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John 21 as an Epilogue and Focus on Peter
John 21 is an epilogue to the Gospel of John. Up to this point, the narrative has covered Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances. The gospel could have concluded there, but John includes this final chapter to resolve lingering questions—especially the unresolved matter of Peter’s denial of Jesus in the high priest’s courtyard. The story begins with Jesus appearing to several disciples by the Sea of Galilee, including Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two others. Peter is introduced as an emotionally expressive leader who often spoke first, not necessarily because of deep insight, but because of his impulsive nature.
Peter’s life shows extremes of emotional highs and lows. At times he displayed remarkable spiritual insight, such as declaring Jesus to be the Messiah—a revelation Jesus said came directly from God. Yet almost immediately afterward, Peter rebuked Jesus for predicting his crucifixion. Peter’s emotional intensity could also be a liability. He once boldly declared, “Even if all the rest desert you, I never will,” effectively claiming greater loyalty than the other disciples. On the night of Jesus’ arrest, Peter initially tried to defend Him with a blade but later denied Him three times while warming himself in the high priest’s courtyard—denials that escalated from feigned ignorance to angry cursing. At the third denial, Jesus was present, and the rooster crowed just as Jesus had predicted, marking Peter’s deep personal failure. Despite two prior post-resurrection appearances, this matter had not yet been addressed between Peter and Jesus.
The Night of Fishing and the Miraculous Catch
Peter decides to go fishing, and several disciples join him. They fish all night without success. At dawn, an unrecognized Jesus calls from shore, asking if they’ve caught anything. When they say no, He instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They obey and haul in so many fish that they cannot lift the net—an unmistakable miraculous catch.
This scene strongly parallels Peter’s initial calling in Luke 5, when Jesus had also performed a miraculous catch after Peter had fished unsuccessfully all night. Back then, Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat to teach the crowd, then instructed him to put out into deep water. The result was an overwhelming catch, leading Peter to fall to his knees and confess his sinfulness.
By recreating the circumstances of Peter’s calling, Jesus sends a clear message: He still has a role for Peter despite his past failure. When John recognizes that it is the Lord, Peter impulsively dresses in his outer garment, jumps into the water, and swims toward shore—true to his action-oriented personality, unlike John’s more reflective approach. Meanwhile, the other disciples row to shore with the heavy net. Jesus has prepared breakfast over a charcoal fire and asks them to bring some of their fish. Peter hauls the net ashore himself, revealing there were 153 large fish, and the net did not tear—a fisherman’s detail that lends authenticity to the account.
Jesus invites them to eat. No one dares ask who He is; they all know it is the Lord. Even in His resurrected state, Jesus maintains His servant nature, personally distributing bread and fish to His disciples. The moment carries both awe and a quiet tension.
The Conversation Between Jesus and Peter
After breakfast, Jesus addresses Peter directly: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”—a public question before the other disciples. In Greek, Jesus uses agapao, a word associated with God’s self-sacrificial, committed love, while Peter responds with phileo, meaning deep affection or friendship. Some see this as stylistic, but given the context—that Peter had denied Jesus three times and they had not yet spoken about it—it likely reflects a deeper issue. [Dating example]. This sets the stage for Jesus to press further into the reconciliation process with Peter.
When Peter responds with phileo love—deep affection rather than the sacrificial agapao love Jesus asks about—he is essentially admitting that his love falls short of the total commitment he once boasted. His failure has humbled him. Jesus then commands Peter to “feed my lambs.” The exchange repeats, with Jesus again asking about agapao love and Peter again answering with phileo, prompting the command “take care of my sheep.” On the third question, Jesus switches to Peter’s word, phileo, asking if Peter truly has that affection. Peter is grieved, not only because the question is repeated, but because it mirrors the pain of his three denials. Jesus is deliberately recreating the emotional environment of Peter’s failure: the setting of a fire, the echo of his boast that he loved Jesus more than the others, and the threefold questioning that parallels his three denials.
Jesus’ persistence is not neediness—it’s purposeful. By recreating the circumstances of Peter’s fall, He forces Peter to confront it fully, not hide from it. This is the “knife of a surgeon,” cutting in order to heal. Left unaddressed, Peter’s failure would have haunted him every time he heard a rooster or stood near a fire. Many people, like Peter, allow their worst mistakes to define their identity, which corrodes their ability to serve. Jesus refuses to let that happen. Once Peter shows humility, Jesus affirms him with a new commission: despite being the disciple with the biggest ego, the biggest problems, and the greatest failure, Peter is chosen to be the greatest leader.
Grace Turns the Greatest Failure into the Greatest Leader
Jesus calls Peter to plunge his failure into divine grace, promising to make him more effective than ever. In contrast to the world’s view that failure ends opportunity, Jesus sees failure as an opening for redemption. J.C. Metcalf says those who have deeply experienced their own inadequacy are best suited to shepherd others, because they can be patient with weakness. Jesus did not entrust Peter with leadership when he was full of self-confidence, but after he had failed, repented, and wept bitterly. This principle aligns with Jesus’ consistent teaching that brokenness creates space for God’s transformative work.
Love for God and Love for People Are Inseparable
Jesus’ restoration of Peter also reinforces that genuine love for God must overflow into love for others. Claiming to love God while hating people is a contradiction. As with any close relationship, loving God reshapes our values and priorities until His priorities—chief among them, loving others—become ours. John Burke’s observation is that people often want to change the world but avoid loving their neighbors, yet loving God so that we can love others is the real world-changing act. Without such love for those God places in our lives, even impressive achievements are empty. Christianity differs from other religions in centering on love rather than mere self-discipline or appeasement of deities. Jesus illustrated this in Matthew 25, saying that acts of love for the needy are acts of love toward Him.
True spiritual maturity is measured not by mystical experiences but by practical love for others. Jesus tells Peter that in his youth he acted freely, but in old age he will be led where he does not want to go—a reference to the martyr’s death he would die to glorify God. Jesus commands, “Follow me.” Yet Peter immediately reverts to comparison, pointing to John and asking, “What about him?” Jesus responds, “What’s that to you? You follow me,” correcting Peter’s tendency to measure himself against others. A rumor later spread that John would live until Jesus’ return, but John clarifies that Jesus never promised that, only using a hypothetical.
Lessons on Failure
John affirms that he is the eyewitness writing this account and that it is accurate. He notes that Jesus did many other things too numerous to record. The gospel’s final lesson is that God uses our failures to reveal our need for Him. Trials and moral collapse strip away illusions of self-sufficiency, bringing us face-to-face with reality and opening us to grace. Scripture teaches that all have done wrong, stand guilty before God, and deserve judgment. Yet God, in love, sent Jesus to bear the penalty for sin, offering forgiveness. Christianity’s core message is love—God’s love rescuing people from perishing apart from Him—and God’s character is one of second chances, even for those who fail repeatedly after coming to faith.
There is comfort in Peter’s restoration, pointing out that even in the Christian life, failure does not result in God’s rejection. Instead, God can take our worst moments and transform them into tools for personal growth and for impacting others. This is a hope the world does not offer—where the prevailing mindset often sees catastrophic mistakes as final. God, by contrast, promises to redeem even the most damaging failures.
In Luke 7:47: those who have been forgiven much will love much. Experiencing God’s deep forgiveness cultivates humility, grace, and empathy toward others with weaknesses. People who understand the depth of God’s mercy are often the most willing to love and serve those the world considers unworthy.