All of us have had the experience of unexpectedly running into an acquaintance, exchanging quick greetings, and before moving on to wherever we were originally headed, saying to each other, “Let’s catch up over coffee sometime.” But we usually just say things like that because it’s expected, and the ambiguity signals our lack of intention to follow through. If we were serious, we’d open the calendars on our phones and arrange a time and place for the meeting. But Jesus isn't like us, and that truth helps me better understand the context for the events described in John 21:1-4.
Jesus appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem twice within the first eight days following his resurrection. Then, at some point during the next month (Acts 1:3), at least seven of them made the four-day journey back to their home region. It was there, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Tiberias, that they experienced their third encounter with the risen Christ (John 21:14). And John’s account of the resulting rendezvous is filled with such profound significance, especially for Peter, that its record became the final chapter and epilogue of this gospel.
It was likely a mix of reasons that prompted the disciples to make that trip. They may have feared arrest by the Jewish authorities, reached the limits of the hospitality or finances that secured their Jerusalem lodgings, or maybe just desired to return to familiar surroundings among friends and family after all they’d been through. But chief among the considerations had to have been their recollection of a promise Jesus made on the night of his betrayal. He told them he would meet them in Galilee after his resurrection (Matthew 26:32).
These weren’t idle words. In fact, when the women discovered the empty tomb on resurrection morning, they were specifically instructed by an angel to remind the disciples about them. And Jesus himself reiterated those instructions when he appeared to the ladies on their way to deliver that reminder (Matthew 28:7 & 10). But as serious as Jesus was about fulfilling this pledge, its details remained vague. The disciples were left to wonder where and when EXACTLY this would take place.
To their credit, they made the trip to Galilee. But in the absence of more specific information, it appears Peter reached the end of his patience and decided that just waiting for Jesus to show up somewhere sometime was unproductive or perhaps even futile. So, he announced he was going fishing, and he didn’t mean for recreation. With the clock ticking on questions demanding answers and his future unclear, it seems Peter chose to return to the clarity of his past. And without a better idea for what to do, the others joined him in the boat to help man the nets.
But after laboring all night with nothing to show for their efforts, it’s easy to imagine the heavy fog of disappointment, disillusionment, discouragement, frustration and hopelessness that must have settled over their souls. In fact, it seems to have been so thick that they failed to recognize the man standing on the beach just a hundred yards away (John 21:8) as dawn began to break. But it was Jesus keeping his promise.
Because trust forms the foundation of any meaningful relationship, and because relationship with us is what God desires most, Hebrews 11:6 reveals that, “without faith it is impossible to please him.” But true faith can only develop when our trust is challenged, and that happens most often as we must wait for the fulfillment of a divine promise. That’s why those promises, whether written in Scripture or whispered into our hearts, almost never come with a date certain.
It can be difficult to appreciate the value of the Lord’s loving ambiguity when it requires us to linger in that suspended state where circumstances press in, deadlines pass, and the pressure mounts to act. But in those deeply challenging times, when we make the choice to trust God and resist the temptation to just DO something, we’ll find the result of that sustained faith will ultimately clear the haze, reveal the Lord’s faithfulness, and deepen our relationship with him.