The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
PETER AND THE RISEN LORD

Golden Text: “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” (Jn. 21:17)

Lesson Plan:
1. The Night of Unrequited Toil (vs 4, 5)
2. The Great Draught of Fishes (vs 6-8)
3. A Morning Meal with Jesus (vs 9-14)
4. Peter Fully Restored (vs 15-17)

Lesson Setting: Time: About April 16, A.D. 30; but probably not many days after, for this appearance of Jesus followed next after the one on that Sunday evening.
Place: The northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Probably near Capernaum, where the disciples had often fished and near the homes of some of them.

Introduction: The Appearances of Jesus – During two weeks beginning April 9, Jesus appeared seven times to His disciples; to Mary, to the women, to Peter, to Cleopas and his friend, and to the apostles on Sunday, the 9th of April. To the twelve again the following Sunday evening, and now for the seventh time to seven of the apostles by the Sea of Galilee. There were ten epiphanies: (a) To Mary Magdalene [Mk. 16:9; Jn. 20:11-18]; (b) To the women [Matt. 28:9, 10]; (c) To Cleopas and his companion [Lk. 24:13-35]; (d) To Simon Peter [Lk. 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:15]; (e) To the apostles, Thomas absent [Jn. 20:19-23]; (f) To the apostles, Thomas present [Jn. 20:24-29]; (g) To the apostles at the sea of Tiberius [Jn. 21:1-14]; (h) To above five hundred in Galilee [Matt. 28:16-20; 1 Cor. 15:6]: (i) To James the Lord’s brother [1 Cor. 15:7]; (j) To the apostles on Olivet [Acts 1:4-11; Lk. 24:50, 51]; (k) The Apostles go to Galilee to meet Jesus. The morning of the resurrection, the angels, appearing in the tomb to the women, sent a message by them to the disciples that they were to go into Galilee, where Jesus would appear to the [Matt. 28:7]. Accordingly the eleven [Matt. 28:16] went away into Galilee, awaiting the appearance of Jesus. The reason they did not go immediately upon receiving the message from the angels was doubtless because they needed preparation for that momentous meeting, and because Jesus at His appearance that same evening made a definite appointment, and they went just before the time. The place was to be a mountain. But while waiting for the appointed time, seven of them go to the Sea of Galilee near their homes and the scene of their former labors. These seven were Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, and John, and two others [v 2]. Peter naturally suggests that they try their hand at their old business of fishing, now neglected for two years. The expression “the” boat, not “a” boat, renders it probable that he went fishing in one of their old fishing boats, perhaps Peter’s. The others fall in with his plan: they were waiting for the time appointed to meet Jesus, and must do something and it was not yet time for them to preach about Jesus; they probably needed to do something for their own support (idleness and needless dependence on others are not Christian virtues); they may have had some impulse to revive old memories; the best way of waiting for future manifestations and clearer visions of Jesus is in the faithful performance of present duties. In fact, in great sorrow it is a blessing to be compelled to work in the line of ordinary duties.

Scripture Reading: John 21:4, 5

1. The Night of Unrequited Toil

They toiled all night, without a fish coming into their nets. They did not cease their efforts, but continued till the morning dawned. Jesus was teaching them that toiling for men day and night, without Him, without the Spirit He sends, is in vain. In time, they would come to understand what He meant when He bade them tarry in Jerusalem till they were endured with power from on high (Lk. 24:49). It would have been useless for them to begin their work of fishing for men before. Reflect how precarious a position the whole future of the world is in. That boat carries the earthly hope of the church; and as we weigh the feelings of the men that are in it, one important thing stands out. We clearly see here how easily Christianity might have fallen short, never having been heard of, if it depended for its propagation solely on the disciples. But God cares for His own. And God is in charge. It’s been said, “Every man is immortal till his work is done.”

v 4 ... “When the morning was now come [literally, as R.V., was now breaking, was becoming, before the light was perfect], Jesus stood on the shore [or beach, a smooth as distinguished from a rocky shore]: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus;” partly from the distance and the twilight, partly because they did not expect to meet Him here, but on the mountain, and partly because after His resurrection Jesus was known only as He chose (Jn. 20:14; Lk. 24:16).

v 5 ... “Jesus saith unto them.” “It has been supposed that our Lord asked this question in the character of a trader who had been watching for the return of the boats that he might buy, or that it was with the natural interest everyone takes in the success of a person that is fishing” (Dods).

v 5 ... “Children, have ye any meat?” – any fish. The word for food is equivalent to ‘what is added to bread at a meal,’ especially fish. The expression expects a negative answer and is like the familiar, “Lads, you haven’t caught any fish, have you?”

