The Miraculous Catch of Fish
Some time later, Jesus appeared to his disciples again by the Sea of Tiberias. This is how he made himself known to them. Simon Peter was there, along with Thomas who was called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the two sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. They were all together when Simon Peter announced, "I'm going out to fish." The others replied, "We'll come with you." So they went out and climbed into the boat, but they caught nothing all night long. As dawn was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, though the disciples didn't realize it was him. He called out across the water to them, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" They shouted back, "No!" Then he told them, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some." They did what he said, and suddenly they couldn't pull the net back in because it was so full of fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved turned to Peter and said, "It's the Lord!" The moment Simon Peter heard this, he wrapped his outer clothes around himself—he had taken them off while working—and plunged into the sea. The other disciples followed in the boat, pulling the net heavy with fish behind them. They weren't far from shore, only about a hundred yards out. When they reached the beach, they saw a charcoal fire burning with fish cooking on it, and some bread nearby. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught." Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and hauled the net onto the shore. It was crammed with large fish—one hundred and fifty-three of them—yet even with this huge catch, the net hadn't torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and eat breakfast." None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was, because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came over, took the bread, and gave it to them, and he did the same with the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
After they finished their meal, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Then feed my lambs." Jesus asked him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter replied again, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus told him, "Take care of my sheep." Then Jesus asked him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him the same question three times. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the absolute truth: when you were young, you put on your own clothes and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and take you to places you don't want to go." Jesus said this to show Peter what kind of death he would die to bring honor to God. After telling him this, Jesus said, "Follow me."
Jesus and the Beloved Disciple
Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved walking behind them. This was the same disciple who had leaned against Jesus during their last supper together to ask him, "Lord, who is going to betray you?" When Peter noticed him following, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what's going to happen to him?" Jesus replied, "If I choose for him to stay alive until I come back, how does that concern you? Your job is to follow me!" This answer caused a story to spread among the believers that this beloved disciple would never die. But Jesus had not actually said the disciple wouldn't die. He had only said, "If I choose for him to stay alive until I come back, how does that concern you?"
Final Testimony
This is the disciple who saw all these things happen and wrote them down for us. We know that everything he tells us is true. Jesus did many other things beyond what we have recorded here. If someone tried to write down every single thing Jesus did, I believe the whole world would not have enough room to hold all the books that would need to be written.