Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 21:1-6

"After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested [himself] on this wise. There was together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 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. But when day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach: yet the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore saith unto them, Children, have ye aught to eat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." — John 21:1-6 (ASV)

1. The Evangelist has just told of two appearances of Christ to His disciples. Now he mentions a third. If we consider the order and purpose of these appearances, it is evident that the first showed Christ’s divine authority by His breathing the Holy Spirit on them; the second showed that He was the same person as before, since He let them view His wounds; and the third showed the reality of His risen human nature, for He ate with them.

This chapter has two parts. First, the Evangelist mentions Christ’s dealing with a group of the disciples. Second, he recounts Christ's conversation with two of them He especially loved: when therefore they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? (John 21:15).

Regarding the first part, the Evangelist mentions the time and circumstance of His appearance, saying, and he showed himself in this manner. He then adds a short epilogue: this was now the third time that Jesus was manifested (John 21:14). In the title, however, three things are designated: time, way, and place.

2. The time is after this, that is, after what the Evangelist just narrated. It is significant that he says this, for it shows that Christ was not with them continuously but appeared to them at intervals. The reason for this was that He had not risen with the same life as before, but with a glorious life, as the angels have and the blessed will have: except the gods, that is, the angels, whose dwelling is not with flesh (Daniel 2:11).

3. Since the Evangelist seemed to be ending his Gospel before, when he wrote, these are written so that you may believe (John 20:31), why, then, does he add this appearance?

Augustine gives a mystical reason for this, which is that this appearance signifies the glory of the future life, when Christ will appear to us as he is (1 John 3:2).Tractates on the Gospel of John 122.1. And so the Evangelist put this appearance after what seemed to be the end of his Gospel so that this could be better understood.

4. The circumstance of His appearance was that Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. It is in the nature and power of a glorified body that it can be seen or not seen by non-glorified bodies, as the person wishes. That is why he says, showed—that is, Christ made Himself visible. In the same way, He is said to appear, which means the same thing as to reveal: appearing to them during forty days (Acts 1:3). As Ambrose says, a thing is said to appear if it has the power to be seen or not seen.Commentary on Luke 1.24.

5. The place is at the Sea of Tiberias, which is the Sea of Galilee. It is called the Sea of Tiberias after the city of Tiberias, which was built in honor of Tiberius Caesar. The Evangelist mentions this, first, to show that our Lord had kept the promise made to the disciples, he is going before you to Galilee (Matthew 28:7). Second, he wanted to show that our Lord had banished the great fear from the hearts of His disciples, so that they no longer remained shut up in their house but even traveled as far as Galilee.

6. In describing this appearance, and he showed himself in this manner, he first mentions the persons to whom Christ appeared; then what they were doing, Simon Peter said to them: I am going fishing; and third, the circumstances of this appearance: but when the morning arrived, Jesus stood on the shore.

7. Christ appeared to seven persons. The Evangelist says that there were together Simon Peter, who had denied Him; Thomas called Didymus, who was not present at the first appearance; Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, who is thought to be the brother of Philip; the sons of Zebedee, that is, James and John; and two others of his disciples not explicitly named.

In the mystical sense, this number signifies the state and appearance of future glory, which will be after the seventh age—that is, in the eighth, which is the age of those who arise: from new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh will come to worship before me (Isaiah 66:23).

8. The work that occupied them was fishing. As it says, Simon Peter said to them: I am going fishing. This involved:

1. Peter’s invitation to do this work;
2. Their assent;
3. The execution of this duty.

9. Peter asks them to go fishing, saying, I am going fishing. In the mystical interpretation, this signifies the work of preaching: I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). So when Peter said, I am going fishing, the mystical sense is that he is taking the others to share in his concerns and preaching: so it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you (Exodus 18:22).

10. Their actual fishing seems to go against the teaching in Luke: no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). It is clear that Peter had given up his work as a fisherman. Why, then, did he return to it and look back?

I answer, with Augustine, that if he had returned to this work of fishing before Christ’s resurrection and before seeing Christ’s wounds, we would think that he was acting out of despair.Tractates on the Gospel of John 122.2. But now, after Christ returned from the grave, after they had seen His wounds and received the Holy Spirit by His breathing on them, they returned to being what they were before: fishers of fish. We can learn from this that a preacher can use his abilities to earn the necessities of life and still preserve the integrity of his apostolate, if he has no other means of sustenance. For if Saint Paul learned a trade he did not previously have in order to obtain the food he needed, so as to avoid being a burden to others, Peter could all the more do this by using his own skill.

11. Augustine says that a preacher can do this when he cannot gain a living in any other way.Tractates on the Gospel of John 122.4. But in this case, Peter did have another way, for our Lord promised: but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well, that is, what is necessary for life (Matthew 6:33).

The answer is that it is true that these things will be added, with our cooperation. So our Lord did keep His promise here, with the cooperation of Peter. For who else but our Lord caused the fish that were caught to be within the range of their net?

12. Gregory remarks that there are two kinds of work.Forty Gospel Homilies 24.1. One absorbs the mind and hinders our spiritual concerns, such as tax collecting. No one should return to such work, even to provide food. So we do not read that Matthew returned to his tax collecting post. There is another kind of work which can be done without sin and without absorbing the mind, such as fishing and similar things. It was not a sin for Peter to return to this kind of work after his conversion.

