Bible Commentaries

III

EPILOGUE TO THE GOSPEL. CHRIST’S POST-HISTORIC RULE IN THE WORLD UNTIL THE COMPLETED GLORIFICATION OF THE WORLD, OR UNTIL CHRIST’S COMING AGAIN; SYMBOLICALLY PRESENTED IN PARTICULAR ITEMS OF THE RESURRECTION-HISTORY

John 21.

I

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE RISEN ONE AT THE GALILEAN SEA, AS A SYMBOL OF THE FUTURE RELATION AND CONDUCT OF CHRIST TOWARDS THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH IN THIS WORLD

John 21:1-14.

1 After these things Jesus¹ shewed [he manifested] himself again to the disciples at the sea [lake] of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself [and he manifested himself in this manner]. 2There were together Simon’ Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other3[others] of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go [ὑπάγω] a fishing. They say unto him, We also go [come, ἐρχόμεθα] with thee. They went forth, and entered into a [the, τό] ship immediately [omit immediately]²; and [in] that night they caught nothing 4 But when the morning was now come [when the morning was already coming on, πρωΐας δὲ ἤδη γενομένης³ Jesus stood on⁴ the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus 5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat [any fish, or, anything to eat, προσφάγιον]? They answered him, No 6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall [will] find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of [the, τῶν] fishes 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, [girded on his outer garment], (for he was naked,) and did cast [threw] himself into the sea [lake]. 8And the other disciples came in a little ship [in the boat, τῷ πλοιαρίω], (for they were not far from land, but as it were9 [only about] two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with [the] fishes. As soon then as they were come to land [or, went on shore], they saw [see, βλέπουσιν] a fire of coals there, and fish laid [lying, ἐπικείμενον] thereon, and bread 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught 11 Simon Peter went up [on board], and drew the net to land⁵ full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken [the net was not broken, or, rent].

12Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine [breakfast, ἀρισήσατε]⁶ And⁷ none of 13 the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh [the] bread, and giveth them, and [the] fish likewise 14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed [manifested] himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

On the genuineness of Chap, 21, see the Introduction, p31. Along with the genuineness, we maintain the organic appertinency of the chapter to the entire Gospel, in antithesis to the view which debases it to an appendix. See the Introduction, p46; Leben Jesu, 3, p752. In respect to the discussions on the subject, see Lücke II, p805; Meyer [p 662 ff.];⁸ Tholuck, p445 and others.

[The last chapter is generally regarded as a mere Appendix. Dr. Lange views it as the Epilogue which corresponds to the Prologue, ( John 1:1-18), and presents, in typical outline, the post-resurrection history of Christ, His perpetual, spiritual presence in, and guidance of, the Church; as the Prologue presents His history before the Incarnation, and the body of the Gospel, His earthly history. Lange’s exegetical and doctrinal commentary of this plain, unassuming, yet most significant chapter, is exceedingly rich and ingenious, and leaves but little room for additions. Dr. V. W. Krummacher, the prince of German pulpit orators, told me in Elberfeld, on Easter Monday, 1844, after delivering a magnificent discourse on John 21:1-14, that he had prepared no less than fifteen different sermons on this section, and had found it inexhaustible in homiletical wealth. The other sections are equally rich. Ch20. is the Gospel for Easter Sunday. Ch 21 the Gospel for the Easter-Week, as irradiated by the Sun of the Resurrection. It is a picture of Christian life, and the life of the Church, with its contrasts and changes,—festive joy and hard work, poverty and abundance, failure and success, humility and loftiness, activity and rest, losing and finding the Lord, longing for Him and rejoicing in His presence.

On the genuineness of this chapter, I add the testimonies of an English and an American scholar. Canon Westcott (in his excellent Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, Boston ed, p258,) says: “This last chapter (21) of his Gospel is in every way a most remarkable testimony to the influence of St. John’s person and writings. Differences of language, no less than the abruptness of its introduction and its substance, seem to mark it clearly as an addition to the original narrative; and the universal concurrence of all outward evidence, no less certainly establishes its claim to a place in the canonical book. It is a ratification of the Gospel, and yet from the lips of him who wrote it; it allows time for the circulation of a wide-spread error, and yet corrects the error by the authoritative explanation of its origin. The testimony, though upon the extreme verge of the Apostolic period, yet falls within it, and the Apostle, in the consciousness (as it seems) of approaching death, confirms again his earlier record, and corrects the mistaken notion, which might have cast doubt upon the words of the Lord.” Ezra Abbott, in his and Hackett’s ed. of Smith’s Bibl. Dict, vol. II, p1430, note b, maintains, with the best German commentators, that the 21 ch. contains almost all the peculiarities of John’s style, and that the points of difference are insignificant, compared with the striking agreement. He adds: “On the supposition, however, that the Gospel is not genuine, this Appendix presents a problem which seems to admit of no reasonable solution. What motive could there have been for adding such a supplement to a spurious work after the middle of the second century? Was it needful, fifty years or more after the Apostle’s death, to correct a false report, that it was promised him that he should not die? Or what dogmatic purpose could this addition serve? And how is its minuteness of detail, and its extraordinary agreement in style with the rest of the Gospel to be explained? It may be said that it was designed to give credit to the forged Gospel, by a pretended attestation. But was the whole chapter needed for this? And what credit could a fictitious work of that period derive from an anonymous testimony? Had such been the object, moreover, how strange that the Apostle John should not be named as the author! The only plausible explanation, then, of John 21:24-25, seems to be, that they are an attestation of the trustworthiness of the Gospel, by those who first put it into general circulation—companions and friends of the author, and well known to those to whom it was communicated; and the only plausible account of the first 23 verses of the chapter is, that they are a supplementary addition [?], which proceeded directly from the pen, or substantially from the dictation of the author of the rest of the Gospel.” The Johannean origin of John 21is denied or doubted by Grotius, Clericus, Hammond, Semler, Paulus, Lücke, De Wette, Credner, Bleek, Baur, Keim, Scholten, etc; defended by Wetstein, Lampe, Eichhorn, Kuinoel, Hug, Guericke, Tholuck, Schleiermacher, Olshausen, Luthardt, Ebrard, Hengstenberg, Godet, Alford, Westcott, Wordsworth, (who, in a long note, p362, maintains a view somewhat similar to that of Dr. Lange). The latest hypothesis brought, out by Prof. Cassel, (1871), is that John wrote the 21 chapter, and endorsed the rest, which was originally written by his brother James. The first is true, the last is a worthless fancy.]

