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Second miraculous catch of fish

John 21:1–14 · Post-Resurrection

Scripture

John 21:1–14

fter these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7Therefore 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, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

King James Version · public domain

Joani 21:1–14

astaj Jisuj u’a dëfteu vetëhen’ e ti përsëri nxënëset ndë dett të Tiveriadhësë; edhe e dëfteu kështu. 2Ishinë bashkë Simon Pjetri edhe Thomaj që thuhetë Binjak, edhe Nathanaili që është nga Kanaja e Galilesë, edhe të bijt e Zevedheut, edhe dy të-tjerë nga nxënësit’ e ati. 3Simon Pjetri u thot’ atyre, Vete të gjuanj pishqe. I thonë, Vijmë edhe neve bashkë me ty. Duallnë edhe hipnë ndë lundrët për-një-here, edhe atë natë nukë zunë asgjë. 4Po tani si ubë mëngjes, Jisuj ndënji ndë buzët të detit; po nxënësitë nuk’ e njohnë se është Jisuj. 5Jisuj pra u thot’ atyre. Djemthit’ e mi, mos keni ndonjë gjë për të ngrënë? 6I upërgjeqnë, jo. Edhe ay u tha atyre, Hithni rrietënë mb’anët të-djathtë të lundrësë, edhe dotë gjeni. E hothnë pra, edhe s’muntnë më t’a hiqninë nga shumica e pishqevet. 7Ay nxënësi pra, që donte Jisuj, i thotë Pjetrit, Eshtë Zoti. Edhe Simon Pjetri, kur dëgjoj se është Zoti, upshtuall me petkunë, (sepse ishte lakuriq,) edhe uhoth ndë dett. 8Edhe nxënësit’ e-tjerë erthnë me lundrëzënë, (sepse nuk’ ishte lark tokësë, po sindonja dy qint kut,) dyke hequrë rrietën’ e pishqevet. 9Edhe si sbritnë pra mbë tokët, shohënë, se atje ishte një zjarr i-ndezurë, edhe një peshk vënë mbi atë, edhe bukë. 10Jisuj u thot atyre, Bini nga pishqetë që zutë tashi. 11Simon Pjetri hipi edhe hoqi rrietënë mbi tokët plot me pishke të mëdhenj, një qint e pesë-dhjet’ e tre. 12Jisuj u thot’ atyre. Ejani e drekohi. Po asndonjë nga nxënësitë nukë kuxonte t’a pyesë, Cili je ti? sepse e dininë se është Zoti. 13Vjen pra Jisuj edhe merr bukënë e u’a ep, edhe peshkunë gjithashtu. 14Këjo ësht’ e-treta herë që udëftye tashi Jisuj te nxënësit’ e ti, passi ungjall prej së-vdekurish.

Kristoforidhi, Dhiata e Re Toskërisht 1879 · zotërim publik

Summary

The risen Christ stands on the shore at daybreak while the disciples, returned to their old trade, toil through the night and catch nothing; at His word, cast on the right side, the net fills. John recognizes Him first, "It is the Lord," and Peter casts himself into the sea. The Fathers note that this is the third manifestation to the gathered disciples, a proof of the Resurrection in a true and bodily Christ who eats with them, and they observe that the disciples labor in vain by their own strength yet grow fruitful the moment they work at His command.

The tradition reads the catch as a figure of the apostolic ministry and the gathering of the nations: the gospel is a net let down into the waters of this world, and what the Apostles draw in is drawn not by their own art but by the word of the Lord. The charcoal fire and the bread and fish laid ready are heard as a gift; Christ does not need their catch, yet He bids them bring of it, joining their labor to His own provision.

By that same fire He restores Peter, whose threefold "do you love me?" undoes the threefold denial, and whose commission, "feed my sheep," entrusts the flock to him. Blessed Augustine gives the famous reading of the one hundred fifty-three fish: the sum of all numbers from one to seventeen, and seventeen joins the ten of the Law to the seven gifts of the Spirit, so that the catch signifies the whole company of the saved, gathered under both Law and grace. The net that does not tear, unlike the breaking nets of the earlier catch in Luke, is read as the unbroken unity of the Church holding its full number safe to the shore of the age to come.

In their own words

For He no longer made things out of matter already subsisting, as, through a certain dispensation, He did before the Crucifixion.

St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily LXXXVII, section [2] (on John xxi. 1–14); NPNF1 Vol. 14

The Second Catch of Fish (John 21:1–14)

Public-Domain Patristic Commentary

After the Resurrection, by the Sea of Tiberias, the risen Christ showed himself to seven of the disciples a third time. They had fished all night and caught nothing. At daybreak a figure stood on the shore, unrecognized, and said, "Children, have ye any meat?" When they answered no, he said, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find," and the catch was so great they could not draw it in. Then the beloved disciple said, "It is the Lord," and Peter, hearing it, threw on his coat and cast himself into the sea. Coming to land they found a fire of coals with fish and bread, and Peter drew the net ashore, "full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken." And Jesus said, "Come and dine."

