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JOHN 21
page 977
has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he
breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are
forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),* was not with the others
when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have
seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see
the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers
into them, and place my hand into the wound
in his side.”
26 Eight days later the disciples were together
again, and this time Thomas was with them.
The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before,
Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with
you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put
your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your
hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because
you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
Purpose of the Book
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded
in this book. 31 But these are written so that you
may continue to believe* that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in
him you will have life by the power of his name.
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.* This
is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples
were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed
the Twin),* Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the
sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went
out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but
the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called
out, “Fellows,* have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the
right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get
some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in
the net because there were so many fish in it.
7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter,
“It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that
it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had
21
20:24 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus. 20:31 Some
manuscripts read that you may believe. 21:1 Greek Sea of
Tiberias, another name for the Sea of Galilee. 21:2 Greek
Thomas, who was called Didymus. 21:5 Greek Children.
21:8 Greek 200 cubits [90 meters]. 21:15 Or more than these
others do?
stripped for work), jumped into the water, and
headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the
boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for
they were only about a hundred yards* from
shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,”
Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard
and dragged the net to the shore. There were
153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!”
Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask
him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.
14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared
to his disciples since he had been raised from
the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than
these?*”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love
you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of
John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of
John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question
a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young,
you were able to do as you liked; you dressed
yourself and went wherever you wanted to go.
• Love
JOHN 21:15-17
Three times, Peter’s love for Jesus had
failed. Three times, he had denied knowing his great friend and Lord (18:15-17,
25-27). In this touching interchange,
Jesus asked Peter—three times—to
affirm his love and friendship. Not only
was Jesus giving Peter a chance to
redeem himself, but he was also helping
Peter see that love is more than words; it
is courageous and serving action. Peter’s
bold promises of love had wilted in the
face of fear. Now Jesus challenged him to
make his love concrete by serving others.
Love for God is expressed most powerfully in committed and obedient service. If
Jesus asked you, “Do you love me?” how
would you answer?