Third Sunday of Easter

This final chapter of John is an addendum to the original gospel, which was written probably by 90AD. We may safely conclude than that we are into the second century AD when this postscript was added; and this is a time of persecution. The author is writing perhaps 100 years after the resurrection. So he is not trying to write down the Easter story lest it be lost forever. That has already been done. The full Easter story is a very familiar one in the communities. So this section of the gospel must have a contemporary application, an immediate purpose in what scholars believe to be a Johannine community.

There are 5 principal movements in the story:

Peter decides to go fishing and the others decide to follow him.
They labour in the dark and catch nothing. It is a futile exercise.
This figure appears on the shore at dawn and seems to tease them and he advises them to pay out their nets and immediately they are filled to breaking point.
When they come ashore he treats them to breakfast.
The prominence of Peter in every phase of the story.

We will attempt to tease out a few relevant points from what is in fact an amalgam of incidences.

a. Given the context, the suggestion here is that, after the execution of Jesus, Peter and the other followers decided to return to the way of life they had abandoned at his call. They had been fishermen. On the death of Jesus, they believed that the Jesus Project was now over. This is the story that the later editor is telling his community. Even the original disciples had lost hope. You must not lose hope because of the present persecutions. In the first question Jesus asks Peter if he loves him more than "these." [The "these." can have three referents. Perhaps the most satisfactory reading would be: 'Simon Peter, do you love me more than this business of fish and nets?' Are you going to renew your original decision to abandon the life of the fisherman for the life of a disciple?

b. They had worked all night and caught nothing. A Christian community that works without the Lord is engaged in a futile exercise.

c. In the midst of their everyday activities they encounter the risen Lord. But they encounter him as shadowy figure. It is only when they respond to his voice and draw near to him that they recognise him clearly. And suddenly, their work becomes abundantly fruitful.

d. St. Luke has an almost identical account of 'a miraculous catch of fishes'. However, in Luke's account, the ships are sinking, the nets bursting. John has a subtly different emphasis: the nets are "full of big fish, one hundred and fifty three of them; and in spite of there being so many, the net was not broken." John stresses 'the nets were not broken'. While Luke wanted to emphasize the great number of the catch, John wanted to stress the resultant "unity" of the net: "though there were so many, the net was not torn" (v. 11). The Greek verb for "torn" is skizo, which can literally be rendered into English as "schism." There was no "schism" when the disciples brought in their great catch of fish. Despite the fact that large numbers are now coming into the Church, from a great variety of language groups and cultures, yet the original unity is maintained. The miraculous catch of fish in John's Gospel encourages those in the mission of Christ to long, pray and work for unity - since the original catch of fish stressed that the "nets" were intact. The first point, then, is one that echoes Jesus' high priestly prayer: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one." (17:20-21).

The miraculous catch of fish assures the reader that unity of the Church is the desire of Jesus. Despite the growth in numbers, unity is preserved.

e. He treats them to breakfast. This is a clear reference to the meal at the centre of the community, the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the fish. The obvious reference is to the Eucharist.

f. Finally, there is the conversation between Peter and Jesus. This is intended to rehabilitate a fallen Peter. He had denied Christ three times. Here, in vv. 15-19, he affirms his love for Christ three times, thus reversing, as it were, the effect of the denial. Peter to the fore shows that, at least by the beginning of the second century, the successor of Peter was generally recognised as having a unique leadership role among the communities.