“A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN”
St. John 21:1-14
Christ’s Appearance By The Sea of Tiberias
After detailing the triumphant resurrection of Christ and His various appearances unto His own, we come now to Christ’s third appearance unto His disciples which took place on the Sea of Tiberias, another name for the Sea of Galilee. In Matthew 28:10, Jesus had instructed His disciples to meet Him in Galilee; yet in St. John 21:1-2, we find that seven of them went fishing on the Sea of Tiberias. The impulsive Peter decided to go fishing, and through his influence, other disciples joined him.
Thomas, who was absent when the Lord first appeared unto them (St. John 20:19-23) is now with them in mutual association with his brethren. Following the advice of the impetuous Peter, the other six disciples went fishing with Peter only to catch nothing that night (v. 3). Is it awfully noteworthy that the disciples were so engaged in their own pursuit, until they failed to recognize Christ (v. 4). The fact that they toiled all night and caught nothing (v. 3), prompted the Lord to use this occasion and teach the spiritual lesson that “Without me, ye can do nothing” (St. John 15:5).
What was the purpose of Jesus’ query to His disciples in verse 5? The purpose of His question was to draw or elicit a confession of their failure! The Lord exhibits His sovereignty over the sea in verse 6 by instructing the disciples to cast their net on the right side of the ship to draw fish. Our Lord knew exactly what side of the ship to cast the net to attract fish! Our Lord is indeed sovereign over the sea, and He is sovereign over the sea of circumstances in our lives. Among the group of seven, it was the beloved disciple John who recognized that “It is the Lord” in v. 7. When the Lord blesses us, we need to recognize Him!
Having heard that it was Jesus, Peter jumped into the water and swam to Jesus, with the other disciples coming in a little boat, dragging an abundance of fish (v. 7-8). Even in Christ’s resurrection glory, we find Him still caring for the needs of His disciples (v. 9). Jesus supplied the need of His disciples and He will supply our needs (Philippians 4:19). Operating through the power of Christ’s command, Peter was able to draw the net ashore that was full of an abundance of fish (v. 10-11). In condescending love and grace, we find our Lord still desiring to dine and commune with His own (v. 12-14), even loving them unto the end (St. John 13:1).
As Master of the Christian family, our Lord still dispenses His mercies; in fact, He dispenses them each day of our existence! In I John 4:19, this verse supplies us with the reason why we love Him, for it reads: “We love Him, because He first loved us.” May God Bless!
