Chapter Twenty-One

¹ After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. 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. Simon Peter says to them, I go a fishing. They say to him, We also go with you. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus says to them, Children, have you any meat? They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat to him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. By saying, “Jesus showed himself,” the Evangelist declares that, had He not willed and Himself manifested Himself by condescension, He would not have been seen, the body being incorruptible. And wherefore does he make mention of the place, the sea of Tiberias? Showing that they no longer feared the Jews as before, but had cast off the most part of their fear. Wherefore also they were no longer shut up together, but went even out of the house, which before they dared not, and went about everywhere, so as to go even as far as Tiberias, which, being distant from Jerusalem, is a sea of Galilee. And the disciples were fishing; for they had nothing else to do. For neither was He continually with them, nor was the Spirit yet given, nor had they been fully entrusted with the teaching; for this cause they betook themselves to their own craft. Peter, then, being most laborious, endures not to be idle, but moves fervently to the work; and the rest follow with him, because they were henceforth bound to one another. And standing by them as they laboured and were in distress, He does not straightway show Himself. For He wishes first to come with them to converse; whence also He says, “Children, have you any meat?” as though about to buy somewhat of them. And when they had denied, and at His bidding had cast on the right side and succeeded, the disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, “It is the Lord.” Again here we find the properties of the disciples shown. For John was the more keen-sighted, and Peter the more fervent. For this cause John first recognized the Lord, but Peter first came to Him. By the girding himself he showed his reverence; by casting himself into the sea he manifested his longing. For he endured not, as the others did, but came swimming, being as it were two hundred cubits from the land. The “fisher’s coat,” then, is a certain linen garment, which the Phoenician and Syrian fishers wind about themselves, being naked, or set over their clothes; to speak simply, such as painters make for them. Since, then, Peter was naked, having only the fisher’s coat about him (for this is the girding himself), the things that came to pass were not small, but great: first, the not rending of the net.

² As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus says to them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus says to them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then comes, and takes bread, and gives them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. And this too is a wonder which they now behold—the coals, I mean, and the fish, and the bread. For He no longer made them from underlying matter, as before in the wilderness from the five loaves and the two fishes He made enough for so many, but simply, out of things that were not. And when the Lord said, “Come and dine,” none examines, nor dared ask. For they no longer had the same boldness, but with silence and awe they marvelled; for they knew that it was the Lord, wherefore they asked not. But seeing His form somewhat altered, and full of much amazement, they were exceedingly astonished, and wished indeed to ask concerning it, but the awe, and the knowing that it was no other but He, restrained the question; and they only ate what He had created for them. And how created He it? With authority. For He no longer looks up to heaven, and calls upon the Father (for those things were done for condescension’s sake); but He bids them bring of the fish, that He might show that what was seen was no phantom. But here he says not that He ate with them; whereas Luke says that He was eating with them. And how He ate, it is not for us to say; for in a more marvellous manner these things came to pass, not as though the nature needed food, but the condescension being made for the proof of the resurrection. And showing that He did not continually consort with them, nor in like manner as before, He says, “This is now the third time that he showed himself.” And understand for me these things also according to contemplation. For it was night, when the darkness of idolatry held sway, before the coming of the Sun, Christ, when the prophets having toiled caught nothing. For though they seemed to enclose one nation, Israel, in the net, yet since this also was continually slipping into idolatry, they caught perhaps nothing. But when the morning of righteousness shone forth, and the apostolic net was let down—the truly right teaching, to which the law and the prophets compared are understood as the left—then indeed the net is drawn, and there are brought to Christ not only those of the nations, whom you would reckon as a hundred, but also those of Israel, who would be understood as fifty. For “when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, then shall Israel be saved.” And the three signify the faith in the holy Trinity. For they that were enclosed, a hundred and fifty, the Gentiles, I mean, and the Jews, are not without the addition of the three; for without faith in the Trinity none is said to be enclosed. And the “Come and dine” has a hidden meaning, that after the toils a rest shall succeed for the saints, and luxury, and enjoyment. For all that was done, or said, leads to mysteries; as also the supposing Christ to be the gardener by Mary seems simple, but has somewhat hidden. For He was indeed in truth the true husbandman of paradise, in the garden of the tomb, even as in paradise, setting upright the female kind, and turning from error and ignorance her who deceived Adam the first gardener. For the turning of Mary, and the teaching her concerning the resurrection, was a token of this, that the female kind should be turned and led up.

