John 21:1-14

21:1-2 | Jesus purposefully showed Himself to the disciples as they carried on with their daily lives. In an instance where they felt like failures, He taught them a lesson they would never forget.

21:4 | This account recalls Luke 5. In that narrative, Jesus was with His followers in the boat as He was always with them in His earthly ministry - sharing successes, failures, and teaching moments. Here, Jesus stood on the shore, still helping, still empowering - but at a distance.

21:5 | Jesus’ question drew the disciples’ attention to their failure. The grammatical construction of the original text implied, “You do not have any food, do you?” Jesus wanted them to understand why their work yielded nothing: it was because they had done what they were not asked to do - and done it without Him (15:5).

21:6-8 | These men had lived with Jesus for three years and had seen Him after the Resurrection. Yet only when He supplied them with fish did they recognize Him.

21:9-13 | Perhaps the most important aspect of this account is not what happened on the Sea of Tiberius but what happened on the shore. The centerpiece of the story is Jesus and the disciples, sitting around the fire eating breakfast. The greatest blessing was not catching the fish but enjoying time with Christ.