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Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
John 21:1-19
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 After this, Jesus appeared once more to his
disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it
happened.
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin),
Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee),
the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples
of Jesus were all together.
3 Simon Peter said to the others, "I am going
fishing." "We will come with you," they told
him. So they went out in a boat, but all that
night they did not catch a thing.
4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the
water's edge, but the disciples did not know
that it was Jesus.
5 Then he asked them, "Young men, haven't
you caught anything?" "Not a thing," they
answered.
6 He said to them, "Throw your net out on the
right side of the boat, and you will catch
some." So they threw the net out and could
not pull it back in, because they had caught
so many fish.
7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,
"It is the Lord!"
When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
wrapped his outer garment around him (for he
had taken his clothes off) and jumped into
the water.
8 The other disciples came to shore in the boat,
pulling the net full of fish. They were not very
far from land, about a hundred yards away.
9 When they stepped ashore, they saw a
charcoal fire there with fish on it and some
bread.
10 Then Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the
fish you have just caught."
11 Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net
ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three
in all; even though there were so many,
still the net did not tear.
12 Jesus said to them, "Come and eat."
None of the disciples dared ask him,
"Who are you?" because they knew it was
the Lord.
13 So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave
it to them; he did the same with the fish.
14 This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared
to the disciples after he was raised from death.
Jesus and Peter
15 After they had eaten, Jesus said to
Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love
me more than these others do?"
"Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that
I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Take care of my lambs."
16 A second time Jesus said to him,
"Simon son of John, do you love me?"
"Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that
I love you." Jesus said to him,
"Take care of my sheep."
17 A third time Jesus said, "Simon son of John,
do you love me?"
Peter became sad because Jesus asked him
the third time, "Do you love me?"
and so he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that
I love you!"
Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep.
18 I am telling you the truth: when you were
young, you used to get ready and go
anywhere you wanted to; but when you are
old, you will stretch out your hands and
someone else will tie you up and take you
where you don't want to go."
19 (In saying this, Jesus was indicating the
way in which Peter would die and bring
glory to God.)
Then Jesus said to him, "Follow me!"
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by the
Scripture Union
Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
John 21:1-19
After Jesus' death, the disciples don't know what to do with themselves, other than return to their old livelihood of fishing.
This band of fishermen is lost and lonely, but just when they think things can't be stranger, Jesus shows up.
He tells them to fish on the other side of the boat.
They do, and they are suddenly overwhelmed with fish.
The nets are bulging.
What He shows here is that not only will their old ways of living leave His followers as empty as the nets, but their old habits will not work either.
He has impacted their lives in a way that changed them forever.
They can't go back.
And He knows they don't know how to go forward.
They went out in the boat and caught nothing through the night.
Jesus reveals to His disciples a world where God is intimately involved, the main actor in the drama of history.
These fish, all 153, are a sign from God representing the community of men and women transformed by faith.
Some of them sit down and don't say a word as they ponder all of this.
Others busy themselves in work.
Each in his own way thinks, wonders, and prays.
That's how John always begins and ends his stories of Jesus: reminding believers to become the sons of God.
The resurrection of Jesus shows the world He is the resurrection and the life.
That isn't life after death; it is the reality that through Jesus believers can have abundant life, a full and meaningful life, here and now through faith.
Not one of the disciples dared to ask, "Who are You?"
They knew it was the Lord.
Ever since the night Judas betrayed Jesus and Peter denied knowing Christ three times, Peter has felt small.
He has felt he betrayed Jesus too.
Matching the three denials, Jesus has Peter re affirm his love for Him three times.
At the same time, Jesus reaffirms Peter's call to ministry each time by challenging him to serve as a leader.
The conversation on the beach that day affects him profoundly.
From then on, Simon Peter is one of the most humble followers of Jesus, but he is also one of the great leaders of the early church, as Acts explains.
The disciples all learn a lesson that day.
No matter what someone may have done, the Master wants the miracle of forgiveness to restore that person to be whom He made and called him or her to be.
John has reached the end of his story.
Future believers will go on without him, but not without his words.
John's voice is added to the voices of the prophets and the witnesses declaring God has become flesh as Jesus, who manifested true life in the midst of humanity.
Now that's a pretty big idea for a fisherman, but John goes to his grave bearing witness that it is true.
This account, in particular, shows how to enter into God's kingdom through faith in Jesus so they can experience eternal life.
This is his invitation to join him in this marvellous journey.
This breakfast is about several things:
It reinforces their understanding that the resurrection was physical and not just spiritual.
It demonstrates our God's involvement in the stuff of everyday life.
As the story unfolds, we see that it's Peter's opportunity for forgiveness.
There's also something here in this story about the relationship between our activities and God's.
There's a correction for those of us who err on the side of thinking it's either all down to us or alternatively we should just passively wait for God to act.
There's something both humbling and liberating in grasping that he welcomes our contribution but doesn't need it.
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