Charles Ellicott Commentary John 21:3

"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also come with thee. They went forth, and entered into the boat; and that night they took nothing." — John 21:3 (ASV)

Simon Peter said to them, I go a fishing.—The words are the vivid representation by an ear-witness of what actually took place as they returned to their ordinary work during the interval between the Passover and Pentecost. It does not express either an abandonment of their higher vocation or an expectation of the presence of the Lord. The picturesque coloring of the whole scene is quite in St. John's style, as is also the simple coordinate arrangement of sentences without connecting particles.

And that night they caught nothing.—Compare Luke 5:5 for the fact; but the words are different. The word here rendered “caught” occurs nowhere in the other Gospels, but is found again in this chapter (John 21:10), and six times in the earlier chapters of the Gospel (John 7:30; John 7:32; John 7:44; John 8:20; John 10:39; John 11:57). It occurs also in Revelation 19:20.