Scripture Reading: John 21:6-8

2. The Great Draught of Fishes

v 6 ... “Cast the net on the right side of the ship [boat] and ye shall find.” As they evidently saw nothing strange in the direction to “cast the net on the right side,” it is probable that they attributed it to the stranger seeing a shoal there. Shoals can often be discerned, from the higher level of a bank or cliff, by the color of the water, while the fishermen may be close to the fish without noticing them.

Illustration: “The thickness of the shoals of fish in the Lake of Gennesareth is almost incredible to anyone who has not witnessed them. They often cover an area of more than an acre; and when the fish move slowly forward in a mass, and are rising out of the water, they are packed so close together that it appears as if a heavy rain were beating down on the surface of the water” (Tristram, ‘The Natural History of the Bible’). The same phenomena may be observed in the mackerel fishing off the coast of New England. In Cornwall, men are stationed on the cliffs to watch the sea, and give signals to the boats as to where to cast the nets for pilchards. The miracle lay in the large number of “great fishes” which the Lord’s power brought to the spot at that moment. Fish are very abundant in the Sea of Galilee, where may be seen “the shoals of them like shining continents” (Carlyle).

v 6 ... “They were not able to draw it [up into the boat] for the multitude of fishes.” There were 153 large ones (v 11). The number was so unexpectedly great that they took pains to count them.

v 7 ... “That disciple whom Jesus loved.” Thus John modestly but lovingly speaks of himself, never once mentioning his own name in his Gospel.

v 7 ... “Saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.” His loving heart first recognized his beloved Lord. Doubtless he remembered how Jesus had done a like wonder for them three years before (Lk. 5:1-11). Note how every trifling act betrays character. John, with his deeper and quicker insight, first recognizes the Master; Peter first reaches Him, casting himself impetuously into the sea. Recall the two at the tomb of Jesus, and once before on this lake.

v 7 ... “Girt his fisher’s coat.” This appears to have been a sort of loose garment. He put on the coat, to show respect in the presence of his Lord, and girded it so as not to impede his passage through the water.

v 7 ... “For he was naked.” That is, stripped of all but his light under-garment (Westcott).

v 7 ... “And did cast himself into the sea.” In his impetuous desire to meet and welcome his Teacher and Lord, he could not wait for the little boat or his comrades, but plunged into the sea. He would prove his love in spite of his past fall. He had seen the risen Jesus before this, but no one knows what took place at that meeting. He may now have desired to be reassured of Jesus’ confidence and love.

v 8 ... “In a little ship [a small boat belonging to the larger one, which could not come close to the beach] ... two hundred cubits [300 or 350 feet], dragging the net” because there were too many fishes in it to allow them to take it into the boat. There are two chief things which we are to do for men: bring them to Jesus, and care for them after they are converted.

The First Work: Bringing Men To Jesus Is Typified By Fishing – Jesus would remind the disciples of the time when, three years before this, some of them were fishing in this same lake, and He had called them to become fishers of men (Lk. 5:1-11; Matt. 4:19). They then learned: (a) that if men are to be brought into the kingdom, they must be sought. Fish do not come to our tables by themselves. (b) They must be sought patiently, carefully. (c) They can better be attracted than driven. (d) The right bait at the right season, rightly prepared and rightly presented, is essential to success. The work of the fisher is a work of art and skill rather than force. (e) Men catch fish for their own health and pleasure; but they catch men for the good of those caught, that they may have eternal life. Now they are to learn other lessons in the same school: (f) That Jesus cared for their support, and is able to give them a livelihood throughout their lives. (g) “That the higher duty glorifies, instead of degrades, the lower; that every business in which men can be engaged is a calling and a ministry” (Hutchinson). (h) That without Jesus they can do nothing. (i) That sometimes they must wait and toil without visible success for a time, but that Jesus sees and knows. (j) That through faith and obedience, guided by Him, they may expect marvelous success, as was abundantly exemplified not many weeks later on the day of Pentecost. The fish hidden in the many waters of the world depicts the church invisible; the breaking nets are imperfections and loss. The Christian, as a fisher of men, draws forth freely for God, by means of the hook of the life-giving Word, from the deep and bitter waves of this world, giving them new life.