[The only argument worth mentioning against the Johannean origin of chap21, is derived from a few rare and unimportant expressions, as ἔρχεσθαι σύν ( John 21:3) for the usual Johannean ἀκολουθεῖν; πρωΐας γενομένης (4) for πρωΐ and ἐξατάζειν (12); φέρειν (18) for ἄγειν. But these peculiarties are natural and easily explained from the context, and are more than counterbalanced by the number of Johannean words and phrases, as μετά ταῦτα ( John 21:1), ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Τιβεριάδος (1), ὀψάριον (9, 10, 13),παιδια. (5), μέντοι. (4), the double ἀμήν (18). Ναθαναήλ, (2) for Bartholomew, the form Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος (2), Σίμων Πέτρος (2, 3, 7, 11, 15), ὁ μαθητὴς ὅν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησου•ς (7), as well as by the unanimous testimony of the manuscripts and ancient versions, which contain the whole chapter as an integral part of the Gospel. The only-question is as to John 21:24-25, whether they are likewise from John, or an attestation by the hand of his surviving pupils and friends. Lange regards also these last two verses as Johannean with the exception of the phrase: “And we know that his testimony is true.” They conclude the Epilogue, and correspond to the conclusion of the Prologue, John 1:18, and the conclusion of the main body of the Gospel, John 20:30; John 20:30.—P. S.]

John 21:1. After these things—[Μετὰ ταῦτα],—I.e, which, in Jerusalem, had already secured the confirmation of the disciples in the faith. [Several days must have elapsed since the last meeting, ( John 20:26), for the disciples had in the meantime, according to the Lord’s direction, returned to Galilee. ( Matthew 28:7; Matthew 28:10; Matthew 28:16; 1 Corinthians 15:6) Afterwards they again proceeded to Jerusalem, to witness the ascension from Mount Olivet, ( Luke 24:50 ff.; Acts 1:1-12), and to be filled with the promised Spirit ( Acts 2).—P. S.]

Jesus manifested Himself [ἐφανέρωσενἑαυτόν].—Is an indication of His higher manner of appearing intended? De Wette finds in the expression the indication of a ghostly existence;—Luthardt that of a moving in a sphere of the invisible; this, Meyer impugns. The ghostliness, of course, cannot exclude His bodiliness, nor can His invisibility exclude His power of appearing. Nevertheless, we believe that something is meant here, other than the higher manner of appearing. In accordance with John’s method of using πάλιν, the word seems indicative, not of His third manifestation after the resurrection, but of a second new, higher manifestation of His glory at the Lake of Gennesareth, in contradistinction to that first manifestation of His glory at the same Lake, of which we have an account in chap6.

At the Lake of Tiberias [ἐπὶῆςθαλάσσης τῆς Τιβεριάδος]—The demonstrations of the Risen One still connect themselves with the old life-order of the disciples, especially the disciples in the wider sense. Agreeably to this order of life, from the Easter-feast [Passover] in Jerusalem they returned to Galilee, preparing themselves shortly afterwards for attendance upon the Feast of Pentecost. This old order of life, observed by the disciples, was, however, oh the point of being dissolved, inasmuch as they brought their festal journeys into harmony with the new interest. Accordingly, after the Paschal Feast, they remained yet a Sunday in Jerusalem, and returned thither a long while before the Pentecostal Feast. But for the intervening time, Jesus had appointed His principal meeting with the circle of disciples, in the broader sense of that term, in Galilee, and His promise was fulfilled according to Matthew 28; comp 1 Corinthians15. That meeting, however, was doubtless preceded by Jesus’ first manifestation in Galilee, at the lake, seven disciples being present. We find those busied again with their domestic trade; this circumstance points to the earliest period subsequent to their return home. They were, temporarily, without further occupation and instruction; they must wait for the Lord. The direction to tarry in Jerusalem ( Luke 24:49) applies to the period following the ascension.

Now He manifested Himself on this wise [ἐφανέρωσενδὲ οὔτως],—In the following, stress is laid, not particularly upon Christ’s issuing forth from invisibility, but upon the miraculous manner in which He made Himself known to the Apostles, and communed with them.

John 21:2. There were together [ἧσας ὁμοῦ κ.τ. λ.. The witnesses of the Resurrection, the recipients of the Holy Ghost, returned to their humble work in Galilee, fishing together, probably for the last time! So festive joys and hard work alternate in the life of the Christian.—P. S.]—It is noteworthy that Thomas is here mentioned after Simon Peter, as the second disciple. Further we find Nathanael, or Bartholomew, and the two sons of Zebedee (John and James); together with these, two others of His disciples are enumerated without special designation. Our first inference would be, that these were Andrew, the brother of Peter, and Philippians, the friend of Nathanael. From the circumstance that the disciples are not named, Meyer thinks fit to infer that they were disciples in the broader sense; John 21:1 seems to contradict this. John may have omitted the names of the two disciples for two reasons: 1. Because he would otherwise have been obliged to mention the sons of Zebedee by name, also; 2. Because, it was his desire, by speaking, at the close, of two disciples, to induce his readers to make the computation of the seven. Or is their anonymousness to serve the symbolical purpose of the Epilogue? Or was he unwilling, by naming the two, to give prominence to the four remaining ones, who had no part in this feast.? Something enigmatical still attaches to this anonymousness. Contemplative natures, such as John’s, are undoubtedly dreamily forgetful in certain moments and relations; it is, therefore, not necessary to infer the two nameless ones to have been disciples in the wider sense. Here only does he mention the sons of Zebedee together.

