Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 21:1

"After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested [himself] on this wise." — John 21:1 (ASV)

“Afterward” implies an indefinite lapse of time (cf.2:12; 3:22; et al.), but not always a long time. Since this event is categorized as Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples after the Resurrection (v.14), it must have taken place between the beginning of the second week and the Ascension outside Jerusalem near Bethany (cf. Acts 1:1–12).

This appearance took place in Galilee. John is the only NT writer to use the name “Sea of Tiberias” for the Sea of Galilee (15:29; Mark 1:16; Mark 7:31) or the Lake of Gennesaret . John speaks once of the “Sea of Galilee” but qualifies it: “that is, the Sea of Tiberias” (6:1).

“Appeared” (GK 5746), translated by “happened” at its second occurrence in this verse, is a characteristic word in John. It was most frequently used to denote the self-revelation of Christ (1:31; 2:11; 9:3). It occurs three times in the epilogue (21:1 [twice], 14) in preparation for the final revelation of Jesus regarding the commissioning of Peter for his coming ministry. John also uses the term in his first letter, concerning both the incarnate Christ (3:5, 8; 4:9) and his return (2:28; 3:2). Not only was this occasion an appearance of Christ after his resurrection, but it was also a disclosure of his purpose for the disciples.