Scripture Reading: John 21:9-14

3. A Morning Meal with Jesus

v 9 ... “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there [probably charcoal, much used in Bible lands], and fish laid thereon, and bread.” A simple meal, provided by Jesus for His morning repast, to which the apostles were invited guests. Whether the provision was miraculous or not is not declared.

v 10 ... “Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.” “The fruit of their own labors was to be joined to that which the Lord had provided on the shore. Thus in all their future labors, Christ will give them that on which they have bestowed no labor, and yet to this will be added the fruits of their own toil, and yet even this will be the outcome of Christ’s power rather than that of their own endeavors” (Sadler).

v 11 ... “Simon Peter went up.” On board the boat to help.

v 11 ... “Yet was not the net broken.” So the Gospel net can hold all who will come. Not one obedient believer will be lost.

v 12 ... “Come and dine.” Rather, ‘Come, breakfast’; that is, take breakfast, or, ‘break your fast’; for the verb denotes partaking of the morning meal (Dr. Hovey). Jesus recognized the needs of the body. This instrument must be cared for if we are going to be able to do good work.

v 12 ... “And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art Thou? knowing that it was the Lord.” They desired the assurance from His own word; and yet they were so certain that it was the Lord that they did not dare show any doubt by asking Him who He was. Augustine says that it means that the evidence was so strong that they did not dare even to doubt that it was He.

v 13 ... “Jesus ... taketh bread and giveth them.” It is not said here that Jesus ate with them; but it seems probable that He did, since He ate broiled fish and honeycomb with the two disciples at Emmaus (Lk. 24:42, 43). This invitation to eat with Jesus may have been meant to complete His object-lesson to them as fishers of men. They were taught that if they gave themselves to the work of the Gospel, they would find in that work all they needed for the necessities of the body, and would eat bread with Him in His heavenly kingdom, at the marriage feast of the Lamb.

v 14 ... “This is now the third time that Jesus shewed Himself.” To the disciples as a body. This does not take into account His appearances to individuals. Great success tends to make a disciple humble, because the reward is so vastly beyond all desert or labor bestowed. So Wordsworth says, “Alas, the gratitude of men hath oftenest left me mourning.”

Scripture Reading: John 21:15-17

4. Peter Fully Restored

Note: Peter “had been called to the ministry after a miraculous draught of fishes; it is after a similar draught that the ministry is restored to him. He had lost his office by a denial beside a fire of coal; it is beside a fire of coal that he recovers it” (Godet).

The Second Work: Caring for the Souls of Disciples Is Typified By Shepherding.

v 15 ... “So when they had dined [finished their breakfast], Jesus saith to Simon Peter ... lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” “Lovest Thou Me more than these?” More than what? More than the big catch of fishes? More than the fishing business? More than the other apostles, of whom he had boasted that his love was greater? The words of Jesus are not specific here, and why should men feel the compulsion to be otherwise? Perhaps, in one degree or another, all of the above meanings are implicit in the Master’s words here to His servant who denied Him. To fully understand this passage, it is necessary to call attention to some of the delicate shades of meaning in the Greek not appearing in our English translation, because of the difficulty of making it clear in any translation. Jesus uses the word ‘love’ three times in His questions, and Peter uses it three times in his answers. But in the original, the word for love which Jesus uses in His first two questions is a different word from that which Peter uses for love in all his answers. In the third asking, Jesus uses Peter’s word. “The word which Christ uses in His question, ‘Lovest thou Me?’ signifies if not the higher, at least the more thoughtful and reverential affection, founded on an intelligent estimate of character, and accompanied by a deliberate and well-considered choice. Peter’s ‘I love Thee’ represents rather the personal, instinctive love, the activity of feeling, rather than of will, the affection which, being spontaneous and instinctive, gives no account of itself, and no reason for its existence. We are bid in the New Testament to exercise the first form of love towards God, but never the second; while the Father is said to exercise both forms towards His own Son. Two different Greek words are also rendered indiscriminately ‘feed.’ To indicate the difference, I have rendered one by the rare but indispensable verb ‘shepherd.’ Finally, three words are used to represent the flock which Christ commends to Peter’s care – ‘lambs,’ ‘sheep,’ and ‘little sheep’ [the later perhaps a term of special attention]” (Abbott). The whole may better be brought before us in a ‘one view’ approach, suggested by the following from Schaff: “First: The Lord’s Question: ‘Lovest thou Me more than these?’ Peter’s Answer: ‘I dearly love Thee.’ The Lord’s Command: ‘Feed My lambs.’ Second: The Lord’s Question: ‘Lovest thou Me?’ Peter’s Answer: ‘I dearly love Thee.’ The Lord’s Command: ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ Third: The Lord’s Question: ‘Dost thou love Me dearly?’ Peter’s Answer: ‘I dearly love Thee.’ The Lord’s Command: ‘Feed My sheeplings.’”

