NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 55
John 20:25
1816
when Jesus came. 25They 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.”
26Eight days later the disciples were to
gether again, and this time Thomas was
with them. The doors were locked; but sud
denly, as before, Jesus was standing among
them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then
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 ex
claimed.
29Then Jesus told him, “You believe be
cause you have seen me. hBlessed are those
who believe without seeing me.”
Purpose of the Book
disciples saw Jesus do many other
miraculous signs in addition to the ones
recorded in this ibook. 31But these are writ
ten 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.
30The
4. Epilogue: The Word Commissions
His Followers (21:1-25)
The Miraculous Catch of Fish
Later, Jesus appeared again to the
disciples beside the Sea of Gali
21
20:26-27 Eight days later was Sunday,
one week after Jesus’ resurrection (it
was customary to include the current
day when counting forward). Jesus’
appearance on the following Sunday
helps explain the disciples’ meeting on
“the Lord’s Day” (see Rev 1:10). Peace
be with you: This scene was exactly like
Jesus’ first appearance (20:19-20). Jesus
had already heard Thomas’s complaint
and now answered directly. Believe!
Jesus challenged Thomas to believe in
the resurrection like the others.
20:28 “My Lord and my God!” This was
not an astonished exclamation but a
proclamation of heartfelt belief. It concludes John’s study of Jesus’ deity that
has framed the whole book (see 1:1-18).
20:29 Jesus points to the generations of
Christians who, through the testimony
of others, would believe without seeing.
20:30-31 Many scholars view these
words as the conclusion of John’s
Gospel, viewing ch 21 as an appendix.
John’s account is only a selection from
Jesus’ many . . . miraculous signs.
20:31 that you may continue to believe:
Some manuscripts use the present
lee. This is how it happened. 2Several of the
disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas
(nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana
in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other
disciples.
3Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they
went out in the boat, but they caught noth
ing all night.
4At dawn Jesus was standing on the
beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who
he was. 5He called out, “Fellows, have you
caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.
6Then 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.
7Then the disciple Jesus loved said to
Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter
heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tu
nic (for he had stripped for work), jumped
into the water, and headed to shore. 8The
others stayed with the boat and pulled the
loaded net to the shore, for they were only
about a hundred yards from shore. 9When
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. 11So Simon Peter went
aboard and dragged the net to the shore.
There were 153 large fish, and yet the net
hadn’t torn.
tense, indicating that John wrote to
encourage believers. Other manuscripts
read that you may come to believe,
suggesting that John wrote to stimulate
new faith (cp. 1:7).
21:1-25 This final chapter adds an
account about the resurrected Jesus
in Galilee (21:1-14) and records the
exchange between Peter and Jesus
concerning Peter’s love (21:15-23). The
chapter ends by summarizing the
authority and importance of John’s
eyewitness report (21:24-25).
21:1 Sea of Galilee: Greek Sea of
Tiberias, another name for the Sea of
Galilee (see 6:1).
21:2 Several of the disciples returned
to fishing in the Sea of Galilee. This
was not a sign that their faith had
weakened—even rabbis who regularly
preached kept practicing their occupations (see Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Cor
4:12). Thomas (nicknamed the Twin):
Literally Thomas, who was called Didymus. The sons of Zebedee were James
and John (see Matt 4:21).
21:3 Fishing was usually successful
in the early hours of the morning.
20:28
John 1:1, 18; 10:30;
14:9
Phil 2:6
Col 2:9
Titus 2:13
2 Pet 1:1
1 Jn 5:20
20:29
1 Pet 1:8
hmakarios (3107)
Acts 20:35
20:30
John 21:25
ibiblion (0975)
John 21:25
20:31
John 3:15; 19:35
1 Jn 5:13
21:2
John 1:45-51; 11:16;
20:24
21:3
Luke 5:5
21:4
Luke 24:16
John 20:14
21:6
Luke 5:4-7
21:7
Matt 14:29
John 13:23
21:9
John 18:18
However, this trip was useless and they
caught nothing all night.
21:4-5 Jesus was standing on the beach,
but the men did not recognize him
(cp. 20:11-16; Luke 24:13-53). Fellows:
Literally Children.
21:6 “Throw out your net on the righthand side”: Casting a net into the sea at
random was futile. But when they did
as the stranger said, the immense catch
was immediate (21:11).
21:7 “It’s the Lord!” John recognized
Jesus, probably remembering that a
miracle like this had happened before
(Luke 5:1-11). Peter, who had stripped
off his clothes while working, put on his
tunic in order to meet the Lord.
21:8 a hundred yards: Greek 200 cubits
[90 meters].
21:9 Cooked fish and bread were the
mainstays of the Galilean diet; Jesus
provided the men with breakfast. The
charcoal fire is reminiscent of the scene
of Peter’s denials (18:18).
21:11 This miracle showed generous
provision (as in 2:1-12; 6:1-15). No symbolism attaches to the number 153.
