John 21
1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
They can't sit around, they must make a living. Many who call themselves "pastors" today have large buildings and large pay checks as to live large lives. A good Pastor will have a job to make a living being blessed by God while doing the work of The Lord also. True, there are many variables in this as to the health of that Pastor and or the need of that church body, but the example is set throughout The Word. Here, these seven that work for The Lord are going fishing to make a living and haven't caught a thing all night.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Christ Jesus is to far away to tell it's Him standing there. How far away is He from your daily life? Do you have Him with you first thing each morning?
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
Christ is yelling to them, asking if they've caught anything yet.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
The directions Christ gives us is The Only Way to get things done. If we don't follow His Words, we lose out on the blessings that this life has to offer us. For us in The USA, the left side is the wrong side. It holds evil within its ranks. Communism and socialism is on the left and evil is at its front. If you're not on the right side, or another way to put it, on the correct side, which is to say side of good, you're on the side of evil.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
John told Peter it's Christ. Excited to see The Lord, Peter having no shirt on, only his lower body covered, girted himself and jumped overboard. "Girt" = διαζώννυμι diazṓnnymi, dee-az-own'-noo-mee; from G1223 and G2224; to gird tightly:—gird. You would pull up the garment from the middle and tuck it into your belt, creating what represents shorts today.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
There are way too many fish to put in the boat, so being a little over 100 yards away, they drag the fish to shore. Do everything possible to get The Truth out there and everything you can to keep them in The Truth. It's hard work, but pays off when we reach that destination. 7th trump! †
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
Although they hadn't given fish to be prepared, Christ had already done it for them. When you obey Him, all your needs are there before you're even aware you need them.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Finish the job!
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
The biblical numeric # 153 = "fruit bearing" and 7 Apostles, 7 being Spiritual Completeness. Our Lord stood on the shore seeing His 7 apostles fishing and He blessed them because of their work. If your DAILY work is with the thought and focus of the glory of God, your needs will be provided. You will bear fruit exceedingly. Those who have been planted with Truth and follow Him, will be drawn in with the net, staying true to Him.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
A lamb is a baby sheep and is only able to handle milk, which is what new Christians are fed. You shouldn't give in depth meanings to those that can't handle it. You must be gentle and feed them the milk of The Word, a little bit at a time.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Here would be a Christian that has been fed milk long enough that they're able to handle some meat of The Word. You can feed them a bit more in depth meanings and they'll be able to handle it better than a babe in The Word. Age has very little to do with this. I've seen younger people grasp more than older ones. It's a matter of time in The Word, not your age. Younger people understand things a bit faster also, they haven't been in the world as long and therefore haven't been corrupted by it as long. To understand The Word, you must erase what you've been taught by other "pastors" and erase what the world has been filling your mind with. The Holy Spirit will give you the understanding over anything ANY human can give you. A REAL Pastor will feed you, but God fills you.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
We see Peter understands fully now. He now knows Christ knew he would deny Him before he did it. Peter states Christ knowing by saying, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee". Peter denied Christ Jesus three times before He was crucified and here, three times Christ asks Peter if he loves Him enough to feed those who hunger for The Truth. This 3rd time is MEAT of The Word, which is on that spiritual level. A good Pastor will do their best to teach on all three levels. They see what an individual is able to handle and feeds them on that level.
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
When young, you can feed others The Word of Truth, you go wherever you want to go, but when you get older, you slowdown, you're not able to get around or away from those who hate you and will try to crucify you.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
Christ told Peter the way in which he would live and die. Peter knows he will do The Lords work and die on the cross. All to glorify God.
20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Now Peter wants to know about everyone's place instead of focusing on his own.
21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
"What's John going to do for you?"
22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
What one person is doing for Christ isn't going to be what another may be doing. It's none of our business or concern what the other is doing as long as The Truth is being put at the forefront.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Word spread not because of one human, but because of many. John wrote this book and continued to do the work he was called to do. It has spread from the disciples to you and me and will continue until The Lords coming.
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
John is getting The Word, Christ Jesus out to the world and we are helping him get it done. If we didn't believe it, we wouldn't do it.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
Within this book of John, we've learned about Christ being The promised Messiah, That The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit ARE ONE. We learned about spreading The Gospel to the world as to bring others to The Truth. That Christ came to fulfill prophecy and provide every soul The Way to life everlasting. That He would be the last sacrifice for all time. That His blood would be what cleanses us from our sins daily. That when we pray, it is done in His name and our Father hears those prayers. The Ministry of Christ Jesus Yahshua, our Passover. Cleansing and pruning. The Betrayal and Trial of Christ. The Crucifixion and Resurrection. The Appearance of Christ and His Ministry. Walk with Him and live according to His Ways. Blessings will flow!