After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. And he manifested [himself] thus.
Jesus had already shown Himself twice to His gathered disciples, and now John records a third meeting — on the lake where these men had once made their living. Two questions come up at once: why does the Gospel carry on after chapter 20 seems to close it, and why does John say twice in one verse that Jesus "revealed Himself"?
John repeats the same statement inside one verse. One writer asks why that emphasis is there and finds two reasons — one for the disciples, and one for us:
Notice how the emphasis is laid upon this showing of Himself. Verse 1 says it twice, and verse 14 says it again: "This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was risen from the dead." He showed Himself to His disciples to confirm and strengthen them for all they would have to face for His sake in a hostile world. But this record is for us too, so that we may look at Him, have our hearts moved, and have our faith confirmed by what we see.
Some have called chapter 21 an appendix, tacked on later. One writer answers that this scene cannot be cut loose from the two before it:
There is no fair way to separate the appearing of Jesus at the lake of Tiberias from the two scenes before it. It completes them, and verse 14 lets us say so with confidence. So it is quite wrong to call John 21 an Appendix, and even more wrong to guess that it came long after the rest of the Gospel.
Another writer holds both together: the chapter flows on from what came before, yet the scene changes:
John 21 is not a postscript, for its continuity with everything that has gone before is clear. It is supplementary, however, in the sense that both historically and in terms of God's dealings the scene is changed. It all takes place at the Sea of Galilee, called by its Gentile name, the Sea of Tiberias, as John likes to do. In terms of God's dealings, it points to the gathering in of the Gentiles.
The lake was not a random spot. It was where these men had worked, and where the call to follow first reached them:
The story opens with seven disciples at the sea of Tiberias. We know that at this spot the disciples had been called from their trade as fishermen to follow the Lord and become fishers of men. For three and a half years they had kept company with the Lord in His lowly path, preaching the good news, healing the sick, and casting out demons. In all those years their needs had been met; they had lacked nothing.
One writer turns their wait into a question for today's reader:
They went down to Galilee and waited for Him to appear. Clearly He kept them waiting a little. What position do you and I occupy today? "Waiting for the coming of the Lord," you reply. True — and what happens in the meantime? We are being tested, as these seven were. They came back to the scene of old memories. The sparkling blue waters of the Sea of Galilee and the old boats and nets were in full view. While they waited for their Lord to appear, the temptation came to fill up the time by going fishing.
Was the fishing trip a failure? One writer will not call it that, yet sees the Lord closing off any thought of going back to the old trade for good:
We do not say the disciples clearly failed in this act, but if they had any thought of remaining merely fishermen, our Lord would put a stop to all that.
This is the third appearance John records. One writer reads the three together as one picture moving forward in time:
In the first we have seen the Church of God instructed. In the second we get the Jew believing and worshipping. The third scene undoubtedly gives us the future blessing of the Gentiles… He has not only blessed the Church, and is going to bless the Jew; but by and by all the Gentiles too will trust in Him. Notice, when they brought the fish to shore, the net did not break. By and by, when things are administered by Christ, there will be no failure.
- Shown — He revealed Himself, and revealed Himself in this way. He came to strengthen men facing a hostile world, and the same record strengthens our faith.
- Joined — verse 14 calls this the third time, tying the scene to the two before it. Writers differ on whether to call the chapter supplementary.
- Placed — the lake carries its Gentile name, and it is the ground where these men were first called away from their nets.
- Tested — they waited in Galilee, and the wait was the test. The old boats and nets were in full view, and the old trade pulled at them.
- Unbroken — the third showing points ahead: when Christ manages everything, the net holds and nothing fails.
There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael who was of Cana of Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
The chapter opens with a roll call: seven men, five of them named, gathered by the lake in Galilee. John names them before telling us what happened, and the list itself carries much of the scene's meaning.
This is home water for these men. They grew up here, and here they walked away from their trade.
You know very well that the Sea of Tiberias is where these disciples were born and raised. It was there that Zebedee, the father of James and John, ran a large fishing business. The Lord first called Andrew and Simon, then James and John. It says, "They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him" (Mark 1:20). How did these disciples come to be back on this historic ground again?
They were in Galilee because the risen Lord had sent them there. The wait became a test.
You will remember that the Lord had said to the Galilean women, "Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me" (Matt. 28:10). I have no doubt this instruction brought them to the place where Jesus met them. The message the angel sent through the same women did the same. They went down to Galilee and waited for Him to appear. Clearly He kept them waiting a little… They arrived at the scene of old memories, with the sparkling blue waters of the Sea of Galilee and the old boats and nets in full view. While they waited for their Lord to appear, the temptation came to fill up the time by going fishing. What ruled us in our unconverted days is very apt to reassert its influence if we are not watching.
Nathanael is named here with his home town. Many commentators think he also went by another name.
The writer calls him Nathanael here and in chapter 21, and never mentions him by any other name. He was, we learn, a native of Cana of Galilee; but no other New Testament writer introduces a Nathanael. So it is a very common opinion that he was the same person as Bartholomew… Bartholomew is a family name, and so probably not the man's personal name. There is no good reason why Nathanael and Bartholomew should not be the same person.
John's Gospel treats two of the seven with unusual reserve.
The sons of Zebedee. The only distinct mention in the Gospel of James and John, and, of course, not by name.
Some read this scene as a picture of what is still to come. The men named are those most closely tied to Israel, and the lake's name carries meaning too.
Peter, the leading apostle to the circumcision, is prominent all through. Next to him we have Thomas named, and then Nathanael, both typical representatives of Israel in the last days. The connection of Nathanael with Cana of Galilee, where the water was made wine, is noted here for the first time. Only the sons of Zebedee are named besides… "Christ's millennial work is not marred… Before He appears He will have prepared a remnant for Himself on the earth. But after He appears He will also gather a multitude from the sea of nations." The name "the sea of Tiberias" carries the name of the Caesar whom man has chosen for his king, and it may fittingly picture that sea of nations.
A plainer reading looks at the men themselves and how their thinking had shifted.
The story opens with seven disciples at the sea of Tiberias. At this spot the Lord had called these fishermen away from their trade to follow Him and become fishers of men. For three and a half years they had kept company with the Lord in His lowly path… In all these years their needs had been met; they had lacked nothing. Then the time came for the Lord to return to the Father. It seems they thought His direct care had ended when He left. They felt the time had come to take up their old trade again, in the old place, to meet their daily needs.
The verse notes that they were together. That closeness had a weak side.
Now, I do not say that the work was very deep. It was real, but there was a lack of depth… The ways of a man who holds a leading place, and his words too, matter a great deal to us here. How readily believers fall in with the word of anyone who takes the lead!
- Place. They are back where they grew up and where the Lord first called them from their nets. Old ground pulls.
- Waiting. They were in Galilee because the risen Lord had told them to be; the delay before He appeared became a test.
- Names. Many take Nathanael to be Bartholomew. John points out the sons of Zebedee here, but never names them.
- Seven. Peter leads, with Thomas and Nathanael beside him — read as a picture of a future gathering out of the sea of nations.
- Together. Their unity is real but shallow: one voice sets the direction, and the rest go along.