Acts 9:1-8.
Paul’s encounter was last of all and therefore he referred to himself as one untimely born (I Cor. 15:8). The credibility of this resurrection appearance is demonstrated by the radical change in Paul’s life. He had been a violent, deadly persecutor of the church, yet became the great apostle to the nations. He had inflicted terrible suffering on believers but later endured beatings, ship wreck, slander, imprisonment and death for the sake of Christ.
Notice in the I Corinthians passage (15:5-8), Paul’s repeated use of the word appeared: He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve ... He appeared to more than five hundred ... He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all ... He appeared to me also. These were not visions of Jesus. They were real, physical appearances to real people at particular times and places.
Since that time, our risen Savior has proven Himself through the lives of millions who, by grace, have turned from sin and death to life abundant and everlasting. Their transformed lives, faithful service and courageous deaths are the latest proof, living testimony, of our Lord’s rising.
Jesus, the Lamb for sinners slain, is also the risen Lord of glory. The tomb is empty. He is alive and His presence has filled and inspired every generation since that first Easter morning.