The Shore Is Already Prepared (21:1–14)
Before Jesus says a word to Peter, he has already built a fire.
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish (John 21:4–6).
The disciples have been fishing all night but have caught nothing. The scene is deliberate. It echoes John 15:5: apart from Jesus, they can do nothing. Before Jesus enters the story, it’s just seven disciples, a boat, a full night of effort, and an empty net.
Then a “stranger” on the shore tells them to cast again.
What follows is an overwhelming catch of fish. John tells us the number: 153. He also tells us that despite the weight and the quantity, the net was not torn. Both details are significant. The Old Testament background illuminates why.
Ezekiel 47 describes a river flowing from the threshold of the temple, east toward the sea. The water grows deeper as it flows, and wherever it goes, life follows.
And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From En-gedi to En-eglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many (Ezek 47:9–10).
Ezekiel’s vision is eschatological. The life-giving river brings an abundance that cannot be measured, and fishermen cast their nets along the shore. John 21 places the disciples’ nets in the water at the dawn of the new creation. The catch that strains the net without tearing is the catch of the age to come.
The unbroken net is also the unbroken community. Peter has denied Jesus. The disciples scattered. The net should be torn. It is not.
And then there is the fire.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread (John 21:9).
The word for a charcoal fire is ἀνθρακιά. It appears only twice in the New Testament: here, and in John 18:18, where Peter is warming himself while Jesus is being tried inside. The same word, the same kind of fire, the same man standing nearby. John does not explain this, nor does he need to. Peter sees a charcoal fire on the shore, and the reader immediately knows what it signifies.
The restoration has not happened yet. Jesus has not yet asked Peter anything. But the shore is already prepared. The fire is already burning. The meal is already waiting.
The new creation doesn't start after damage is assessed and accounts are settled. It begins with breakfast on a beach, around a fire that should feel like an accusation but ends up being an invitation.
“Simon, Do You Love Me?” (21:15–19)
We started the Gospel of John with “In the beginning” (John 1:1), and now we have reached the end. John 21 is the final chapter of John’s Gospel, and some people call it an epilogue because John 20:30–31 feels like a natural way to conclude the Gospel.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30–31).
The exchange between Jesus and Peter in this chapter is well-known. Peter denied Jesus three times, and now Jesus asks him three questions. Peter replies three times.
In the exchange, Peter and Jesus switch between different Greek words for the term “love.” Some emphasize this difference heavily. Based on this passage, many Christians have been taught that ἀγαπάω signifies divine, sacrificial, unconditional love, while φιλέω refers to affection or friendship.
On that reading, Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love me with unconditional love (ἀγαπάω)?”
And Peter replies, “Lord, you know that I love you as a friend (φιλέω).”
The whole exchange goes like this:
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (ἀγαπᾷς) me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (φιλῶ) you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (ἀγαπᾷς) me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (φιλῶ) you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love (φιλεῖς) me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love (φιλῶ) you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Whatever is happening here, it’s a matter of translation. Jesus and Peter almost certainly spoke Aramaic, not Greek, and Aramaic does not have two different words for the verb “love” like Greek does.
I don’t think the difference between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω should be exaggerated because both words are used interchangeably throughout John’s Gospel, and both are used to translate the Hebrew אהב (ahab) in the Septuagint.1 Nevertheless, I do think there is some distinction here; otherwise, the change at the end in Jesus’ last question would be unnecessary. Maybe John is trying to convey in Greek a distinction he perceived in the sound of their voices. After all, capturing the tone of someone’s words is always tricky in written text.
Jesus seems to want more from Peter than Peter is willing to give at this moment. But the beauty of this scene is that, rather than demanding like an imperial Lord that Peter give Jesus the love he deserves, Jesus instead lowers himself to Peter’s level and essentially says, “You φιλέω me? Okay. That is enough, Peter. You are restored. I still have ministry for you to do.”
Jesus’ description of how Peter will die is not a punishment for Peter’s denial or his failure to love as Jesus desires. Instead, it is a gift. Peter’s death will bring glory to God because he will follow Jesus into the same kind of death he experienced.
This scene serves as a good reminder that Jesus will always be there to lift us when we stumble and fall, but it also reminds us that following him always comes with a cost. That cost may be high, but the path Jesus took is the only one that leads to eternal life. What Jesus said to Peter, he says to all of us: “Follow me” (21:19).
The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
I also had never noticed that Jesus restores Peter at a campfire. Warming himself at a campfire is where we see Peter deny Jesus three times. I don’t understand the significance but have NO doubt that Jesus chose the location of the restoration with purpose and intention! It gives me hope that I can be restored in the “place” of my greatest failing — and that Jesus does it with such love and intimacy to draw us in to himself. Rarely do we experience such agape love in life. I’m filled with such longing this morning to experience His self-sacrificing love
I found it intriguing that after Jesus resurrection, these disciples go back to way they knew: fishing! Maybe it’s a necessity or maybe a comfort that they can engage in something they feel a certainty about. They had to be puzzled and perhaps discouraged that Jesus has told them he will no longer be with them physically. I love that Jesus is there in their midst watching from shore and they don’t recognize his presence at first. It’s a great reminder to me that even in my mundane, even when I go back to the familiar and comfortable in my uncertainty, he is there — perhaps preparing a “meal” of which I have no clue its nourishment and the intimacy he provides until I sit with him and eat!