John 21 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Around AD 30, some weeks after the resurrection and before the disciples' return to Jerusalem
Location
The shore of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias, roughly seventy miles north of Jerusalem
Audience
Late first-century churches, particularly those wondering about Peter's standing after his denial and about the death of the last surviving eyewitness
Situation
Seven disciples go fishing and catch nothing until Jesus, unrecognised on the shore, tells them where to cast. Over a charcoal fire breakfast he asks Peter three times whether he loves him and commissions him to feed the sheep, then corrects a rumour about how long the beloved disciple would live.
Key Background
Peter had denied Jesus three times beside a charcoal fire, and this is the only other charcoal fire in the book, which makes the threefold question a deliberate undoing of the threefold denial in the same setting. Fishing at night with drag nets was normal commercial practice on that lake, and the count of one hundred fifty-three fish reads like the honest tally a crew would make when dividing a catch. The closing note that Jesus never said the beloved disciple would not die suggests a real misunderstanding circulating in the churches as that generation of eyewitnesses died off.
After all this, Jesus again to the students by the of Here's how it happened:
Simon Peter, Thomas (called "the Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two other students were all together.
Simon Peter said to them, "I'm They said, "We'll come with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that whole night they caught nothing.
Just as the was up, Jesus stood on the shore — but the students didn't realize it was him.
Jesus called out to them, you haven't caught any fish, have you?" They answered, "No."
He told them, "Throw your net on the of the boat and you'll find some." So they did, and they couldn't haul it in because there were so many fish.
Then the said to Peter, "It's the As soon as Simon Peter heard it was the he threw on his — he'd stripped it off for work — and jumped into the sea.
The other students followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish — they weren't far from shore, only about a out.
When they stepped onto shore, they saw a there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught."
Simon Peter climbed aboard and hauled the to shore. It was full of large fish — 153 of them — and even with that many, the
Jesus said to them, have None of the students dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Master.
Jesus came over, the and it to them, and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus showed himself to the students after he was from the
After they'd eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John — do you me more than these do?" Peter said to him, "Yes, Master, you know I you." Jesus said, "Feed my
Jesus asked him a second time, "Simon, son of John — do you me?" Peter said to him, "Yes, Master, you know I you." Jesus said, my
Jesus asked him a "Simon, son of John — do you me?" Peter was that Jesus asked him a "Do you me?" He said, "Master, you know everything. You know I you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
"I'm you the when you were young, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted. But when you're old, you'll out and someone else will dress you and take you where you don't want to go."
He said this to indicate what kind of death Peter would use to to Then he said to him, me."
Peter turned around and saw the student loved following them — the one who had at the and asked, "Master, who's going to you
When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, "Master, what about him?"
Jesus said to him, "If I want him to until I what's that to you? You me."
So the word spread among the and that this student wouldn't die. But Jesus didn't actually say he wouldn't die — he said, "If I want him to stay until I come back, what's that to you?"
This is the student who is about these things and who them down. And we that his testimony is true.
There's so much more Jesus did. If every bit of it were written down, I the could all the books that would be written.