John 21:6

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, CAST THE NET ON THE RIGHT SIDE - no doubt, by this very specific direction, intending to reveal to them His knowledge of the deep and power over it....

6._Cast the net on the right side of the ship. _Christ does not command with authority and power as _Master _and _Lord, _but gives advice like one of the people; and the disciples, being at a loss what to do, readily obey him, though they did not know who he was. If, before the first _casting of the net, _any thing of this sort had been said to them, they would not have so quickly obeyed. I mention this, that no one may wonder that they were so submissive, for they had already been worn out by long and useless toil. Yet it was no small proof of patience and perseverance, that, though they had labored unsuccessfully during the whole night, they continue their toil after the return of daylight. And, indeed, if we wish to allow an opportunity for the blessing of God to descend on us, we ought constantly to expect it; for nothing can be more unreasonable than to withdraw the hand immediately...

1-14 Christ makes himself known to his people, usually in his ordinances; but sometimes by his Spirit he visits them when employed in their business. It is good for the disciples of Christ to be together in common conversation, and common business. The hour for their entering upon action was not come. They would help to maintain themselves, and not be burdensome to any. Christ's time of making himself known to his people, is when they are most at a loss. He knows the temporal wants of his people, and has promised them not only grace sufficient, but food convenient. Divine Providence extends itself to things most minute, and those are happy who acknowledge God in all their ways. Those who are humble, diligent, and patient, though their labours may be crossed, shall be crowned; they sometimes live to see their affairs take a happy turn, after many struggles. And there is nothing lost by o...

Verse John 21:6. _AND YE SHALL FIND._] The _AEthiopic, three_ copies of the _Itala_, and St. _Cyril_, add, _They said therefore unto him, we have_ _laboured all the night and caught nothing, nevertheless at thy_ _command we will let down the net_. This is borrowed from Luke 5:5. _FOR THE MULTITUDE OF FISHES._] This was intended as an emblem of the immense number of souls which should be converted to God by their ministry; according to the promise of Christ, Matthew 4:19....

ON THE RIGHT SIDE - Why the right side is mentioned is not known. Grotius supposes that it was the side nearest the shore, where there was less probability of taking fish. It does not appear that they yet recognized the Lord Jesus, but from some cause they had sufficient confidence in him to make another trial. Perhaps they judged that he was one skilled in that employment, and knew where there was the greatest probability of success....

EXPOSITION JOHN 21:1 3. The epilogue, answering to the prologue. The post-resurrection life corresponds with the pre-incarnate energy of the Logos. 1. Long and sustained controversy has prevailed on the question of the authenticity and apostolic authorship of this chapter even among those who admit the Johannine authorship of the rest of the Gospel. 2. Among those who accept to the full the authenticity, there are many critics who urge that it is not an integral portion of the Gospel, but a later appendix, that the document terminated, on its first composition, with John 20:30, John 20:31, and that the chapter before us is dictated f

AND HE SAID UNTO THEM,.... Willing to make himself known by a miracle, since they knew him not by his person, nor voice: CAST THE NET ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SHIP, AND YE SHALL FIND; that is, a large multitude of fish, as they did. The ship was an emblem of the church in its present afflicted state; the right side of it points to the elect, and where they are to be found in this world; the casting of the net signifies the preaching of the Gospel; the promise of finding fish, the assurance Christ gives of the success of his word, which he owns and blesses for the conversion of elect sinners: THEY CAST THEREFORE; the net, willing to try what success they might have at the instance of this person, whom they knew not. The Ethiopic version reads the passage thus, "and they said unto him, we have laboured all night, and have found nothing, but at thy word we will let down"; which seems to b...

John 21:1. _After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself._ Jesus loved to show himself to his people. Of old, his delights were with the sons of men; so, now that he had risen from the dead, he was not ashamed to visit his brethren, and he did not disdain to make himself known to them, and he will still show himself to us after a spiritual fashion, if we sincerely desire to see him. John 21:2. _There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples._ As John was the writer of this record, he did not put his own name there, but merely mentioned «the sons of Zebedee.»...

CHAPTER 21 _ 1. At the Sea of Tiberias. The Third Manifestation. (John 21:1 .)_ 2. Peter's Restoration and Ministry; the manner of His Death Predicted. (John 21:15 .) 3. Tarry Till I Come. (John 21:20 .) 4. Conclusion. (John 21:24 .) This chapter has often been looked upon as an appendix to the Gospel of John. It is not. Quite true, John states in the last two verses of the preceding chapter the purpose of this Gospel, but that does not mean that the twenty-first chapter has no connection with the Gospel itself. John 21:14 shows t

THE APPEARANCE BY THE LAKE OF TIBERIAS. As Josephus speaks of the lake as the lake near Tiberias, the name used here cannot be pressed as a proof of late date. The verb used for manifested is not found in the gospel in connexion with the Resurrection appearances. There is also no mention of the sons of Zebedee. The last extant sentence of the Petrine Gospel shows that it contained a similar story. I Simon Peter and Andrew my brother taking our nets went back to the sea, and there was with us Levi the son of Alphæ us. Loisy and others believe that both accounts are based on a narrative of a first appearance after the Resurrection to Peter and (?) others in Galilee, which perhaps came from the lost ending to Mk. It is the Beloved Disciple who first recognised the Lord (_cf. John 20:8_). Where he sees, Peter acts. He casts himself into the sea and swims the hundred yards or so that separate...