³ So when they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these? He says to him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He says to him, Feed my lambs. He says to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? He says to him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He says to him, Tend my sheep. He says to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, 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. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not. This spoke he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. Since the things of the dinner were at an end, He commits to Peter the protection of the sheep of the world; and to no other, but to him He gives it, first because he was the chosen of all, and the mouth of the whole choir; then showing that he must be of good cheer, as being now delivered from the denial. And the denial He brings not forward, neither upbraids it; but says, “If you love me, take the presidency over the brethren, and the warm love which you said you had toward me, so as to die for me, now show.” And He asks him three times, at once showing how great forethought He makes for them that believe, and that He so loves the sheep, that He makes the caring for the sheep a proof of love toward Himself; and at once also, by the threefold question and confession, He heals the threefold denial, and by words sets right the falls that came through words. Hence it has become a custom that three confessions be required of them that are to be baptized. Being asked, then, once and a second time, he called to witness Him that knows the hearts, neither acting presumptuously, nor speaking rashly, but everywhere adding the “You know.” But when he was asked a third time, Peter was troubled, lest perhaps he himself supposed that he loved, and yet loved not; since before also, supposing and strongly affirming many things, he was afterward convicted, this very thing now also he feared; wherefore also he answers reverently, “Lord, you know all things, both present and to come; you know that I love you now, as it appears to me. But whether the love shall abide also for the time to come, this too you know; I make no confident affirmation concerning myself.” And the Lord, when He had spoken to him concerning the love toward Himself, foretells to him also the martyrdom which he was to endure. And He says this, showing thereby that even this, that He asks him concerning loving, He asks not as distrusting him, but as well knowing that he loves; for how loves he not, who is even to bear witness concerning Him? But that He may the more show Peter’s love, and may teach all the rest that, if we wish to love Him, we must be earnest so to love Him, in presiding over the brethren. And how He foretells to him the martyrdom, hear: “When you were young, you girded yourself,” and the rest. “For since,” He says, “you love me, and oftentimes did promise to lay down your life in the dangers that are for me, be of good cheer; for so will I fulfil your desire, that what you suffered not when young, these things you shall suffer when grown old.” And He reminds him of his former life, declaring that the spiritual things are reversed in respect of the carnal. For in the things of this life the young man is useful, and the aged useless; but in the spiritual things, when old age comes on, then is the best valour. Stirring up, then, his longing, and rekindling it to martyrdom, He says these things. And He hints to him that he too should be crucified. For the “You shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you” signifies nothing else than the stretching out upon the cross and the bonds. And in saying, “When young,” and again, “When you shall be old,” He shows that at that time Peter was neither young nor old, but a perfect man. And how said the Lord to him, “Another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not,” and yet Peter willed the martyrdom? He willed indeed, and longed for it; but what the Lord says declares the sympathy of nature, and that unwillingly the soul is torn from the body—this being dispensed by God for our profit, that we should not slay ourselves. None, then, lays aside the body without suffering, even though he be holy. And the Evangelist, interpreting to us, as is his wont, concerning what the Lord spoke these things, says, “This spoke he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” “For Jesus said these things to Peter,” he says, the “You shall stretch forth your hands,” and the rest, signifying that he should bear witness concerning Him. And he calls the death of Peter a glory of God. For indeed the standing firm on behalf of God even to death is a glory of God. For unless the soul had been fully assured that He is the true God, it would not have died for Him; so that the death of the saints is a confirmation of the glory of God. And one might find a difference between “lambs” and “sheep,” and between “feeding” and “tending.” For lambs are perhaps the more elementary, and sheep the more perfect. He, then, that loves Christ will take care both of the lambs and of the sheep, both feeding the lambs—that is, laying upon them the simpler oversight—and tending the sheep, which signifies the more complete. And since the more perfect also oftentimes need the gentler oversight, their overseers are bidden also to feed the sheep. For the tending already signifies a harder oversight; but the feeding, the gentler. What, then, shall we render to the Lord, who so loved us, that He characterizes even the love toward Himself by this, the caring for the sheep?

