Commentary on John 21:1-19

Scholars often refer to John 21 as the epilogue of the Gospel. It’s possible that it was added by an editor after the Gospel was written; after all, the Gospel seems to end in 20:30–31 with this sign-off: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” 

However, ancient epilogues often functioned as second endings, or wrap-up narratives that told the fates of the main characters. That is exactly what this passage is doing, tying up some loose ends and letting us know a bit about what becomes of Peter and the beloved disciple. So it could very well be original and be structured to follow the conventions of ancient Greek literature. 

There are several different resolutions going on here, so it might be helpful to divide the scene into snapshots, paying attention to how each frame offers closure to themes and characters from John’s Gospel.

First snapshot: Better together (verses 1–3)

The setup for this passage is almost a mundane scenario—fishermen going out to fish. But John foreshadows the supernatural by announcing that Jesus was going to “show” himself in a divine-epiphany sort of way. Not all the disciples are there (only seven, which could fit into John’s theme of sevens), and not all those there are named—only Simon Peter (the star of the scene), Thomas (the star of the previous scene), and Nathanael (the star of one of the early scenes who disappeared from the story until now). 

The sons of Zebedee are mentioned, but their names, which we know from elsewhere are James and John, are not given. The named disciples in attendance seem to be chosen either for their association with the fish industry or as representatives of Jesus-followers who had unique encounters with Jesus. I favor the second possibility. 

The focal point of this snapshot is the fact that Simon Peter announces he is going to fish, but the others do not let him go alone. In the Synoptic Gospels, fishing serves as a metaphor for discipleship and evangelism when Jesus calls his disciples and makes them “fishers of people.” John, however, does not include a fishing tale in his version of Jesus calling the disciples. This scene may be John’s way of wrapping up his theme of discipleship—which he describes as believing and following Jesus in community—while giving a nod to the Synoptic tradition of fishing as discipleship. The fishing (or Jesus-following) in this story is better done together; Peter should not have to fish alone.

Second snapshot: Listen to his voice (verses 4–8)

The parallel to the call of the disciples only deepens in this frame because this miraculous catch of fish echoes the catch in Luke 5, when Jesus steps into Simon’s boat and tells him to put out into deep waters. In the Lukan story, Simon obeys, catches two boatloads of fish, and laments his own sinfulness in the presence of the miracle-working Jesus. 

John’s story is too similar to ignore the connections, but it is the differences that we should pay attention to. Here, Jesus is not in the boat with the disciples, and it takes place not in the opening of his ministry but at the close. John might use the parallels to Luke’s story (or the oral tradition) to introduce the theme of discipleship to the narrative, but then he points to the new kind of discipleship that must occur, now that Jesus’ earthly ministry is over. Jesus will not be in the boat with them, but if they continue to listen to his voice (as Jesus’ sheep listen to his voice in John 10:27–28), they will succeed in their future ministry and follow in Jesus’ footsteps. 

Third snapshot: Fellowship by the fire (verses 9–14)

There are some intriguing details in this part of the story. First, John purposefully points out that the fish are being cooked on a charcoal fire (using a unique word for “fire” in Greek, anthrakian) in order to connect this scene to Peter’s denial in chapter 18, where he warms himself by a charcoal fire (same word). This alerts the audience to the fact that what comes next is closure for Peter’s denial plotline. 

Another fascinating detail involves the 153 fish that the narrator includes in his description of the large catch. Commentators have many theories on the significance of this number, suggesting it refers to the number of fish species or the number of nations in the world known at that time. None of these have sufficient evidence behind them; it could very well just be a fisherman’s habit to count how many fish they caught (which would make sense if fish were sustenance and livelihood as well as a taxable good for the Romans). The point is that the catch is miraculously large and thus completes a Johannine theme of the abundance of the Messiah, a theme that started in John 2 with a vast quantity of water transformed into good wine in Cana. 

A final detail catches the audience’s attention here—the narrator’s comment that “none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord.” Just as the Emmaus disciples do not recognize Jesus until they break bread with him (Luke 24), the disciples here do not recognize that it is Jesus until the beloved disciple interjects, and then they all come to eat breakfast with him. It is a fellowship meal, much like communion, in which Jesus shares food and a piece of himself with his disciples. This meal is not one signaling Jesus’ death but pointing forward to community life after resurrection.

Fourth snapshot: Good Shepherd handoff (verses 15–19)

This frame of the scene ties up several narrative threads. First, we have a reversal of Peter’s denial and shame as Jesus prompts a triple confession of Peter’s love set at a charcoal fire like the first. The words for “love” in this passage alternate between agapao and phileo, but the current consensus in scholarship says that these words are not speaking to different types or qualities of love but are, rather, interchangeable. John seems to favor alternating words for variety in this passage because he does the same with the words for sheep and lambs. 

Which brings us to another theme closure. The Good Shepherd discourse from chapter 10 finds new life in Jesus’ words to Peter. Now, instead of Jesus being the shepherd who loves the sheep, Peter is being asked about loving the shepherd and then is given the task of tending to, or grazing, the sheep. Just as Jesus’ love for his sheep led to him giving up his life, Peter’s path will also lead to death as he follows Jesus and cares for his sheep.