"21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead."
John 21:1-14
The circumstances surrounding the incident recorded in these verses are full of significance, and we need to understand the background aright before we can fully appreciate what happened. For three years these men had companied with Jesus. He had called them from their boats and nets to become fishers of men. He had trained them in the intimacy of the disciple band, and they had received His incomparable teaching. They had witnessed His cross, and now they had experienced the wonder of His resurrection, and the appearances already recorded in the previous chapter. It would be fair comment to say that their world had been turned upside down for them. The last week or two had been revolutionary in the deepest possible sense; the whole period had undoubtedly been a time of tremendous crisis for them, and their minds and hearts must have been stirred and moved to the very depths as they thought on these things. We need to try to put ourselves into their situation to feel something of the drama and the tension that was gripping them: their beloved Master being taken from them and crucified; their despair and desolation with the bottom dropping out of their world - and then this incredible news that He was risen from the dead. They must have been like men in a dream. An upheaval of this sort cannot happen to people without tremendous emotional and psychological reaction taking place in them. Above all, this would be true of Peter, in view of what had happened in his denial of Jesus. More than any of them, he must have felt this. And now, obviously, momentous issues were facing them all, and perhaps even then some glimmering of what it was all going to mean for them in coming days was dawning on their souls. If so, they must have been trembling at the very thought. Such was the background; and it serves to explain what happened next, as we shall discuss in tomorrow's Note.