⁴ And when he had spoken this, he says to him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrays you? Peter seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus says to him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? follow you me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not to him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? He committed to Peter the protection of all the faithful. For though James received the throne of Jerusalem, yet Peter received that of all the world. And He says to him after these things, “Follow me,” showing His tender care, and that He was familiarly disposed toward him. And understand here also a following—the fulfilment in all works and words. For they that walk in the track of His manner of life, and imitate His exactness in all things, these follow Him. For the present, then, He exhorts Peter to follow Him sensibly, showing, as I said, the familiarity toward Him; for the more familiar we make our followers. And since Peter heard these things, and was counted worthy of such things, as that the world should be committed to him, and that he should be vouchsafed martyrdom, loving John exceedingly, he asks concerning him also, “And what shall this man do? Shall he not come the same way with us? Shall this man also be a partner both in the oversight of the sheep, and in the appointment thereto?” For the “Follow me” all but signifies, “Come, take the sheep, go forth into the world.” Since, then, the Lord knew that Peter cared for John, and would not be parted from him, dividing them from their unseasonable conjunction and affection, He says, “A work has been entrusted to you; this accomplish, and follow me, who lead you forth to the preaching, committing to you the whole world. But this man, if I will that he tarry here in the regions about Galilee, and not be sent forth with you, what is that to you?” And the “Till I come” some have understood thus: “Till,” He says, “I come against the Jews who crucified me, being about to smite them by the rod of the Romans, and to overthrow their city.” For they say that this apostle, sojourning almost until the dominion of Vespasian in the upper regions, preached, and abode there; and when Jerusalem was about to be taken, he removed. Since, then, they were entrusted with a great work, the preaching, they ought no longer to be conjoined, but, divided, the one to visit these regions, and the other those. And wherefore does the Evangelist make mention of the reclining upon the breast, and that he asked, “Who is he that betrays you?” Not simply, and as it chanced, but that he might show the boldness of Peter after the denial. For he that dared not before the cross ask concerning the traitor, but committed the question to another, to John, this man is now entrusted with the protection of all; and not only does he not commit his own affairs to another, but even on behalf of that very disciple who was beloved above all, he asks, and becomes as it were a mediator to the Lord. And marvel for me at the freedom from vanity of the Evangelist, how he corrects the mistaken opinion of the many, who had not understood what the Lord said concerning him, but supposed that he should not die. But this was not so; rather the Lord said “tarry,” not concerning his not dying, but concerning his not being yoked together with Peter at the season of the preaching, but abiding by himself. And the “Till I come” is to say, “Until I again be pleased to lead him also forth to the preaching. For you I now lead forth to the protection of the world, and follow you me; but let him abide here, until I come again, and lead him forth as you also.” But some understand thus: Peter, having heard that he should die for Christ, said, “And what of John? shall not he also die?” But Christ forbade not this (for every one that is born shall also die), but said, “If I will that he tarry”—that is, “live until the consummation of the world, and then bear witness concerning me.” Whence also they say that he lives, and is to be slain by Antichrist, together with Elijah, preaching Christ. And if his tomb also is shown, what of that? For living he entered into it, then was translated, as Enoch also and Elijah. The Evangelist, then, overthrows the false opinion of them that suppose that this disciple dies not, but shall be immortal. For it is indeed false that a man should be immortal. For though Enoch and Elijah died not, yet they are mortal. So then this man also died not, but shall die. The “He shall not die,” then, is to say, “shall be immortal.” But others affirm that he died; and the “If I will that he tarry,” as we interpreted above, so they understand. And we have told all the opinions; but above all, the “tarry till I come” thus seems to please, namely, that it is not concerning his life, but concerning his not being conjoined with Peter.

⁵ This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Wherefore, when none of the other Evangelists bore witness to himself, does this one bear witness concerning himself? He is said to have come later to the writing, Christ having moved and stirred him up. For this cause also he makes mention continually of the love, showing the cause from which he came to the writing, and that to him, being beloved above the rest, Christ entrusted this work. “And I know,” he says, “that he says true”—that is, “Being fully assured I wrote what I wrote, as being present at all things, both the works and the words, and the sufferings, and the things after the resurrection. For I was beloved, and was not left behind. So that I speak with boldness, and concerning myself I say that I speak the truth, challenging men to examine the things that came to pass, and to scrutinize each one.” And we men are altogether wont, when we are exceedingly confident in the truth, never to deny our own testimony; which also the apostles said: “We are witnesses of the things we say, and the Spirit, which God has given to them that obey him.” And whence is it plain that “I speak true,” he says, “and do not gratify my teacher”? Even from my having passed by many things; whence it is plain that I would not have gratified him. For he that set in the midst all the reproachful things, and hid not even this, that they called Him a transgressor and one possessed of a devil, plainly would not have gratified Him. For he that gratifies does the contrary—passing by the reproachful things, he brings into the midst the glorious. And marvel not if he said that the world could not contain the books written concerning the works of Jesus; but, considering the unspeakable power of God the Word, receive faithfully what is said. For as to us speaking, so to Him, nay rather much more easily, to do whatever He willed. But some say that this was said hyperbolically, after the manner of Scripture. For it is the wont of Scripture to use hyperboles; as, “We saw cities reaching up to heaven”; and, “We saw men, and were in their sight as grasshoppers”; and such like. So then also the “the world could not contain the books that should be written.” But some understand by “world” him that minds worldly things, and by the works wrought by Jesus, His divine and mysterious works, those both in the invisible creation and in the visible, and all that pertain to the dispensation in the last times, being full of mysteries, which the worldly man cannot understand; as the “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” But let us pray that we may never come to forgetfulness of the works and words of the Lord, but ever unroll this book of the beloved one, and search out the treasure laid up therein, both in the wonders of Jesus and in the words; that, being able to cleanse ourselves both in word and in life, we may be counted worthy also of the more unutterable works and mysteries in the day of revelation, which now, being in the world, we are not able to contain; and may be perfected in Christ Himself, who loved us, and through His beloved disciple enlightened us in the theology and the knowledge of Himself, and of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory to the ages. Amen.