This is the last of the great signs, and the Fathers read it on two levels at once. On the surface they note the disciples returning to their lawful trade in the in-between days, the night of fruitless toil, the catch given only at the Lord's word, Peter's headlong love, and the reverent awe of men who now knew the risen body for what it was. Beneath the surface they find a figure of the whole Church: the casting on the right side as the gathering of the good, the precise number of the fish as the full company of the saved, the net unbroken as the Church at last without schism, and the meal on the shore as the eternal banquet, set against the broken net of that earlier draught in Galilee before the Passion. Gathered below are five Fathers, two from the East and three from the West, each quoted verbatim from a public-domain translation. A note on the sources follows, including why Cyril, whom one might expect, is not among them here.

St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407)

From his Homilies on the Gospel of John (Homily 87, on John 21), NPNF translation. Public domain.

On why they had gone back to fishing:

Do you see that He remains not with them continually, nor as before? ... Simon, therefore, comes to fish. For since neither was He with them continually, nor was the Spirit yet given, nor they at that time yet entrusted with anything, having nothing to do, they went after their trade.

On the several signs, and that he no longer worked from existing matter:

For no ordinary signs were they which had taken place. What were they? First, that so many fish were caught; then, that the net did not break; then, that before they landed, the coals had been found, and fish laid thereon, and bread. For He no longer made things out of matter already subsisting, as, through a certain dispensation, He did before the Crucifixion.

On Peter's love, that could not wait for the boat:

When therefore Peter knew Him, he threw down all, both fish and nets, and girded himself. Do you see his respect and love? Yet they were only two hundred cubits off; but not even so could Peter wait to go to Him in the boat, but reached the shore by swimming.

On the reverent silence of the disciples at the meal:

And none of them dared ask Him. For they no longer had the same boldness, nor were they so confident, nor did they now approach Him with speech, but with silence and great fear and reverence, sat down giving heed to Him. For they knew that it was the Lord.

St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444)

Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Book 12 (on John 21:1–14) Source: trans. P. E. Pusey & T. Randell, 1874–1885. Public domain. Full text: https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cyril_on_john_12_book12.htm

On why the risen Christ grants a third appearance, and works a visible miracle to confirm His promise:

Our Lord Jesus Christ once more gladdens His disciples with the enjoyment of the sight of Himself, Whom they so greatly longed to see, and vouchsafes unto them a third visit, in addition to the other two, in order that He might confirm their minds, and render them unchangeably steadfast in faith towards Him. ... In order, then, that He might convince them by a palpable sign that every Word that He had spoken would surely come to pass, and that His promise would result in complete fulfilment, He draws a convincing proof from the trade at which they were at work.

On the fruitless night as the old preaching, and the cast on the right side as the surpassing teaching of Christ:

For the blessed Moses also let down the line of instruction, that is, by the letter of the Law; but this was fishing on the left side, the commandment of Christ unto us being on the right. For incomparably greater, then, and far exceeding in honour and glory the commandments of the Law, is the teaching of Christ; for the reality greatly surpasses the type, and the Master the servant, and the grace of the Spirit, which justifies, surpasses the letter, which condemneth.

On the fire of coals and the fish already caught, showing that it is Christ's own power, not the Apostles', that begins the work:

Then they see a fire of coals, for the Saviour had kindled a fire miraculously, and put a fish upon it that He had caught by His ineffable power; and this too He had done of design. For it was not the hand of the holy Apostles, or the preaching of these spiritual fishermen among men, but the power of the Saviour that started the work. For He first caught one as the firstfruits of those who were to come ... then afterwards the disciples caught the multitude in their nets, being enabled by His Divine bidding to take something of what they sought.

On the meal at which Christ Himself feeds the labourers, as a type of the blessings He will apportion:

They did not take food for themselves, and eat thereof, but Christ gave to them of it; that we might learn, as in a type, that on that day Christ will Himself provide us with Divine blessings, and apportion unto us those things which may be profitable unto us as our Lord.

Theophylact of Ohrid (c. 1055–1107)

From his Explanation of the Gospel of John, as compiled in the Catena Aurea on John. Public domain.

On Peter's girding himself as a mark of modesty:

Peter's girding himself is a sign of modesty. He girt himself with a linen coat, such as Thamian and Tyrian fishermen throw over them, when they have nothing else on, or even over their other clothes.

On the fish brought to prove the reality of the risen body:

To shew that it was no vision, He bade them take of the fish they had caught.

On the night without the Sun as a figure of the prophets before Christ:

In the night time before the presence of the sun, Christ, the Prophets took nothing; for though they endeavoured to correct the people, yet these often fell into idolatry.

