JOHN LESSON 54
We will begin this lesson in John 21:1.
V-1, "After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the
disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself."
In this manifestation (made Himself real) to the disciples, Jesus
is revealing to the disciples His Godhood. The sea of Tiberias is
the same as the sea of Galilee or the sea of Gennesaret. This was
the home of many of these disciples before Jesus called them to
follow Him. Many of them were fishermen here on this sea. When
Jesus was crucified, some of them went back to their nets and began
fishing again.
V-2, "There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus,
and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two
other of his disciples."
Peter, James, and John had previously been fishermen. It seemed
as though the disciples were just waiting for Jesus to tell them what
to do. I don't believe this account is something that happened
immediately after Jesus appeared to Thomas. John just put it in here,
because of its importance.
V-3, "Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a-fishing. They say unto
him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship
immediately; and that night they caught nothing."
Peter had gotten tired of waiting and goes fishing. The other
disciples decide to go with him. Probably their families and the
servants had been running these fishing boats after Peter, Andrew,
James, and John had left to follow Jesus. We see, her e, that this
night they caught no fish. Perhaps, this has to do with the almost
futile effort they made until they received the baptism of the Holy
Ghost at Pentecost. Peter, in particular, (even though he denied
Jesus in fear) would later feel privileged to be crucified like his
Lord. Perhaps, the darkness symbolizes the darkened world before the
light of Jesus comes.
V-4, "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the
shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
V-5, "Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?
They answered him, No."
The eyes had deceived them, they did not realize that this was
Jesus. They should have known when Jesus called them children, but
they thought this just to be an inquiring stranger.
V-6, "And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of
the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were
not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."
We see here a number of symbols. First of all, Jesus had told
them before that He would make them fishers of men. The right side is
symbolic of those who believe, and the left side are those who refuse
salvation. The sheep (saved) are on the right. Multitude is a word
that is used extensively in the Bible when describing the large number
who are dressed in white robes because they are saved. Abraham's seed
was to be so large a multitude it could not be numbered. We see here,
also, that Jesus is teaching them how to fish. The gospel message
must fall on willing ears before it will be accepted. The Holy Spirit
prepares the heart to receive, then when you bring the message God's
way, a multitude will be saved.
V-7, "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter,
It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast
himself into the sea."
This disciple is John who tells Peter. This being naked
has a spiritual meaning. Peter felt as if he had no covering, because
he had denied Jesus. He now knows the Lord is still interested in
him.
V-8, "And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they
were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging
the net with fishes."
Two hundred cubits is about three hundred feet. They were
bringing their catch with them.
V-9, "As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of
coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread."
We see here Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world providing for
the needs of these He has called. This is a simple meal, but
sufficient to take care of their needs. Jesus has set a table before
each of us, it is therefore our obligation to eat of t hat table. You
can bring the gospel message over and over, but until the people
partake of it themselves, they will go away hungry.
V-10, "Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now
caught."
We must go back to where Jesus had told them that He would make
them fishers of men, before we can get the full impact of what the
spiritual meaning is here. Jesus is, in a sense, telling them that
they must bring the catch into the kingdom.
V-11, "Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of
great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were
so many, yet was not the net broken."
The fact that Peter brought the net in, shows that God has
established Peter to bring Gentiles into the kingdom. Many times the
sea is symbolic of people. To me this again, tells these disciples,
Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. W hen you throw out
the net (preach), many are saved. The fact that this one hundred and
fifty-three is a specific number lets us know that it has great
spiritual significance. This Scripture does not say they caught one
hundred and fifty-three different kinds of fish, so we know that this
was not an impossibility. We, also, know that on another occasion,
they caught so many that the net broke and they did not bother to
count them. We can gather from these two things, that the number one
hundred and fifty-three symbolizes a spiritual truth. At that time,
there were one hundred and fifty-three different types of fish known
in their world. My own personal belief, and the belief of a very dear
friend in Christ who has taught the Bible for over sixty years, is
that this one hundred and fifty-three symbolizes the fact that people
of all nations and kindreds shall be represented in heaven. The
gospel net is thrown to whosoever will regardless of their
nationality. Revelation 14:6, "And I saw another angel fly in the
midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them
that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people." We can easily see that God is interested in all people.
I say again, that these one hundred and fifty-three fish probably
indicates that God wants His disciples to preach to all people. The
net being so full, but still able to hold them, just means there is
room in heaven for all. You must remember that just a short time
earlier, they were preaching to just the Hebrews.
V-12, "Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the
disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord."
This invitation that Jesus gives these disciples is open today,
Come and dine. In Matthew 4:4 we read, "But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God." There is a song called "COME AND
DINE" in most hymnals. In this song, Jesus invites His chosen few to
come and dine. It speaks of the manna He fed them in the wilderness,
it speaks of the few fishes and bread feeding the multitude, and then
it speaks o f that heavenly food that never runs out. The spiritual
meaning of all of this is to come and feast on the Word of God. It
never runs out. There is plenty to go around and more. Notice here,
that His disciples did not recognize Jesus from His out ward
appearance, but they knew Him when He spoke to them. They knew it was
their Lord. This tells us that what is inside is much more important
than the outward appearance. He is in His glorified body. He has
changed to the eyes, but He is the same Lord.
V-13, "Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and
fish likewise."
Jesus feeds the hungry every time. We should feed upon His Word,
and we will be filled. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6. Here is
one last note on this lesson above to all the ministers. We may be
like Noah who preached all those years and never had a convert, but
all we can do is preach (fish): God gives the increase.
One more thing we need to look at is these disciples not recognizing
Jesus from sight, but only when He spoke to them. When we look at
Jesus with our physical eyes, we do not recognize Him for who He is.
When He moves upon our heart and we see Him in the Spirit, He is very
clear to us.
Notes
John 54 Questions
1. On what sea did Jesus show Himself to the disciples?
2. Give two other names for this sea?
3. Which of the disciples were there?
4. In verse 3, what did Simon Peter say to the rest?
5. How many fish had the disciples caught that night?
6. When morning came, where was Jesus?
7. What question did Jesus ask the disicples when He called to them
on the sea?
8. Who did they think Jesus to be at first?
9. What did Jesus tell them to do that they had not done previously?
10. Why could they hardly bring in the net?
11. What had Jesus told these disciples previously that He would make
them?
12. Who is the unnamed disciple in verse 7, probably?
13. What did Peter do before swimming to shore?
14. Approximately how far is two hundred cubits?
15. When the disciples got to shore, what did they see?
16. Jesus has set a table before us, what is our obligation to do?
17. Who pulled the net to land?
18. What is throwing out the net symbolic of?
19. What does the one hundred and fifty-three tell us?
20. What does this full net that does not break mean?
21. What does Jesus invite them to do?
22. In Matthew 4:4, we are told to do what?
23. What two foods did Jesus feed them?
24. What note to the ministers will encourage those who seem to have
no converts?
Notes
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