John 21:1-14 Scripture Study
By Pastor Chris Simmons – Trinity Lutheran Church, Paso Robles CA
A reinforcement/supplement study to our Sunday service meant for “Building up the body of Christ… the manifold Wisdom of God made known” (Ephesians 4+3)
For the Week of May 4, 2025
Fishing in the Dark—John 21:1-14
It is the second Sunday after Easter celebrating our Risen Lord. Christ is Risen! Here we see Jesus reveal Himself for the 3rd time after His resurrection. Here with the disciples, especially Peter, This reveal should carry with it a sense of familiarity… but Peter doesn’t recognize it right away. When the Lord reveals Himself to you, it’s not simply an Alleluia, then forget about it. Our Risen Lord rose to defeat death and give you a purpose never to forget. Prayers for a rich time of growing in faith as we study God’s Word together.
Pastor Chris Simmons.
Discuss: What are things you still enjoy today that remind you of your childhood? What memories do you have associated with them?
John 21:1-14
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Our five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch – play a crucial role in forming and retrieving memories. These sensory experiences create detailed pictures and feelings that help us remember past events. Think of your senses and how they can trigger a memory. Of course, visually when you see a photograph you remember a moment or an entire trip when you see a souvenir. Hearing a song reminds you of your youth, or an old senior prom. Touch can remind you of holding someone's hand, or holding a baby can remind you of your own children. A smell can remind you of mama's home cookin’ or a place you travelled. The taste of cotton candy can remind you of when you went to the circus, or communion wine of your confirmation. Your senses are a powerful tool to trigger and evoke memories.
The following from Dr. Andrew Budson of Harvard Medical School Magazine
As long as we’re awake and alert, we have information always coming in through our senses. And there are parts of the brain — the hippocampus and some structures related to it — that are taking this information in and potentially getting ready to store it.
Now, we’ll form a memory for only the parts that we pay attention to. If we pay attention to sensory information, then the hippocampus records that information and we’re able to remember it for the next, say, couple of days. And if it’s something important to us, it can be tagged as important while the memory is being created over the next week or so, which can generate a long-lasting memory that can be stored and retrieved over weeks, months, or years.
So, you know personally and now “professionally” that senses and memories go hand in hand.
Discuss: Which senses do you see Jesus evoke to stir up Peter in John 21? Can you find all five? Where are they in the text?
Again, senses stir up memories. Even though Jesus had already revealed Himself to the disciples twice already, there is something else they’ve forgotten, most particularly Peter. Of course, the Risen Lord Jesus is something to celebrate… What He has in store for us goes further and beyond the resurrection. As Jesus died and was resurrected with/for a purpose… we too are resurrected with Him and with His purpose
Galataians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Jesus recreates a critical moment in Peter’s life… when he was first called as a disciple to remind him of his God-given purpose.
John 21:5-6
3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Earlier in Jesus Ministry:
Luke 5:1-11
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Discuss: What did Peter (Simon) forget?
There are two things I’d like to highlight for you:
First, He forgot that he is called to be a “fisher of men” not a “fisher of… fish….”
John 20:21-23 - 21
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
The Holy Spirit already is dwelling in and upon Peter, to be sent out to the people as Jesus Himself was sent out by the Father. Peter’s purpose (and ours) is found in seeking to serve and love others as Jesus sought us out, served, and loved us.
Peter went back to what he did before meeting Jesus, because Peter lost that sense of purpose. We’ve been there too, when that sense of “drive” just isn’t there and something is missing.
Discuss: What is something you went back to that just didn't generate the same feeling it did when you first started or went there? Maybe a job after a long time away? An Amusement park that “lost its magic”?
The second thing Peter forgot… is don’t go fishing in the dark.
John 21:3
3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Luke 5:5
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
Peter’s track record for fishing in the dark is 0-2. Now, throughout Scripture, we see light and darkness used a lot. Jesus is the light of the world, in Him there is no darkness at all (John 8:12, 1 John 1:5). Those who follow Jesus will not walk (or fish) in the darkness but will have the light of light (John 8:12). The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone (Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Acts 26:18). Darkness is equivocated to the shadow of death (Psalm 23, Luke 1:79).
Darkness is being apart from Jesus, light is being with Jesus.
When we walk apart from Christ, what is the final result? Darkness.
We don’t catch the “fish”, we just get in the boat and drop the nets.
John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
It’s easy to get caught up in all the details and miss the big picture of what’s going on: Apart from the Lord Jesus they’re unable to catch anything. But with the Lord Jesus the haul is so big they barely pull it in.
Luke 5:6
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
John 21:6
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
That’s what it means to fish with Jesus. Blessings beyond comprehension. Not necessarily monetary or tangible possessions, but the riches that is what only Christ brings. We only lower the net, Jesus is the one that fills them.
Yet, how often do we go back to fishing in the dark? Only looking for what we would consider to be “blessings?” We go back to our lives after Sunday, forgetting how God provides for us in and through every moment? How do we forget to rely on His provision?
Discuss: What are some examples of “fishing in the dark”? Come up with some or consider sharing some personal stories.
Peter had forgotten both… He forgot the purpose granted to Him by God through the Holy Spirit and therefore began to work apart from Christ. Yet in one moment, as Peter (then Simon) was called into the light originally as a disciple, Jesus uses the same moment, filling Peter’s net, and calling Him again back into the light.
John 21:7
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
Jesus uses memories that engage Peter on all levels… the smell of the charcoal fire cooking the fish reminding Peter of the charcoal fire as he denied knowing Jesus before the crucifixion. The taste of the bread and fish reminded Him of Jesus' provision in the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000. The feeling of hauling in a huge number of fish reminding Him of all the people Jesus gathered when He preached the good news. The sight of recognizing His Savior, on shore now resurrected, took Him back to the time when His faith recognized the Messiah and brought to His knees.
Luke 5:8
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!
God brings us back to Him, helps us to recall all of the blessings of life He’s given to us, reminding us not to work apart from Him, but to work with Him, alongside Him always. He engages us to remember. Remember that it did not end on the cross, it did not end at the empty tomb… We are given God given purpose to work in the light
John 9:4-5 - 4
As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
We fish in the light, not in darkness… Let us work in the light, engage all our senses in every vocation Christ has given to us.
Discuss: What does it mean to “fish in the light”? Come up with some examples or consider sharing some personal stories.
Prayer
Are you looking for more “God-given purpose” or “divine drive”? Ask God to reveal opportunities to you, and for a soft heart to accept what He lays before you.
Do you feel like you're “fishing in the dark?” How can you take the focus off the result and turn it toward a Godly Motivation?
Do you feel you “forget Jesus” throughout the week? What are ways you can engage your senses to have the constant reminder for His presence with and for you?
Lord God, we thank you for the reminders that we are not alone. That when we drift away or lose our “Divine Drive” you call us back. You engage us heart, soul, mind, and body to put us back on mission, to love one another as you have loved us. Let us always fish in the light, the light of life that is from you. We pray this all in your name Jesus. Amen.