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Jesus’ Appearance to His Disciples at the Sea of Tiberias
Jesus’ Appearance to His Disciples at the Sea of Tiberias By Derek Long
Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, He appeared on several occasions to His disciples. In John 21, we read about Jesus appearing to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. Let’s look at some lessons we can learn from the events which take place during this appearance. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, and two other disciples had decided to go fishing but after fishing all night had caught nothing (John 21:2-3). Jesus tells them to cast the net to the right side of the boat and they catch 153 large fish (John 21:4-6, 11). Jesus had demonstrated His power through miracles before His death and here we see Him displaying His power to work a miracle after His resurrection. This miracle as well as the other miracles Jesus performed should prove to these disciples and to us Jesus is indeed the Son of God (John 20:30-31). Peter plays a prominent role in the account of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. John 21:7 points out when the disciple whom Jesus loved, who is later identified as the author (John 21:20-24), tells Peter, “It is the Lord!” Peter responds by putting on his outer garment, plunges into the sea and goes to Jesus. Peter’s interest or desire for the Lord has not waned. He is eager to come to Jesus and leaves behind this great catch of fish to do so. Jesus will feed the disciples bread and fish when they get to shore with their net full of fish (John 21:8-14). After the disciples have breakfast, Jesus will ask Simon Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” (John 21:15-17). It would do us well to remember Peter had earlier denied Jesus on three occasions (John 13:36-38; 18:15-18, 25-27). Jesus appears to be calling Peter to serve Him even though Peter had denied Him three times earlier. Jesus tells Peter, “Feed My lambs,” “Tend My sheep,” and “Feed My sheep” (John 21:15-17). Jesus still had important work for Peter even though Peter had denied the Lord previously. Peter is a great example for us of someone who sinned against the Lord and yet was still able to move on and accomplish great things for the Lord. Peter would be among the apostles who preached on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter would be the one selected to take the gospel to the first Gentiles (Acts 10), Peter would eventually write two epistles to Christians (1 & 2 Peter), and Peter would go on to serve as an elder (1 Peter 5:1-4). If we have sinned in our lives, we need to remember there are still things we can do in service to God. Jesus also displays the forgiveness available to those who sin against Him in this account. If we had been in Jesus’ shoes and Peter had earlier denied us three times, would we be giving him another chance? Would we be telling him to “Feed My lambs,” etc.? Jesus shows His willingness to forgive those who sin against Him and use them to still accomplish great things in His service. Jesus makes a prediction concerning the manner of Peter’s death (John 21:18-19). He then says to Peter, “Follow Me.” Peter responds by looking at John and asking, “But Lord, what about this man?” To which Jesus replies, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:20-23). Peter does here what many of us may be tempted to do at times. Jesus has told Peter what will happen to him and what Peter needs to do. Peter though is concerned about someone else. A good lesson for us to remember is to obey what the Lord says regardless of what happens to others or what others decide to do. If following Jesus costs us our life but it does not cost others their life, we still need to follow Jesus. If our life is short but someone else lives a long time, we still need to follow Jesus. It is easy to become distracted from what God has given us to do because we are so concerned about what is happening or is going to happen to others. John 21:23 reminds us to be careful in approaching what God says. Some people misunderstood what Jesus said about John and inferred John would live till the Lord’s return. However, a careful consideration of what Jesus said shows He did not say that. Let’s be careful not to approach the statements made by God in Scripture and come to a wrong conclusion because we do not handle the Scriptures properly (2 Timothy 2:15). John 21:25 ends the book by reminding us Jesus did many more works than those we have recorded for us. God has chosen to record the things we have in the gospel accounts to develop faith in us. Will we take full advantage of what God has recorded for us? Will we be people who believe based upon the evidence provided in God’s word? Will we live our lives based upon such faith and follow Jesus’ example?
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