John 21:3. Simon Peter: I go a fishing [ὑπάγω ἁλιεύειν].—Peter is foremost in outside enterprises also. And thoroughly decided in his own mind, without asking others; I go.—We also go (come) with thee [ἐρχόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς σὺν σοί].—The expression of their cordial, friendly cleaving to him.

And in that night they caught nothing [καὶ ἐν ἐκείνη τῇ νυκτὶ ἐπίασαν οὐδέν].—The night season is the most favorable time for catching fish, Luke 5:5. Yet there were unsuccessful nights; such an one was this. [A symbol of the utter failure of the fishers of men without Christ, as John 21:6 illustrates their abundant success with Christ.—P. S.]

John 21:4. But when the morning had already dawned.—[According to the other reading, was about dawning. See Text. Note.—P. S.] It was the time of the dawning.—Jesus stood on the shore [ἔστη Ἰησ. εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν]—He had taken His station on the shore (εἰς). They saw the form standing on the shore without recognizing it. Comp. John 20:14; Luke 24:16.

John 21:5. Children.—Παιδία does not stand for the Johannean τεκνία (see John 13:33), not even in the sense of 1 John 2:13. Jesus, wishing in His character of the Unknown One to address the fishermen first as a stranger, speaks to them in the universal, familiar language of seafaring men, with the dignity, we may conjecture, of a superior: Young men! Boys! 2 Maccabees 8:20; Nonnus, Euthym. Zigabenus; see Leben Jesu 2, p1712; Tholuck.

‘Have ye any relish? or, have ye anything to eat? [μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε].—Properly speaking, anything to eat with bread, προσφάγιον, [but especially fish, like the Attic ὄψον], namely, with their morning-bread, or breakfast.⁹ By the sea, fish were their usual προσφάγιον with their bread. According to Tholuck, [ they regard the questioner as some one wishing to purchase fish for his own breakfast. The j same is the opinion of Meyer; Jesus, on the other hand, takes for granted, as His last words I show us, that they have caught nothing, and intimates that if the contrary were the case He would not need to interpose. It is manifest, however, that the question is primarily intended i merely as an expression of human interest, and; for the introduction of what follows.

John 21:6. Cast the net on the right side of the ship [βάλετε εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη τοῦ πλοίου τὸ δίκτυον, καὶ εὑρήδετε].——Comp. Luke 5:4. There- the Lord commands! the disciples to launch out into the deep, here to cast the net on the right side of the ship, whence we might conclude that they had drawn the net after them on the other side, or, discouraged, had drawn it up out of the water with the intention of steering towards the shore.

No longer able to draw it up [οὐκέτι αὐτὸ ἑλκύσαι ἴσχυον].—To draw the net up over the water, or to themselves (ἑλκύειν)—a feat naturally more difficult than to drag it, closed, after them in the water itself (σύειν).

John 21:7. It is the Lord [Ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν]. John first recognizes Him, with the mind’s eye, by His manner of acting, and then, with the bodily ear, by His speech, as also, with the bodily glance, by His specific appearance.

Simon Peter then hearing that it was the Lord.—Again the characteristic picture of the two disciples, as in John 20:4 ff. Each disciple is in advance of the other; John with the swift drawing of love, the eagle-glance of recognition, Peter with the spirited, decided act.—For he was naked [ἧν γὰρ γυμνός].—This assertion does not operate to the exclusion of the loin-cloth, or a fisherman’s shirt, even. Reverence, however, commands him to put on the upper garment, ἐπενδύτης (מְעִיל), fisher’s frock; this was without sleeves; it extended to the knees and was worn over the χιτών. He girded the garment on account of his swimming, for it was in this manner he reached the land; Grotius and others make him walk upon the water as aforetime.

John 21:8. As it were two hundred cubits, or300 feet=½ stadium.

John 21:9. They saw a fire of coals laid.—[Βλέπουσιν ἀνθρακιὰν κειμένην καὶ ὀψάριον ἐπικείμενον καὶ ἄρτον].—The coal-fire was laid, broiling fish were spread thereon as a relish (ὀψάριον), and moreover they saw bread. For καὶ ἅρτον, we doubt not, is to be referred simply to βλέπουσιν. Mysterious preparation. Interpretations:

1. Brought forth out of nothing: Chrysostom, Theophylact, Grotius, Calov and others.

2. Prepared by the ministry of angels: Nice-phorus, Luthardt, etc.

3. Jesus either conveyed the meal thither Himself, or procured others to place it there: Meyer. Against this view, Tholuck: “Peter cannot have conveyed it thither, but neither can Jesus have procured it by means of others, if we must regard the perception of the Risen One not as an external, common, sensuous perception, but as conditioned by the inner sense” (?). Lücke: “A lack of clearness invests the miracle with an air of wild adventure.” But had not Jesus friends every where along the lake? Could He not appear to them, and, in a mysterious manner, arrange something similar to the making ready of the she-ass in Bethphage and of the furnished room in Jerusalem? To this day Christ often, through the medium of wonderful providences, cares thus for the maintenance of His people by operating influentially upon foreboding souls. Here, therefore, as the Master and Father of the house, He has provided a breakfast for them (and that not merely in a vision). Comp. Luke 24:30.

John 21:10. Bring of the fish.—[Ἐνέγκατε ἀπὸ τῶν ὀψαπίων ὦν ἐπιάσατε νῦν].—Irrespective of the question whether the prepared repast is sufficient or not, they are commanded to add to it some of their own fish (which, however, they have caught in pursuance of His directions alone). Euthymius: In order to preserve the miraculous draught from all appearance of a φαντασὶα; Meyer: In order to the exigent completion of the meal. We think that it was likewise in order to the revelation of a new order of things. Here, as everywhere, the symbolical transparency of the story comes to light.

