1. Where is the Sea of Tiberias? It is on the southwest side of the Sea of Galilee.
2. What does the word "shewed" mean in verse 1? This word means to self-reveal or pull back the curtain. After Jesus finishes with this miracle, His disciples will not doubt any longer. They had doubted one week after His resurrection in Mark 16:14 and two weeks after in Matthew 28:10.
3. Who are the seven disciples in verse 2? Peter, Thomas, and Nathanael are explicitly named. The sons of Zebedee are John and James. The two "like" disciples are Andrew, brother of Peter, and Philip, friend of Nathanael.
4. Why did Peter go fishing? He could have gone fishing because he was backslidden. This is supported by the facts that he was still egocentric, returning to his original livelihood, and did not catch anything. He could have been going fishing because he needed food, he needed to care for his family, or because he had gone to Galilee as instructed but was tired of waiting for something to happen. The rest of the chapter supports that he was probably backslidden, although the physical needs may have also been true, too.
5. Why could the disciples not recognize Jesus? They might have been spiritually blinded. They were also a long way from shore, it was early in the day, they had been up all night, and there might have been a mist on the lake. Besides all these things, they were not expecting Jesus to appear.
6. On what side of the boat were they fishing? They were fishing on the left side of the boat. They were using small nets, not the big commercial nets. However, the size of the nets and the side of the boat did not affect their catch. For the miracle, the Lord either put the fish where the nets were, He could have created them at the moment of the catch, or He could have directed the fish to the nets.
7. Who first recognized Jesus? John first recognized Jesus.
8. Who jumped into the water? Why? Peter was the one to react first. He put on his coat, something which was stupid to do, and jumped into the water to swim one hundred yards to Jesus.
9. List at least five parts of this miracle. The one hundred fifty-three fish were a miracle, the nets were not broken, Peter was able to pull the nets in even though the other disciples could not, the fire was already going on shore, the fish was there, the bread was there, and Peter did not drown with his big heavy coat on.
10. Why create fish on the shore and produce fish in the net? Jesus was working this very special miracle for Peter. He was showing Him that he could not do anything, even fish, without Him.
11. What is the significance of the number 153? This is the number of fish in the nets.
12. Why did Christ end His miracles with an apparently "obscure" miracle? Jesus ended His ministry with a fairly insignificant miracle, just as He had earlier begun His ministry.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Lesson 24 - Christ - The Great Shepherd, Part II
Send email to: tlee6040@aol.com