John 21

John 21 is the final chapter of the Gospel of John. In the preceding chapter, John 20, the risen Jesus appears to the disciples and to Thomas, and the purpose of the book is stated (John 20:30-31). Chapter 21 recounts a later appearance of Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Outline

• Verses 1-3 Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples fish all night on the Sea of Tiberias but catch nothing.
• Verses 4-8 At daybreak Jesus stands on the shore, but the disciples do not recognize him. When they cast the net on the right side of the ship as he instructs, it fills with fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved says, "It is the Lord," and Peter casts himself into the sea, while the other disciples, about two hundred cubits from land, bring the net ashore in a little ship.
• Verses 9-14 Fish and bread lie on a fire of coals. The catch numbers 153 great fish, yet the net is not broken. Jesus gives them bread and fish. The text records this as his third appearance after the resurrection.
• Verses 15-17 Jesus asks Peter three times, "Lovest thou me?" and each time entrusts him with a charge: "Feed my lambs," "Feed my sheep," and "Feed my sheep."
• Verses 18-19 Jesus foretells Peter's death and says, "Follow me."
• Verses 20-23 When Peter asks what will become of the disciple whom Jesus loved, Jesus answers, "What is that to thee?" The text corrects a rumor that this disciple would not die, noting that it differs from what Jesus actually said.
• Verses 24-25 The chapter identifies that disciple as the one who testifies to these things and wrote them, and it concludes that if everything Jesus did were written down, even the world itself could not contain the books.

Key Verses

• John 21:15-17 "Lovest thou me? … Feed my sheep" – the classic passage on Peter's restoration and his pastoral commission.
• John 21:19 "Follow me" – a scene in which the call issued at the beginning of the Gospel is renewed after the resurrection.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ
• Peter
• Thomas: the text also calls him "Didymus."
• Nathanael: a man of Cana in Galilee. One traditional view identifies him with Bartholomew.
• The sons of Zebedee: James (son of Zebedee) and John.
• The disciple whom Jesus loved: the text does not name him. Church tradition generally identifies him as the apostle John.
• The Sea of Tiberias: another name for the Sea of Galilee.

Points for Reflection

• Because the end of chapter 20 reads like the book's conclusion, scholars debate whether chapter 21 is an epilogue added later. All extant manuscripts are understood to contain chapter 21.
• The three questions are commonly read as corresponding to Peter's threefold denial of Jesus (chapter 18). The Greek text alternates between two different verbs meaning "to love," and interpreters differ on whether the distinction is significant.
• The Catholic Church regards verses 15-17 as one of the passages supporting the primacy of Peter (his preeminent authority among the apostles). Protestants generally read the passage as concerning Peter's personal restoration and his commission as a shepherd.
• Various symbolic interpretations of the number 153 have been handed down since Augustine, but the text itself does not explain its meaning.
• The account that Peter was crucified upside down comes from church tradition. The text says only, "thou shalt stretch forth thy hands."
• Verses 22-23 often draw attention because the text itself corrects the misunderstanding that this disciple would not die before the Second Coming. Verse 20 points back to the scene of the Last Supper (chapter 13).

In the Korean Church

Verses 15-17 are frequently used as a sermon text on the calling of church officers at services ordaining church officers and at services for the ordination and installation of pastors. The passage is also used as a sermon text on the Sundays following Easter.