John 21:11. An hundred and fifty and three [ἑκατὸν πεντήκοντα τριῶν].—The Evangelist’s primary intention in reporting the number of the whole mass of great fishes was, manifestly, to render prominent the miraculousness of the fact that the net was nevertheless untorn. The trait that the number (153), as a number, is not symbolical, speaks very decidedly in favor of the historic truthfulness of the narrative in opposition to the assumption of its being a tradition (Strauss), or the work of an apocryphal narrator. The attempt has indeed been made to construe the number materially as a symbolical one. Ammonius: The number100=the Gentiles, 50=the Jews, 3=the Trinity.¹⁰Jerome and Köstlin: Oppian counted 153 species offish, ergo the universality of species=the universality of the nations entering the net of the Gospel. “Which statement, as far as Oppian is concerned rests upon a mistake.” Recently, some one has even, conceived it to be his duty to work out the name: of Simon [son of] Jonas, by means of numerical allegory (Theol. Jahrb. 1854, p135). We do not consider the number as symbolical, but the numbering does appear to us in that light. The elect, who form the main element of the Church, are’ great and numbered fishes. And great and numerous as the elect of the congregated mass may be, they are not the ones who break the net Of the Church. It is the maxim of all the elect: first Christ, then the Church. John is moreover always fond of stating numbers; for instance, the200 cubits, John 21:8; John 6:10, etc.

John 21:12. (But) none of the disciples durst ask Him [οὐδεὶς (δὲ) ἐτόλμα τῶν μαθητῶν ἐξετάσαι αὐτὸν Σὺ τίς εἶ; εἰδότες ὄτι ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν].—The ἐτόλμα is not pleonastic (Kuinoel), not expressive of velle (Lampe), or of a fear of doubt (Augustine and others), but of reverence, in connection with a quiet, blissful assurance in regard to the presence of Jesus (εἰδότες, etc.). [Comp. John 4:27.—P. S.]. What was so particularly new to them at this manifestation of the Risen One was the feature of His partaking of a meal with them once more, like a house-father, after having miraculously prepared it for them.

John 21:13. Jesus Cometh therefore [ἔρχεται Ιησοῦς].—As the disciples have been standing on this side of the coal fire, and have been called to approach by the Lord (δεῦτε, John 21:12), so the Lord has stood on the other side,—probably with that expression of reserve suitable t o the unknown person in whose character He wished first to meet them,—and now He advances nearer and more familiarly to them.

And taketh the bread [καὶ λαμβάνελ τὸν ἄρτον]—Why is the customary thanksgiving not mentioned? 1. Jesus wished to omit τὰ ἀνθρώπινα (Euthymius). 2. Luthardt; The table-communion of Jesus with His people is a silent one in this æon3. Meyer: The Evangelist is not describing a regular repast, such as is spoken of, Luke 24:30, but a breakfast, that was partaken of standing. As it appears, it is also, however, the intention of Christ not to make Himself positively known as yet by the expression of the prayer of thanksgiving. And probably there is a symbolical reason for this. Peter who has denied Him, declaring that he knew Him not, must be made to recognize Him again, as the Anonymous One, by His conduct. At all events, the reserve of Jesus seems designed, by means of a continually increasing solemnity, to prepare the minds of the disciples for the ensuing act. Yet the manifestation has a purpose which touches the disciples in general; hence there follows a sort of conclusion, in order to the distinction of the general disciples meal from the conference with Peter, and that concerning Peter and John.

John 21:14. This third time now Jesus manifested himself [Τοῦτο ἤδη τρίτον ἐφανερώθη Ἰησ. τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν].—With these words John ranks the present manifestation of Jesus—as a more general one, allotted to the circle of disciples (incomplete though that was in numbers)—with the two manifestations recorded in chap20. Luthardt very properly remarks: “The appearings therein reported by John are by Paul summed up in εἶτα τοῖς δὠδεκα, 1 Corinthians 15:5;’.’ and only the well-known fear of harmonizing induces Meyer to maintain the existence of a difference which he decides in John’s favor. Manifestly, Paul has no interest in citing repeatedly those appearances of Jesus of which, the same persons were repeatedly spectators, intending, as he does, not to count the appearings of the Risen One, but to mention the witnesses as witnesses.

[Alford’s remarks on this section are in the line of Lange’s thoughts, and worthy of attention: “Without agreeing with all the allegorical interpretations of the Fathers, I cannot but see much depth and richness of meaning in this whole narrative. The Lord appears to His disciples busied about their occupation for their daily bread; speaks and acts in a manner wonderfully similar to His words and actions on a former memorable occasion, when we know that by their toiling long and taking nothing, but at His word enclosing a multitude of fishes, was set forth what should befall them as fishers of men. Can we miss that application at this far more important epoch of their apostolic mission? Besides, He graciously provides for their present wants, and invites them to be His guests: why but to show them that in their work hereafter they should never want but He would provide? And as connected with the parable, Matthew 13:47 ff, has the net enclosing a great multitude and yet not broken, no meaning? Has the ‘taking the bread and giving to them and the fish likewise,’ no meaning, which so closely binds together the miraculous feeding, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper with their future meetings in His name and round His Table? Any one who recognizes the teaching character of the acts of the Lord, can hardly cast all such applications from him;—and those who do not, have yet the first rudiments of the Gospels to learn.”—P. S.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The significant manner in which John, seemingly by way of supplement, relates this single and unique meeting of the Risen One with the seven disciples by the Galilean Sea, culling it out of all the later showings of Jesus after His resurrection and emphasizing the individual, momentous items of the event, induces us to suppose that from the first he designed it to form the conclusion of his Gospel. That he at the same time, however, intended this conclusion as an Epilogue to the Gospel, is proved by the precursive close of the resurrection-history and the Gospel in its narrower sense, John 20:31. If we now take into consideration how symbolically transparent the individual facts of this Epilogue are from beginning to end (especially the miraculous draught of fishes, the institution of Peter, the destination of John), we shall not hesitate to bring the Epilogue into an antithetic relation to the Prologue of the Gospel, John 1:1-18. And if John has there sketched Christ’s pre-temporal rule in the world, finally represented, as it was, by John the Baptist, the recognition is obvious that he has designed to sketch here, in a speaking, evangelic fact, Christ’s post-temporal rule in the world, represented by the heptade of the Apostles, particularly by the destination of Peter and John in respect of their typical import for the Church. See Leben Jesu 2 p1723.