v 15 ... “Simon, son of Jonas.” A contraction for ‘John.’ Jesus does not now speak to him as Peter, the stone; for that would imply a sarcasm, because Peter had acted little like a stone.

v 15 ... “Lovest thou Me more than these?” “More than these, thy companions, love Me,” a gentle yet distinct enough reminder of that former saying: “Though all men should be offended, I never will” (Hanna). “Peter’s vehemence of welcome was most grateful to Jesus. It witnessed to an affection which was at this crisis the most valuable element in the world. Jesus hailed with the deepest satisfaction Peter’s impetuous abandonment of his fishing gear and impatient springing to greet Him, because as plainly as possible it showed that, after all, Christ was incomparably more to him than the old life” (Dods). Now He would bring out the love more fully by confession.

v 15 ... “Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee.” “What appears surprisingly beautiful on the part of the now humbled disciple is that in simplicity he passes over the ‘more’, and says, not ‘I love Thee more than these,’ but ‘Thou knowest that I love Thee’” (R. Besser). “Failure had taught him humility, and therefore he will neither claim a preeminence in affection, nor adopt the word of the Savior’s question, which involved deep honor, devotion and esteem; but will substitute for it that weaker word, which yet best expressed the warm human affection of his heart” (Farrar).

v 15 ... “He saith unto him, Feed My lambs.” ‘Feed’ refers to the spiritual sustenance required by the flock of Christ. ‘Lambs’ are the young whether in years or in Christian experience. “Feeding His lambs would be the proof of Peter’s love, and the means of increasing his love, and also the assurance from Jesus of restored confidence and favor, since He would entrust these tenderest ones to his care” (Jacobus). The Lord Jesus saw what has been confirmed in the experience of the church, that the success of the Gospel among men depends on the care extended to those in early life. Some old and truthful sayings: “Children are the preface to the book of life.” “An adult converted is a unit; a child is a multiplication table.” “If the choice is between one child or two adults, take the child.”

v 16 ... “Feed My sheep.” Tend or shepherd My sheep; a different word from the one translated ‘feed’ in the previous verse. It indicates watching, feeding, leading, guarding. To be a Gospel fisherman, drawing men into the kingdom of God is one great work of disciples. However, to shepherd those who are already in the fold, feeding them with heavenly food, leading them to green pastures, guarding and warning them from dangers, guiding them into their true place and work is equally important. To rule is a small thing; to shepherd, a great one.

v 17 ... “He saith unto him the third time.” “The three questions could not but recall the three denials; and the form of this last question could not but vividly bring back the thought of the failure of personal devotion at the moment of trial” (Westcott).

v 17 ... “Lovest thou Me?” This time using Peter’s word for ‘love.’

v 17 ... “Feed My sheep,” or, in another reading differing only by an “i,” “little sheep,” the dearest, choicest ones, or the tender and delicate who needed special care. The purpose of these questions seems to have been (a) to show Peter, who was “self-scorned, self-spoiled, self-hated, and self-slain,” that Jesus knew his failures, and heartily forgave him. (b) To guard him against his natural self-confidence, in case he should fall again. (c) To publicly reinstate him among the disciples, showing to His brethren that he was fully restored. (d) To restore peace and hope within Peter’s own soul. (e) To impress upon him that only in deep and earnest love to Jesus could he do his appointed work. (f) To set clearly before him the great work he was to do. Confirmation: The forecast of Peter’s future which follows verses 18 and 19 seems to have been for the purpose of encouraging him by the assurance that, however he may have failed in the past, he would, henceforth, go on boldly, even to crucifixion.

Conclusion: Suggestive Thoughts – (a) Compare Peter’s restoration with the hopeless loss of Judas. For Peter’s sin was but an eddy in the stream of an earnest and true character, while Judas’ sin was the main stream and tide of his life. (b) “I will not be offended at Thy often inculcating the same precept, but rather conclude that I am much concerned therein, and that it is Thy pleasure that the nail should be soundly fastened in me, which Thou has knocked in with so many hammers” (Thomas Fuller). (c) By its teachers, preachers, and leaders, the work of the church is to draw men to become disciples, and then, to feed and tend, to guard and guide them, especially the children, the undefended, and the weak.

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