From: John 21:1-14
The Miraculous Draught of Fish
[4] Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did
not know that it was Jesus. [5] Jesus said to them, “Children, have you 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, for the quantity of fish. [7] That disciple whom Jesus loved said
to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put
on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. [8] But 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 there, with fish lying on it,
and bread. [10] Jesus said to them, “Bring some fish that you have just caught.”
[11] So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a
hundred and fifty-three 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.
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Commentary:
1-3. There are some very significant things in this account: we find the disciples
“by the Sea of Tiberias”, which means they have done what the risen Christ had
told them to do (cf. Matthew 28:7); they are together, which shows that there is
a close fraternity among them; Peter takes the initiative, which in a way shows
his authority; and they have gone back to their old jobs as fishermen, probably
waiting for our Lord to give them new instructions.
This episode is reminiscent of the first miraculous draught of fish (cf. Luke 5:1-
11), where our Lord promised Peter He would make him a fisher of men; now He
is going to confirm his mission as visible head of the Church.
4-8. The risen Jesus goes in search of His disciples, to encourage them and tell
them more about the great mission He has entrusted to them. This account des-
cribes a very moving scene, our Lord together with His own: “He passes by,
close to His Apostles, close to those souls who have given themselves to Him,
and they do not realize He is there. How often Christ is not only near us, but in
us; yet we still live in such a human way!... They, the disciples, recall what they
have heard so often from their Master’s lips: fisher of men, apostles. And they
realize that all things are possible, because it is He who is directing their fishing.
“Whereupon ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord!’ Love,
love is farsighted. Love is the first to appreciate kindness. The adolescent Apos-
tle, who felt a deep and firm affection for Jesus, because he loved Christ with all
the purity and tenderness of a heart that had never been corrupted, exclaimed:
‘It is the Lord!’”
“’When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes and sprang
into the sea.’ Peter personifies faith. Full of marvelous daring, he leaps into the
sea. With a love like John’s and a faith like Peter’s, what is there that can stop
us?” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 265-266).
9-14. We can sense here the deep impression this appearance of the risen Je-
sus must have made on the Apostles, and how sweet a memory St. John kept
of it. After His resurrection Jesus showed the same tenderness as characterized
His public ministry. He makes use of natural things — the fire, the fish, etc. — to
show that He really is there, and He maintains the familiar tone typical of when
He lived with the disciples.
The Fathers and Doctors of the Church have often dwelt on the mystical mea-
ning of this episode: the boat is the Church, whose unity is symbolized by the
net which is not torn; the sea is the world, Peter in the boat stands for supreme
authority of the Church, and the number of fish signifies the number of the elect
(cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, “Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.