2. The resolve of Peter, to go a fishing. A symbol of the beginning of the apostolic mission. The seven disciples in a round, sacred number, a symbol of the apostolic Church. The Church is subdivided into an external, conspicuous part, and a mysteriously withdrawing, nameless part. Next to Peter are ranged Thomas, the apostolic searcher, and Nathanael, the representative of apostolic sincerity and simplicity. The sons of Zebedee retire into the back-ground; there is intimated, moreover, a nearer fellowship of John which forms the innermost, hidden, vital focus of the Church. Unanimity is the character of this fellowship. They go out together to catch fish. Into the sea. The sea a symbol of the world, of the life of the nations.

3. The unsuccessful night. A symbol of the times of waiting, of the apparently fruitless struggling and hoping, whereby the laborers of God are tried in their work. These trials are connected with the fact that the disciples must first be freed from their self-consciousness and brought to the point of fully renouncing their work and relinquishing all expectation of shining results. These humiliations, however, are connected with the necessity for distinguishing between an activity based upon human authority (Peter) and one drawing its inspiration from the word of Christ. A human and legal running produces no abiding fruit.

4. The unknown Man on the shore. Christ is always near His apostolic Church on this side of eternity. From the shore of the other world—the beyond—His eye is leveled upon their actions. And they are conscious of this fact in its general sense, but they do not immediately recognize the Lord in the new, concrete forms of life in which He approaches them, wishing to prepare them an apostolic blessing.

5. Children, have ye nothing to eat? Whenever the spirit of a new life-form of Christ discourses with the Church concerning her poverty, want of success, unavailing labor and fatigue, the moment of a new bestowal of blessing is being prepared.

6. Cast the net. It is always the old net that Christ tells His people to cast in a new way, in a new direction. This, Christ’s instruction, alone indicates the true treasure of blessing, and obedience to Christ’s instruction obtains the miraculous draught.

7. Christ has first unknown operated upon the Church by need and opportunity. His instruction has become of weight to her in the form of a pious, religious exhortation, or as a friendly counsel, and she has accorded it her confidence. In the result of miraculous blessing, however, the Lord is known as the author of that blessing, The Johannean eagle-glance first recognizes the i Lord, Petrine fiery courage rushes through the flood to meet Him; the Church hastes to meet the Lord. But the true Petrine spirits in the Church are those who hurry on in advance of the Ship of the Church with their works and deeds. The one kind of spirits haste before it with the glance of recognition, the other by act; both, however, abide in. full connection with the Ship.

8. The ship not far from land. Not far from the throne of the Lord and His coming.

9. The coal-fire and repast on the shore. There are continually recurring festive moments in the Church—moments when Christ holds a feast with His people, as though upon the heights of the new world. The goal is momentarily reached in a grand triumph, a grand manifestation of Christ. We would call to mind the time of Christ’s resurrection itself, the year70 (destruction of Jerusalem), 312; the years1517, 1700, 1813 (the time of the liberation of Germany [eclipsed for Germany by1870,1871]) and similar periods. In a wonderful way the Lord has ever prepared a refreshing repast for His weary ones.

10. Bring of the fish. The Lord prepares refreshment for His Church from a synthesis of His gift of blessing (for the preparation of which He has always ministering spirits) and their labor of blessing [blessed labor].

11. Simon Peter drew the net to land. Be of use! forward! to Christ! is the watchword of the Biblical Peter. It is not his intention to seize the net for himself, but to place it at the disposal of Christ. The net was full of great fishes. The word of the Church first catches the elect, those in a special degree receptive of salvation. The number153. On the different interpretations see Exeg. Note in loc. We, as was previously stated, consider as symbolical, not the number, but the numbering. The elect are counted, man for man. See Jeremiah 7:6; Revelation 7:4. Thus also are the Einherier, the heroes of Odin in Valhalla, counted, according to German Mythology. (‘ “Five hundred doors and forty more methinks are in Valhalla.—Eight hundred heroes through each door shall issue forth against the wok to combat.’ ” Therefore800 X:540. Grimnismal). The Church is continually edified by the number of true subjective converts and believers who have received a new name, not by her unnumbered masses.—Nevertheless the net brake not. The truly faithful do not break the net. The great fishes swim lustily along in the draught of the net. The fishing net is broken by sea-reptiles, crabs, dead fish that weigh upon one point. Vet the true spiritual net of the eternal Church has never yet been broken.

12. Come and partake of the repast. Times of refreshing in the kingdom of God. Christ the Master of the House, who giveth the invitation to the feast. Reverential sense of His presence. Full sufficiency. It is a breakfast, however, in order to further labor. Blissful stillness of the Church in the Lord’s nearness and in the assurance of His presence.

13. The third time, or the “lanifestations of the glorified Christ ever more glorious.

14. The present section shows us the Apostles Peter and John in the characters peculiar to them; the following sketches their destiny and lot in the Church.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See the Doct. Notes. Christ’s first meeting again with His disciples by the Sea of Galilee.—The old life in the new light of the resurrection: 1. The old persons (Peter, etc.); 2. the old occupation (going a fishing); 3. the old surroundings (the Sea of Galilee); 4. the old vicissitudes and the old need (caught nothing); 5. the old connection (Christ); 6. the old miracles (the draught of fishes); 7. the old feasts (the repast). Everything in a new light of life, peace and hope.—Christ at the sea of Galilee, formerly and now: 1. The sea formerly the scene of His first miracles, acts and sufferings; 2. now the mirror of His glory.

