John 21 records Yeshua’s third resurrection appearance to seven of the disciples. It takes place up north in the Galil, where they were from. After these things Yeshua manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.  Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” Even though Yeshua promised to make Peter a fisher of men, Peter still liked to fish. He still had interests which he enjoyed, and that’s good. That’s healthy. I know that even though I love serving the Lord, and witnessing, and teaching the Word of God, and the other responsibilities, I still have many other interests which I enjoy, which enrich my life, and there is room for all. The other disciples said to him, “We will also come with you.”

They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. You don’t have to catch fish to have a good time fishing. Just being on that marvelous, amazing substance called water is enjoyable; being out at night under the stars over the Kinneret, with some good friends, are pleasurable in themselves. It’s also nice to catch some fish – which they hadn’t done.

But when the day was now breaking, Yeshua stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Yeshua. Distance was a factor. They were more than 100 yards away. Maybe it was still dark. But, it’s the same Yeshua, who is still and forever capable of doing miracles. So Yeshua said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, ” Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” Notice the specific details, including a record of the conversation. This is eyewitness testimony from someone who was there, who heard and saw exactly what happened and what was said. This really happened.

So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Wow! What a catch! How fun! How marvelous! What an experience! I wish I could have been there! But even more important than the actual catch, this is a sign to the disciples of their new mission. The risen Messiah will be with them. He will give them all the guidance they need  to fish for men. They will be successful. There will be a huge catch of humanity, and the nets will hold. The huge catch will be brought in.

Therefore that disciple whom Yeshua loved (John, who, due to his great humility does not name himself, setting us an example for us to follow) said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” John seems to be the most spiritually sensitive, and is the first to recognize that this extraordinary event had to have been caused by Yeshua.

John is insightful and Peter is bold. So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Yeshua said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

It sounds like that the net normally would have been torn from such a large catch, but this time it wasn’t. The shoes and clothes of the Jewish people should have worn out during forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but they didn’t. They were on a supernatural mission, and they had supernatural protection. The Emissaries will likewise be on a supernatural mission for the rest of their lives, and their will miraculously be provided for, protected, until their mission is accomplished. And you will be too!

Yeshua said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. Yeshua came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. The risen Messiah is thoughtful. He prepared a simple, healthy breakfast for these hungry men. This is now the third time that Yeshua was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

A hundred and fifty-three fish! What a haul. And, a nice little profit, too, for the fish could be sold in the market that day. Did Peter say, “wow, now I’m really prospering. I may not be that good of a disciple, after all, I denied my Rabbi, the one I believe to be the King of Israel, and the Messiah, in His time of need. Maybe I should keep on fishing for the rest of my life?” No. In fact, Yeshua makes it clear that God intended that Peter pursue a very special calling.

So when they had finished breakfast, Yeshua said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Yeshua said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Peter’s three-fold denial is matched by Yeshua’s three fold question about Peter’s love, and Peter’s three fold reaffirmation of his love, which Yeshua accepts as genuine. Peter is now fully restored and recommissioned.

Peter is told to do something with his love for Yeshua, to demonstrate by shepherding God’s people. Peter is commissioned by Yeshua to shepherd God’s sheep, to pastor God’s people. This does not mean that Peter is the head of the church, or the leader of the other apostles. They were equals, each were great shepherds of the flocks of God in various areas.

And likewise, if we truly love Yeshua, and love God, we must do something for others. We must not be self-absorbed. We must do what we can, even if it is in a small way, for the people of God around us. Are you?

Let me also say that it’s not easy being a shepherd. Shepherds must do more than teach. He leads, guides, protects, and corrects the flock.

There are different kind of sheep and as a result there are different functions of a shepherd.

Then, there are good sheep who are eager to be led to good pastures. They are a pleasure to shepherd.

But there are also the wounded sheep. They need special attention. They need extra love, time and attention in order to be mended and healed.

There are sick sheep who will infect they other sheep. They need to be isolated from the flock until they are not infectious.

There are lazy and dull sheep. They need to be motivated.

There are sheep that wander away. They need to be sought after and brought back to safety.

There are sheep who nip at other sheep. The shepherd must end disputes. Sometimes the shepherd will get nipped in the process himself.

There are sheep who attack the shepherd when they don’t get what they want. There are some pretty nasty sheep. They might need the rod and the staff applied.

There are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They need to be discerned and exposed and excluded from the flock. They need to be driven away. We’ve dealt with a number of them over the years.

A lot of shepherds get discouraged, tired out. I can understand why they leave their calling. Pray for me, for Bill, for Rabbi Glenn, for wisdom, for strength, for endurance.

Yeshua continues by predicting that Peter will get another chance to make up for his denial of Yeshua. “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ” Follow Me!”

Simon Peter will be allow the privilege of Kiddush HaShem, sanctifying the name of God, being willing to follow God, and not deny Him, even to the point of death. When a human being follows the Lord with all their hearts and souls, and loves their Creator more than their own life, this glorifies God. This adds to the glory of God.

And, tradition says that this prophecy was fulfilled in Rome, exactly as Yeshua predicted. Peter was to be crucified, but because he didn’t want to die in the same way as His great King, so as to be compared to His wonderful Lord, of whom he considered himself to be unworthy, Peter was crucified upside down – a horrible, painful death, but a death that showed that he was totally committed to the living God, and had overcome his past denial of the Lord. Wow! What a man – what a great man, Peter turned out to be!

Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Yeshua loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”

John is close to the center of the action, and close to Peter, as he almost always was. So Peter seeing him said to Yeshua, “Lord, and what about this man?” Peter inquires about John’s destiny. But Yeshua doesn’t answer Peter’s question about John’s future.

Yeshua said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” There is no personal prophecy for John about his life, like there was for Peter. Instead the Lord tells Peter, “You follow Me!” It’s not Peter’s business to know about John’s personal destiny in this world. It is his business to follow the Lord himself, as it is our business. Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Yeshua did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

This book was written toward the end of the First Century. John was one of the last of the Apostles left alive. A rumor must have been circulating that he wouldn’t die – that Yeshua would return before John died. But, Yeshua did not predict that John would not die before He returned, so John clears up the rumor that he won’t die.

Let me point out that one does get the idea that the First Century disciples had the idea that Yeshua would return soon. If they could expect them in their day, how much more should we 2,000 years later, with Israel back in the Land, with the nations gathering against us, with all the other ancient prophecies pointing toward their fulfillment!

John ends this great, great book by letting us know that this is a truthful, reliable eyewitness account, not written by others, but by the one man on Earth, who of all men, was closest to the Lord Yeshua. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

And, John doesn’t want us leaving thinking that these are the only things that Yeshua did and said. And there are also many other things which Yeshua did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

There were many other signs, wonders and miracles that Yeshua did; there were many other great encounters that He had with various people, many other insightful conversations that Yeshua had, many other great teachings that Yeshua gave, many other great prayers that He prayed, but the ones that John wrote for us are dayaynu – they are enough for us to know who Yeshua is, to know how He connects us to God, and gives us eternal life; enough to know what we should be doing, and how we should be living!