After this, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened.[1]
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were all together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come with you,” they said.
They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as morning was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore — though the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Boys, you don’t have any fish, do you?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw the net on the right side of the boat, and you’ll find some.”
So they threw it, and now they couldn’t haul it in because of the huge number of fish.
7 The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”
When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he pulled on his outer cloak — he had been stripped for work — and jumped into the sea.[2] 8 The other disciples came in the little boat, dragging the net full of fish. They weren’t far from land — only about a hundred yards out.[3]
9 When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish lying on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net onto the land. It was full of large fish — one hundred fifty-three of them. And even with so many, the net didn’t tear.[4]
12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them — and the fish as well.
14 This was now the third time Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said. “You know I care for you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”[5]
16 A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord, you know I care for you.”
Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”
17 He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you care for me?”
Peter was upset that he asked him a third time, “Do you care for me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know I care for you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Amen, amen, I tell you: when you were young, you fastened your own belt and walked wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten your belt and take you where you don’t want to go.”[6]
19 He said this to show what kind of death Peter would die to honor God. Then he said to him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them — the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one handing you over?” 21 When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to stay until I come, what is that to you? You — follow me.”
23 Because of this, a report spread among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But Jesus didn’t say he wouldn’t die. He said, “If I want him to stay until I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and who wrote them down. And we know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world couldn’t hold the books that would be written.
Notes
Note 1. This is the Sea of Galilee under a newer name. The lakeside city of Tiberias was founded around 20 CE in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius, and the whole lake gradually came to be called after it — a name that had spread by the end of the first century. John is the only Gospel writer who uses it. ↩
Note 2. The Greek word here (gymnos) can mean fully naked but often just means stripped down to a working garment. ↩
Note 3. The Greek gives the distance as “two hundred cubits.” A cubit — the length from elbow to fingertip — was roughly eighteen inches, so two hundred of them come to about a hundred yards, or ninety meters. We’ve converted the ancient measure into its modern equivalent. ↩
Note 4. The oddly exact count has fascinated readers for centuries. Augustine noted that 153 is the sum of every number from 1 to 17 and read symbolic meaning into it; others take it simply as the memory of a remarkable haul. No single explanation has ever won agreement. ↩
Note 5. The exchange uses two Greek verbs for love. Jesus asks with agapaō the first two times, then shifts to phileō; Peter answers with phileō all three times. We’ve kept the difference with “love” and “care.” Whether John means a real distinction or is simply varying his words — as he does elsewhere — the text does not settle. ↩
Note 6. Verse 19 tells us this saying points to “what kind of death Peter would die,” and “stretch out your hands” was widely read as pointing to crucifixion. The familiar detail that Peter was crucified upside down comes from later, non-biblical Christian tradition rather than from this text. ↩