The two Easter-feasts in Galilee1. The Apostles’ feast by the sea; 2. the Church’s feast on the mountain ( Matthew 28.).—Christ manifests Himself to the Apostles by the sea; for they must plunge into the sea of nations; to the Church, in the wider sense, on the mountain, for it is to be the firm city, stablished upon the mountain of the Lord.—The disciples, as sons of the resurrection, in their true unanimity: 1. How harmonious in their differences (all gladly following the foot of Peter, the glance of John). They all confess their need unanimously: “No;” but without complaint, John 21:5. There is no braggart among them and none who is disheartened. They are obedient in unison. Their faces are all set toward the Lord in one love; they are all filled and made happy with the one thought of His presence2. How rich in life and manifold in their unanimity (Peter, John: the disciples in the ship).—The Kisen One in the gradualness of His glorious manifestation : 1. The strange form in the morning twilight on the shore; 2. the sympathizing question; 3. the confident direction; 4. the mysterious preparation of a fire; 5. the condescending community of goods (bring hither of the fish); 6. the glorious invitation; 7. the complete manifestation in its familiarity and sublimity.—Christ considered in respect to the riches of His life amongst His people: 1. Mysterious, and familiar; 2. Master and Servant; 3. Host and Guest; 4. a heavenly Apparition and a festive Companion.—Transformation of the old form of life into the new in the kingdom of the Kisen One: 1. The old calling becomes a new symbol of life; 2. the old home a new vestibule of heaven; 3. the old need a new divine blessing; 4. the old labor a new religious service; 5. the old partnership a new fellowship in Christ; 6. the old discipleship a new apostolate.—The heavenly refreshment of the disciples, the preparation for a solemn conversation and revelation.

Starke: Osiander: Handicrafts are well-pleasing to God; and godly craftsmen should assist one another in love and harmony, Psalm 128:1-2; Romans 16:1-2.—Cramer: A work goes on well and speedily when we set about it with united hands and hearts. Concord nourishes men, discord consumes them, Galatians 5:15.—Temptation faileth not to be present in the assemblies of believers, Sirach 2:1.—It seemeth often unto godly Christians as if their diligence and labor were utterly in vain, and yet such seasons are but meant by God for the trial of their faith, Isaiah 65:23.—Osiander: God knoweth the right time.—Zeisius: Although Jesus is still so near to His people, His presence is not always recognized by them, nor the secret grace heeded.—God’s children are oft-times at a loss for food, but their Heavenly Father remedieth their case and nourisheth them, Matthew 6:26-27.—But He whose name is called Counsellor ( Isaiah 9:6), gave them good counsel as to how they should do.—Behold how Jesus can by His blessing in an instant repay His people for the painful toil that they have deemed lost.—Zeisius: When we faithfully wait on our calling, the Lord careth for our preservation meanwhile; and when no more means are in our possession, He can quickly provide them.—Hedinger: How friendly and gracious are the ways of the Lord! even temporal blessings must speak of His love, Psalm 25:10.—Zeisius: The wonder-doing hand of the Lord knoweth neither measure nor limit, Psalm 106:28.—Ibid.: Unto our bodies, after toil and labor endured, the Lord doth grant needful refreshment; and after the brief toilsomeness of this time, He will in heaven eternally regale our souls.—Hedinger: Open, dear soul! the Lord would sup with thee, Revelation 3:20,—Zeisius: So many appearances of the risen Jesus; so many seals of our perfect redemption and reconciliation with God, Romans 4:24.

Gerlach: The time was still when they, the Holy Ghost not yet being poured out upon them, must become sensible of the impotence of their own strength; Jesus still stood, like One partially unknown to them, beside their own efforts.—Braune: “But how the Redeemer hath hallowed all things into symbols of the universal activity incumbent upon us all in His kingdom! The prince and his vicegerents, the mighty and armed warrior, the calculating merchant, the intelligent husbandman, the careful housefather, I the tender mother, the faithful servant, the Song of Solomon, acquainted with his father’s will, the hospitable ouseholder, the peaceful gardener,—everything is drawn into this holy circle of refreshing pictures” (Schleiermacher).—In every calling Christ and His Spirit may be obtained, just in that calling; men need not fly to woods, vales, cloisters. The odor of sanctity can diffuse itself about every man’s profession as it did over the occupation of the disciples at the sea of Gennesaret.—At that draught [ Luke 5:4 ff.] Peter said: “Lord, depart from me, I am a sinful man;” he said this in the weakness of his faith and of his knowledge, and in the confusion of his mind, as though the nearness of the Holy One brought danger to him. This feeling he had surmounted; though conscious still of being a sinful man, he was more strongly convinced that the proximity of Jesus is always and everywhere salutary.—Of what value was the intimation of the calm John: “It is the Lord!” To note and point out the divine in life is a signal service of love.—Yea, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want ( Psalm 23:1). Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest; bless what Thou hast bestowed!¹¹

Gossner: The right side is that of the elect. When the net is cast on that side, the fish enter into the net of themselves. The blessing that God puts in the mouth of the preacher along with His word, is really the source of all the fruit he produces.—It is the Lord! said the disciple whom Jesus loved,—he knew His Master first. A friend knows his friend by his walk, his step; so John knew the Lord by the fortunate draught of fishes. Ah, thought lie, the Lord hath played us this loving trick; I know Him, that is His way.—Peter forgot and deserted the net with the multitude of fishes—for all the trouble he had had with, it—so soon as he saw his Lord again and knew Him.—Whoso cleaveth so to the Lord and feeleth himself to be so attracted by Him that he can leave all for the Lord’s sake, he it is that loveth Him, John 21:7.—There is the table already spread. This was to paint His tender Providence vividly before their eyes, and to strengthen them in the faith, preparatory to their future calling, so that they might never feel afraid of lacking what was needful.—The net of the Church breaketh not—though never so many great fishes be in it—when it is drawn at the command of Jesus and by apostolic hands. But when men arbitrarily pull at, the net, and one pulleth right and another left, it breaketh. And now, alas! what men usually call the net of the Lord is sorely broken. But the Lord hath His net, the which is not broken. The Lord knoweth His own.—Jesus here manifests Himself as the Host, the House-father of His little Church.

Heubner: Peter tarrieth not; he showeth his ardent love. Peter’s natural disposition now became sanctified by love to Jesus. Thus shall all nature be sanctified through grace.

