Comments on John 21 This chapter parallels literal fishing with the apostle's former call to be fishers of men (cf. Matt. 4:19). While Jesus was alive Peter, James, and John forsake their trade of fishing for the ministry. The event there is likewise attended by a miraculous catch of fish, cf. Luke 5:1-11. However, with Jesus' death they return to fishing again. Why? Perhaps they considered themselves failures, or maybe it was just that with the absence of Jesus as leader they lost their impetus. Regardless, they left the ministry and went back to their former vocation. So, Jesus comes to them and shows them that as long as they are fishers of fish they will have no success. But, if they return to fishing after men, then they will have great success. Another underlying theme to this chapter is Peter's former threefold denial of Jesus (cf. Matt. 26:75). Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, three times in order to recant his three denials. The connection between this and their present situation is that Jesus is equating their abandoning the ministry and Peter's denial of Jesus. If they abandon their calling as special witnesses of Christ, then they are denying him. This is why Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than the fish they have just caught. v3 Jesus appeared to them in 20:21 and told them to continue in the ministry. But, here, Peter, who should be leading them in their efforts instead leads them back to their former vocation. Hence Jesus' intervention and chiding later in the chapter. v6 Whereas they were fishing all night and caught nothing, Jesus tells them some simple command and fills their net with fish. The act is a symbol of Providence. If they follow Jesus' instructions they will catch many "fish" because we will tell them where they are. v7 "for he was naked", "naked" isn't always naked. To the Semitic mind being stripped to the waist is "naked", cp. Isa. 20:2-3. The "coat" Peter throws on was more of an overcoat, so Peter was probably stripped to his undergarments for the labor at hand. v11 Compare this miracle with that of Luke 5:1-11. There the net broke. Here it doesn't. The change in nets suggest that their ministry will this time be more successful in garnering converts than was the ministry while Jesus was alive. v15-18 In the questions between Jesus and Peter the word "love" is used consistently. However, in the Greek, the term alternates between "philo" and "agape". The Greek "philo" makes reference to brotherly love and congenial fondness, whereas "agape" makes reference to the kind of transcendent love that motivates one to self-sacrifice for another's well-being. The first two times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him he is presented by John as using "agape". The last time Jesus asks him he uses "philo". All three times Peter replies he is presented as using "philo". If we assume there are Aramaic equivalents, then what is happening here is something of a confession on Peter's part that Jesus' love for him is greater than Peter's love for Jesus. Peter is confessing and grieving over the previous threefold denial and is no longer brazenly insisting he would follow Jesus to the death. During the interview Jesus informs Peter what he must do in order to change his "philo" to "agape", namely "feed my sheep/lambs". Jesus then closes the interview in v. 18 with a prediction that Peter's "philo" will change to "agape" as he follows in Jesus' footsteps being crucified for his sake. v15 "lovest thou me more than these?", Jesus is referring to the net load of 153 fish and asking Peter if he loves fish more than himself. v20-21 Peter may well have asked about several, if not all, of the other apostles. But, John only records this one because it deals with himself. v23 This verse is ambiguous without the later statements in D&C 7 clarifying the issue. See also Matt. 16:28 for another similar ambiguous statement. Copyright © 2001 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.