13. The others agree to this: we too will come with you. This sets an example for preachers and prelates to encourage each other in their work of turning people to God: a brother helped is like a strong city (Proverbs 18:19); he was like a young cedar on Lebanon; and they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees .

14. Next, we see that they were working at this: they went out and got into the ship, and that night they caught nothing. Here the Evangelist touches on three things that preachers ought to do.

1. They should leave those places that are sunk in sin: come out from them, the Chaldeans, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; and I will welcome you (2 Corinthians 6:17). They should also go out from their carnal affections: go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house (Genesis 12:1). And they should also leave the quiet of contemplation: let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards (Song of Solomon 7:11).
2. Preachers should get into the ship, that is, go forward in charity within the unity of the Church, which is called a ship: in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water (1 Peter 3:20). They should also board the ship of the cross by mortifying the flesh: but far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14); blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes .
3. Preachers should have total confidence in the help of Christ. All that night they caught nothing, because as long as God’s help and the interior preacher are not there, the words of the preacher have no effect. But when the light comes, enlightening hearts, the preacher makes a catch: send out your light and your truth (Psalms 42:3). Here, night indicates the lack of divine help: night comes, when no one is able to work (John 9:4). Or, one could say, that night, during the time of the Old Testament, they caught nothing, because they could not bring the Gentiles to the faith: the night has passed (Romans 13:12). According to Augustine, they were fishing at night because they were still afraid.No such comment appears in Augustine's Tractates on the Gospel of John nor in his other New Testament commentaries. The quote might belong, instead, to John Chrysostom, who commenting on John 21:3 says "they did this [fishing] at night because of being very fearful" (Commentary on Saint John 87).

15. Now we see the way and stages in which Jesus appeared: but when the morning arrived, Jesus stood on the shore. This happened in three stages:

1. First, He allows Himself to be seen.
2. Second, He is recognized, asking, children, have you any meat?
3. Third, He eats with the disciples: Jesus said to them: bring here the fish which you have now caught (John 21:10).

16. The Evangelist says that the morning arrived. In the mystical interpretation, morning or the break of day indicates the glory of the resurrection: weeping may tarry for the night, as with the weeping for eternal life, but joy comes with the morning (Psalms 30:5); in the morning I will stand before you, and will see you (Psalms 5:5).

17. Before His passion, on the occasion of a similar miracle, Jesus did not stand on the shore but was in a boat. Why, after the passion, does He stand on the shore?

The reason is that the sea signifies the troubles and tribulations of this present life, but all these end at the shore. I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance which will not pass over (Jeremiah 5:22). So, before His passion, Christ stood on the sea, because He had a body subject to death; but after the resurrection, He had surmounted the corruption of the flesh and stood upon the shore.

18. The disciples did not know that it was Jesus because of their own ignorance. We can see from this that on this turbulent sea of the present, we cannot know the hidden things of Christ: the eye has not seen, O God, besides you, what things you have prepared for those who wait for you (Isaiah 64:4).

19. Next, Jesus brings them to recognize Him: Jesus therefore said to them: children, have you any meat? First, the Evangelist shows how they came to recognize Him; and second, who was the first to do so: that disciple therefore whom Jesus loved, said to Peter: it is the Lord (John 21:7).

20. The Evangelist does three things regarding the first point. First, he shows our Lord asking for food: children, have you any meat? The disciples did not think it was Christ asking, but someone who wanted to buy fish, for He spoke like a customer. In the mystical interpretation, Christ asks us for food to refresh Himself. We do this for Him by obeying the commandments: my food is to do the will of him who sent me, so that I may accomplish his work (John 4:34). They answered him: no, that is, not of themselves: I can will what is right, but I cannot do it (Romans 7:18).

21. Second, the Evangelist mentions Christ’s order: cast the net on the right side of the ship.

In Luke there is a similar incident, but there Christ did not tell them to cast their nets to the right side, as He does here: cast the net on the right side of the ship. The reason for this is that the fishing mentioned by John signifies that fishing by which the predestined are taken to eternal life, and it is only those children on the right who are brought there: the Lord knows the ways that are on the right; those on the left are perverse (Proverbs 4:27); the right hand of the Lord does valiantly (Psalms 118:16). The fishing mentioned in Luke signified the call into the Church, and so the net is cast to all sides because people are caught and brought to Christ from all over: go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city (Luke 14:21).

22. The obedience of the disciples is shown when the Evangelist says, they therefore cast the net. The effect of this obedience was that now they were not able to draw it up, because of the multitude of fish—that is, because of the great number of those who would be saved: by your descendants will all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:18); behold, a great multitude which no one could number (Revelation 7:9).

This fishing differs from the one mentioned by Luke because there (Luke 5:6) the nets broke; in a similar way, the Church is torn by disagreements and heresies. But in the fishing mentioned by John, the net does not break because there will be no lack of unity in the future life. Furthermore, in the incident mentioned by Luke, the fish were taken into the boat. But here in John’s account, the fish are brought to the shore, because the saints destined for glory are hidden from us: in the covert of your presence you hide them from the plots of men (Psalms 31:20).(Compare to Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 122.7.)