[Craven: From Augustine: John 21:3. The Apostles were not forbidden by their apostle-ship from earning their livelihood by a lawful craft, provided they had no other means of livelihood.

John 21:11. In the first draught [ Luke 5:6] the net was broken, to signify schisms; but here, to show that in that perfect peace of the blessed there would be no schisms, the Evangelist continues, And for all they were so great, yet was not the net broken.——From Chrysostom: John 21:7. The recognition of Jesus brings out Peter and John in their different tempers of mind; the one fervid, the other sublime; the one ready, the other penetrating.——From Gregory: John 21:3, The craft which was exercised without sin before conversion, was no sin after it; wherefore after his conversion Peter returned to fishing; but Matthew sat not down again at the receipt of custom.—They caught nothing; the fishing was made to be very unlucky, in order to raise their astonishment at the miracle after.

John 21:4. The disciples, inasmuch as they were still upon the waves of this mortal life, were laboring on the sea; but the Redeemer, having by His resurrection thrown off the corruption of the flesh, stood upon the shore.——From Theophylact: John 21:3. In the night-time, before the presence of the Sun, Christ, the Prophets took nothing; for though they endeavored to correct the people, yet these often fell into idolatry.

[From Burkitt: John 21:1. Jerusalem now becomes a forsaken place, a people abandoned to destruction: such places wherein Christ is most welcome to preach, shall be most honored with His presence.

John 21:2-3. All human labors and endeavors are in vain, unless Christ, by His presence and blessing, crown them with success.

John 21:4. Christ is not always discerned by us when He is present with us; it is a double mercy to enjoy His company, and to know indeed that it is He.

John 21:6. When Christ is about to do great things for His people, yet will He have them exert all possible endeavors of their own; and the want of former success must not discourage from future endeavors.

John 21:7. Cast himself into the sea; It is not a sea of water, no, nor seas of blood, that can keep a zealous soul at a distance from Christ.

John 21:12-14. Christ is still bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; He has taken possession of heaven in our nature, sitting there in our glorified humanity, clothed with that body which hung in its blood upon the cross.

[From M. Henry: John 21:1-14. Christ has many ways of making Himself known to His people; usually in His ordinances, but sometimes by His Spirit; He visits them when they are employed in common business,

John 21:2. It is good for the disciples of Christ to be much together; not only in solemn religious assemblies, but in common conversation, and about common business; thus they both testify and increase their affection to, and delight in each other, and edify one another both by discourse and example.—Thomas; It is well, if losses by our neglects make us more careful afterward not to slip opportunities.

John 21:3. It was commendable in them to go a-fishing; for they did it1. To redeem time, and not be idle; 2. That they might help to maintain themselves, and not be burthen-some to any,—They caught nothing; Even good men may come short of desired success in their honest undertakings: we may be in the way of our duty, and yet not prosper.

John 21:4. Jesus stood on the shore; Christ’s time of making Himself known to His people is when they are most at a loss: When they think they have lost themselves, He will let them know that they have not lost Him.—It is a comfort to us, when our passage is rough and stormy, that our Master is at shore, and we are hastening to Him.—The disciples knew not that it was Jesus; Christ is often nearer us than we think lie is, and so we shall find afterward, to our comfort.

John 21:5. Christ takes cognizance of the temporal wants of His people, and has promised them not only grace sufficient, but food convenient.—Christ looks into the cottages of the poor, and asks, Children, have ye any meat? —He has herein set us an example of compassionate concern for our brethren; there are many poor householders disabled for labor, or disappointed in it, that are reduced to straits, whom the rich should inquire after thus, Have ye any meat? For the most necessitous are commonly the least clamorous.

John 21:6. The right side; Divine Providence extends itself to things most minute and contingent.—Those that are humble, diligent, and patient, though their labors may be crossed, shall be crowned; they sometimes live to see their affairs take a happy turn after many struggles and fruitless attempts.—There is nothing lost by observing Christ’s orders.—Those are likely to speed well that follow the rule of the Word, the guidance of the Spirit, and the intimations of Providence; for that is casting the net on the right side of the ship.—When we are most at a loss, Jehovah-Jireh—the Lord will provide.—This miracle could not but put Peter in mind of a former one, Luke 5:4, etc.; later favors are designed to bring to mind former favors.—An encouragement to Christ’s ministers to continue their diligence in their work; one happy draught, at length, may be sufficient to repay many years’ toil at the Gospel net.

John 21:7. They that have been with Jesus will be willing to swim through a stormy sea, a sea of blood, to come to Him.

John 21:7-13. God dispenses His gifts variously: some excel, as Peter and John; others are but ordinary disciples;—yet both the eminent and the obscure shall sit down together with Christ in glory; nay, and perhaps, the last shall be first;—of those that do excel, some, like John, are eminently contemplative; others, like Peter, eminently active and courageous; some are useful as the Church’s eyes, others as the Church’s hands, and all for the good of the body.—If all the disciples had done as Peter did, what had become of their fish and their nets? And yet if Peter had done as they did, we had wanted this instance of holy zeal. Christ was well pleased with both, and so must we be.—There are several ways of bringing Christ’s disciples to shore to Him from off the sea of this world; some are I brought to Him by a violent death, as the martyrs, who threw themselves into the sea, in their zeal for Christ; others are brought to Him by a natural death, dragging the net, which is less terrible [but also less speedy]; but both meet at length on the safe and quiet shore with Christ.

John 21:10. Christ would hereby teach us to use what we have; the benefits He bestows upon us are not to be buried and laid up, but to be used and laid out.—Ministers, who are fishers of men, must bring all they catch to their Master.

John 21:11. The net of the Gospel has enclosed multitudes, three thousand in one day, and yet is not broken; it is still as mighty as ever to bring souls to God.

John 21:12. Groundless doubts must be stifled, and not started.

John 21:14. It is good to keep account of Christ’s gracious visits; for He keeps account of them, and they will be remembered against ns, if we walk unworthily of them. This is now the third; have we made a due improvement of the first and second? See 2 Corinthians 12:14. This is the third, perhaps it may be the last.