Blessed Augustine of Hippo (354–430)

From his Tractates on the Gospel of John, as compiled in the Catena Aurea on John. Public domain.

On the disciples returning to a lawful craft for their living:

after that He has risen from the grave, after seeing the marks of His wounds, after receiving ... the Holy Ghost, all at once they become what they were before, fishers, not of men, but of fishes. We must remember then that they were not forbidden by their Apostleship from earning their livelihood by a lawful craft, provided they had no other means of living.

On the draught as a figure of the Church at the end of the world:

Mystically, in the draught of fishes He signified the mystery of the Church, such as it will be at the final resurrection of the dead ... The number seven, which is the number of the disciples who were fishing, signifies the end of time ... The shore is the end of the sea, and therefore signifies the end of the world.

On the two draughts, the right side, and the net unbroken:

In a former draught the nets are not thrown to the right, or to the left ... meaning that the good and bad were mixed together. But here it is, Cast the net on the right side of the ship; to signify those who should stand on the right hand, the good ... In the first draught the net was broken, to signify schisms; but here to shew that in that perfect peace of the blessed there would be no schisms ... yet was not the net broken.

On the number of the fishes, a hundred and fifty-three:

The number which signifies the law is ten, from the ten Commandments. But when to the law is joined grace ... the number seven is brought in, that being the number which represents the Holy Spirit ... The seven of the Spirit added to the ten of the law make seventeen; and the numbers from one up to seventeen when added together, make a hundred and fifty-three ... this number represents all who partake of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

St. Gregory the Great (c. 540–604)

From his Homilies on the Gospels (Homily 24), as compiled in the Catena Aurea on John. Public domain.

On the craft that may be resumed after conversion, and the one that may not:

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 for the receipt of custom. For there are some businesses which cannot or can hardly be carried on without sin; and these cannot be returned to after conversion.

On the sea as this world and the shore as the rest eternal:

The sea signifies the world, which is tossed about with various causes of tumults, and the waves of this corruptible life; the shore by its solidity figures the rest eternal. The disciples then, inasmuch as they were still upon the waves of this mortal life, were labouring on the sea; but the Redeemer having by His resurrection thrown off the corruption of the flesh, stood upon the shore.

On the meal of the seven as the banquet of the perfected:

By holding this last feast with seven disciples, he declares that they only who are full of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, shall be with Him in the eternal feast.

St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673–735)

From his Exposition of the Gospel of John, as compiled in the Catena Aurea on John. Public domain.

On the two hundred cubits as the twofold love:

By the two hundred cubits is signified the twofold grace of love; the love of God and the love of our neighbour; for by them we approach to Christ.

On the broiled fish as Christ, who became bread for us:

The fish broiled is Christ Who suffered. He deigned to be hid in the waters of human nature, and to be taken in the net of our night; and having become a fish by the taking of humanity, became bread to refresh us by His divinity.

Note on sources and other Fathers

The two levels of this scene are carried by different Fathers. Chrysostom keeps mostly to the history: why the disciples, having as yet no commission and not yet the Spirit, returned to their trade; the cluster of signs (the great catch, the unbroken net, the fire and fish and bread made without existing matter); Peter's love that would not wait for the boat; and the awed silence of men who knew it was the Lord. Theophylact adds smaller observations, Peter's girding as modesty and the fish eaten to prove the body real, with one figural note on the night before the Sun. The deeper allegory is Western. Augustine reads the whole draught as the Church at the end of the world, contrasting it point by point with the earlier catch in Luke 5: there the nets thrown without regard to side, here cast on the right for the good alone; there the net broken for schisms, here unbroken in the peace of the blessed; and the famous reckoning of the hundred and fifty-three as the law's ten joined to the Spirit's seven. Gregory gives the sea and the shore, this tossing world and the eternal rest, and the meal of the seven as the banquet of those full of the sevenfold grace; Bede the two hundred cubits as the love of God and neighbour, and the broiled fish as Christ himself become our bread.

One absence should be marked plainly. Cyril of Alexandria, whose commentary on John is quoted throughout the earlier chapters and whom I named when introducing this item, is not cited here, because his commentary does not survive in usable form for this final chapter and the Catena Aurea on John 21 does not draw on him; the Eastern voice in this passage is therefore Chrysostom and Theophylact. Quotations are verbatim: Chrysostom from his Homily 87, and Augustine, Theophylact, Gregory, and Bede through the Catena Aurea on John, as marked in each attribution. This draught is the post-Resurrection one in John alone, and is to be distinguished from the call of the first disciples in Luke 5, to which several of the Fathers above expressly compare it.

Patristic sources

Read the sources: Chrysostom on John (CCEL) · Augustine, Tractates on John (CCEL)