Local Preachers’ Group on John's Gospel
Notes of meeting held 7th April 2010
John 21: 1 – 19
Some commentaries tell us that chapter 21 is an afterthought written by someone not John. But new thinking assumes that, even if chapter 21 were written later, John probably wrote it himself; although there are none of the usual John symbolisms i.e. light & dark, come & see. We thought that whoever wrote it, it was a significant chapter. We saw chapter 20 as the WOW factor chapter and chapter 21 as the “now go and live it” chapter. We read round as usual and there were not too many differences between our texts as there have been in the past. Our first impression was that numbers play a significant part in this chapter. The catch of fish is very specific at 153 and Peter is asked 3 times if he loves Jesus. We did spend some time on a discussion of what these numbers might mean, but first of all gained an impression of the passage as a whole.
We felt that this passage was reminiscent of other stories and situations: Peter jumping out of the boat – the disciples fishing – sharing food, the bread and the fish. We felt that this passage was much more down to earth than some others in the gospel. The disciples are seen doing everyday tasks, just as they used to do. The last time Jesus had met them, in risen form, he gave them a commission which they do not seem to have started. Taken at literal level this is a story about grieving people who go back to the work they know as they grieve. Taken at a metaphorical level this is a story about people who have been given a task, but are having no success until Jesus appears and tells them what to do. Does this say to us that we need to carry out Jesus’ commission in our everyday lives, but that without Jesus sharing our life we will not be able to?
We looked very carefully at the numbers to try and understand what they may mean. Particularly the number of fish caught (153). We assumed that this number had Old Testament significance and we found a ridiculously convoluted explanation in one commentary which dwelt on places and names with numerical values which added up to 153. This explanation reminded me of a record from the 1960s called Deck of Cards - not a helpful image!
We felt that, even though we were sure these numbers were significant, their meaning was obscure to us and probably to our congregations; so it would be better to concentrate our efforts on other aspects of the story. Suffice it to say the disciples had up to that point caught nothing but, as soon as Jesus appeared and told them where to put the net, they caught a lot of fish!
If this story refers to mission rather than to catching fish then it is significant that there are already fish on the BBQ when they get to shore. Jesus has already apparently caught fish and has prepared them ready for the disciples to share.
Why does Peter put his clothes on to jump out of the boat? At a literal level this is ludicrous, because with clothes on Peter could sink. At a metaphorical level, could Peter be putting on the proper clothes to appear before Jesus? Reminiscent of the Guest at the Wedding Feast!
In the second part of the passage Peter is offered three tasks pertaining to his love for Jesus. Is Jesus offering Peter a way to forgive himself? What is the significance of the difference between task 1 “Feed my lambs” and task 3 “Feed my sheep”? Are lambs young converts while sheep are the disciples do? Why is it important that Peter love Jesus more than all the other disciples? The prediction of Peter’s death seems to come out of nowhere! In light of what is happening in the world today we felt some concern about the thought that Peter’s death would bring glory to God! This led to a discussion on how belief in the resurrection has helped some people at the moment of their death. For others death is still a fear, even though they believe in the resurrection. We could not answer this paradox.
What would we preach on?
Most of us thought we would tackle the task of mission through everyday living.
Some thought they would look at Peter’s three tasks.
SC