After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. 2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. 7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. 9 When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
After Jesus blessed the disciples and commissioned them to be his representatives in the world (Jn. 20:23) he appeared again to seven of them in Galilee. It was unusual that after receiving the Holy Spirit (Jn. 20:22) and being sent to continue Jesus’ work, Peter and some of the disciples would ignore Jesus and go fishing. There were traditions in the communities to which the evangelists wrote that were likely incorporated into their Gospels. This was probably a tradition in John’s community. They caught nothing during the night and at dawn Jesus appeared on the shore, but they did not recognize him (Jn. 20:15) even when he told them where to cast the net. They were obedient to Jesus’ command even though they did not recognize him. The large number of fish caught and the net not breaking represented the disciples mission. The kingdom of God can hold as many “fish” as they can catch. The community after the resurrection will face trials but will not be torn apart. Jesus had previously told his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few (Mt. 9:37).” The risen Christ is the master of the harvest sending out his laborers (Mt. 9:38).
John, the beloved disciple, recognized Jesus, “It is the Lord (v. 7; Jn. 20:18)” and Peter jumped into the sea and swam to shore. When the other disciples reached shore Jesus told them “Bring some of the fish you just caught (v. 10).” However, this contradicted the previous verse, “When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread (v. 9). The evangelist may have used the charcoal fire to remind readers of Peter’s denial around a charcoal fire (Jn. 18:17-18). The disciples now recognized Jesus, but they did not ask him any questions. The bread and fish that Jesus gave them to eat is reminiscent of the five loaves and two fish in the feeding of the five thousand (Mt. 14:17). Jesus is recognized in the breaking of the bread (Lk. 24:30-31). Jesus also ate a piece of fish so that they would know it was really him (Lk. 24:42-43).
Almighty God, your Son reveals himself to his adopted brothers and sisters in the breaking of the bread, a simple act earned for our redemption by his suffering, death and resurrection. Grant that through the Holy Spirit we may come to know the love you share with him, and offer that love to whomever we meet as he did. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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