[From Scott: John 21:1-14. Christ often permits His (ministerial) servants to labor for a time without visible success, to prove their faith and patience, to render them more observant of His directions, or more simply dependent on His assistance; and that their usefulness, when vouchsafed, may more evidently appear to be His work.——From A Plain Commentary (Oxford): John 21:2. Never more will it be said that “Thomas, one of the Twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came!”—“Wisdom” (that is Christ), is about to “build her House:” wherefore “she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Proverbs 9:1; comp. Galatians 2:9.

John 21:3. Verily, the discovery that their Lord and their God could suffer the men He loved to remain in such a low state and precarious condition, should teach Christians for evermore to submit cheerfully to poverty, as well as to behold with a feeling akin to reverence, the brother of low degree.—They caught nothing; The “ministers and stewards of His mysteries,” in particular, are hereby taught that “except the Lord build the House, their labor is but lost that build it.”

John 21:4. When the morning was now come,—Jesus stood on the shore; It was a symbol of the Eternal Morning, when Jesus (who is “the hope of them that remain in the broad sea!” Psalm 65:5) will at last appear: for the Church as yet waiteth, “until the day break and the shadows flee away.” No longer in the ship with His disciples,—He is seen standing on the fixed immovable shore! Thither “they shall go to Him, but thence He shall not return to them.”—Knew not that it was Jesus; The eyes of all “were holden that they should not know Him.” So enveloped was His risen Body with something that was Divine, something which He brought from the grave,—that it allowed not of human affection, but Divine Love to discern it. And it was done to accustom them to walk by faith, and not by sight. For thus it was that our Saviour was recognized by St. John now. The miracle was to be the evidence that it was He.

John 21:6. The season for fishing prescribed by Nature, had already expired: it was now the season appointed by Grace. In truth, man’s extremity is ever found to be God’s opportunity. In the meantime, take notice that the necessity of human exertion is not to be superseded by the promise of Divine help. Paul must plant, and Apollos water, though God must give all the increase.—Not only when God commands, but as God directs, must the net be thrown, if we would, secure the prize we long for.—In things to all appearance indifferent, a Divine command overcomes all other considerations, and must be implicitly obeyed, if we would inherit a blessing.

John 21:7. “It is St. John whose instinct of love penetrates the disguise, and tells Peter that it is the Lord. It might strike the recollection of both, how a few short years before, the same Lord had, in His mortal days, given a similar direction,—a like miraculous draught following: though then, they drew the net; but now they could not: then, the net brake; but now, for all the greater multitude of fishes, when it was drawn to land, the net was unbroken: then, the ship began to sink, and Simon Peter, affrighted, besought the Lord to depart from him, a sinful man; whereas now, as soon as ha heard that it was the Lord, and believed it was Song of Solomon, he plunged into the water to go to Him. These circumstances, symbolizing the greater power of the risen Lord, or rather, the greater power He obtained for the fishers of men when the mysteries of His Redemption were accomplished,—were not lost on St. John; who, ever calmer than St. Peter, while his emotions were the deepest, tranquilly remained with the rest in the vessel, -till it was brought to shore.” (Dr. W. H. Mill).

John 21:8. Two hundred cubits; “So near are we, even in this troublous world, to the land of Everlasting Rest,” and to Him who there abideth.

John 21:12. What did this meal signify but that heavenly banquet, of which it is promised that the redeemed shall partake hereafter, when they shall “sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven?”

John 21:13. The disciples do not help themselves to food. It is still Christ that taketh,—Christ that giveth! All the spiritual refreshment of heaven will still be His gift! The very bliss of the Saints will be altogether from Him!…. And yet, besides the fish miraculously provided for the refreshment of the disciples, we find that, they were fed with some of the fish which they had themselves recently caught ( John 21:10). O mystery of Divine Love, in reserve for those who have faithfully fed the flock of Christ committed to their care; if, throughout the ages, they shall be conscious of an augmentation of bliss from the souls of those to whom in life it was their privilege to minister!

[From Barnes: John 21:2-3. God has made employment indispensable to man, and if the field of labor is not open in one way, ministers should seek it in another.——From Jacobus: John 21:3. As fishers of men they would toil all night, and without Christ they could do nothing.

John 21:6. Christian ministers, as fishers of men, must follow His positive directions as to when and where and how, without first demanding the why and wherefore.

John 21:17. Love does always make the sweetest discoveries of Christ; Zeal plunges even into the sea to reach (through fire and through water) the Master.

John 21:10. Thus it is that His grace goes before, and our works follow. Happy day! when Christ’s ministers may bring to heaven of the multitudes whom they have caught by His grace.

John 21:11. So is it with the multitudes which we may catch as fishers of men. The “hundred and forty and four thousand” will all be brought safe to heaven.—From Owen: John 21:3. Immediately; They were prompt and energetic men, who would not let the hours of the night—the most advantageous time for fishing—pass away unimproved, when once they had made up their mind to spend it in the manner here spoken of. [They were also persevering men. E. R. C. ]

John 21:7. Girt his fisher’s coat unto him; Note “the reverence which observes, even at such a moment of excited feeling, the petty proprieties of clothing.” (Stier with Draeseke.)

John 21:9-12. This twofold miracle of the draught of fishes, and the broiled fish and bread made ready for their repast when their labors were ended, symbolize the fidelity, zeal, and reliance upon Christ for success, with which the apostles and all who succeed them in the ministry of the word, were to labor in the work of saving souls, and the watchful providence with which He in whose service they are engaged, will supply all their temporal and spiritual wants.—“A type of that nearness and fellowship, to which the Lord would in future times condescend in His invisible relations with His people.” (Stier.)—“The great and glorious ingathering from the sea of nations, which in the latter day shall be made to the Lord Jesus Christ, the end of which will be a feast of most gracious fellowship with Him, an antitype of the Lord’s Supper, an early meal of the great resurrection morning which will be followed by a permanent day of eternal joy.” (Stier.)]

Footnotes