Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
11. went up ] Better, with the best texts, went up therefore: the meaning probably is ‘went on board’ the vessel, now in shallow water. The details in this verse are strong evidence of the writer having been an eye-witness: he had helped to count these ‘great fishes’ and gives the number, not because there is anything mystical in it, but because he remembers it.
The points of contrast between this Draught of Fishes and the similar miracle at the beginning of Christ’s ministry are so numerous and so striking, that it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the spiritual meaning, which from very early times has been deduced from them, is divinely intended. Symbolical interpretations of Scripture are of three kinds: (1) Fanciful and illegitimate. These are simply misleading: they force into plain statements meanings wholly unreal if not false; as when the 153 fishes are made to symbolize Gentiles, Jews, and the Trinity. (2) Fanciful but legitimate. These are harmless, and may be edifying: they use a plain statement to inculcate a spiritual lesson, although there is no evidence that such lesson is intended. (3) Legitimate and divinely intended. In these cases the spiritual meaning is either pointed out for us in Scripture (Luk 5:10), or is so strikingly in harmony with the narrative, that it seems reasonable to accept it as purposely included in it. Of course it requires both spiritual and intellectual power to determine in any given case to which class a particular interpretation belongs; but in the present instance we may safely assign the symbolism to the third class.
The main points are these. The two Miraculous Draughts represent the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant. The one gathers together an untold multitude of both good and bad in the troubled waters of this world. Its net is rent with schisms and its Ark seems like to sink. The other gathers a definite number of elect, and though they be many contains them all, taking them not on the stormy ocean but on the eternal shore of peace.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
An hundred and fifty and three – The number is mentioned because it seems to have been a very unusual draught, and it was particularly gratifying and striking to them after they had spent the whole night and had caught nothing. This convinced them that it was no other than the same Saviour who had so often worked wonders before them that was now with them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
11. Peter went upinto theboat; went aboard.
and drew the net to land fullof great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three; and for all therewere so many, yet was not the net brokenThe manifest referencehere to the former miraculous draught (Lu5:1-11) furnishes the key to this scene. There the draught wassymbolical of the success of their future ministry: While”Peter and all that were with him were astonished at the draughtof the fishes which they had taken, Jesus said unto him, Fear not,from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Nay, when first called,in the act of “casting their net into the sea, for they werefishers,” the same symbolic reference was made to theirsecular occupation: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers ofmen” (Mat 4:18; Mat 4:19).Here, then, if but the same symbolic reference be kept in view, thedesign of the whole scene will, we think, be clear. The multitudeand the size of the fishes they caught symbolicallyforeshadowed the vast success of their now fast approaching ministry,and this only as a beginning of successive draughts, through theagency of a Christian ministry, till, “as the waters cover thesea, the earth should be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” Andwhereas, at the first miraculous draught, the net “was breaking”through the weight of what it containedexpressive of thedifficulty with which, after they had ‘caught men,’ they would beable to retain, or keep them from escaping back into the worldwhilehere, “for all they were so many, yet was not the net broken,”are we not reminded of such sayings as these (Joh10:28): “I give unto My sheep eternal life, and they shallnever perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand”[LUTHARDT]? But it is notthrough the agency of a Christian ministry that all true disciplesare gathered. Jesus Himself, by unseen methods, gathers some, whoafterwards are recognized by the constituted fishers of men, andmingle with the fruit of their labors. And are not these symbolizedby that portion of our Galilean repast which the fishers found, insome unseen way, made ready to their hand?
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Simon Peter went up,…. Either to the sea, that being higher than the land, or to the ship which lay by the shore: he went aboard it, and
drew the net to land full of great fishes; not alone, but others of the disciples with him; though he only is mentioned, being the leading person in this affair; an emblem of the whole number of God’s elect being brought safe to shore, to Christ, and to heaven, through various tribulations and afflictions in the world, fitly signified by the waves of the sea. What mystery there may be in the number, I know not. The conjecture of Grotius, that it is a figure of the proselytes in the days of David and Solomon, seems to be without foundation; since they were not only so many thousands, but six hundred over. And as little to be regarded is the thought of others, that the larger number, one hundred, regards the converted among the Gentiles, and the lesser those among the Jews; much better is the observation of others, that it may design a collection, out of all sorts of people, to Christ, and his church.
And for all there were so many; in number, and these so large and big, and the weight of them so great. The Syriac reads
, “with all this weight”, or “burden”, and so the Persic; but the Arabic, “with such a number”; both ideas of number and weight are to be preserved, to make what follows the more observable:
yet was not the net broken; which must be ascribed to the divine power of Christ; and is an emblem of the power of God attending the Gospel to the regeneration, conversion, and salvation of his people, and of the great usefulness of it, however mean and despicable it may be in the eyes of men, and of its permanence and duration, until all the elect of God are gathered in by it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Went up (). Into the little boat or dinghy.
Drew (). Same verb as in verse 6. Peter now did what they had failed to do.
Three (). The addition “three” to the “hundred and fifty” looks as if they were actually counted these “large” () fish. It was a great fish story that John recalls vividly.
Was not rent ( ). First aorist passive indicative of , to split (our word “schism”).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Went up. Into the vessel.
To land [ ] . Strictly, upon the land.
Great fishes. All authorities agree as to the abundance of fish in the Lake of Galilee. M. Lortet, cited by Dr. Thomson, says that two castings of the net usually filled his boat. Bethsaida (there were two places of that name on the lake) means House of the Fisheries. The fame of the lake in this particular reached back to very early times; so that, according to the Rabbinical legend, one of the ten fundamental laws laid down by Joshua on the division of the country was, that any one might fish with a hook in the Lake of Galilee, so that they did not interfere with the free passage of boats. The Talmud names certain kinds of fish which might be eaten without being cooked, and designates them as small fishes. So ojyaria is rendered in Joh 6:9. Possibly the expression great fishes may imply a contrast with the small fishes which swarmed in the lake, and the salting and pickling of which was a special industry among its fishermen.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land,” (anebe Simon Petros kai helkusen to diktuon eis ges) “Simon Peter then went up (upon the ship) and dragged the net unto the shoreline,” as he had often done in his former business of earlier life, Mat 4:18-20.
2) “Full of great fishes,” (meston eschuon megalon) “Full of great fishes,” of great size and fine edible quality. To obey the commands of the Lord surely brings blessings and reward, Ecc 11:1-6; 1Co 15:58; Psa 126:5-6.
3) “And hundred and fifty and three:” (hekaton pentekonta trion) “An hundred and fifty three,” in number, perhaps enough for the seven and their families for a full day, Joh 15:14. No spiritual significance seems to be attached to the number.
4) “And for all there were so many,” (kai tosouton onton) “And even though there were (existed) so many,” though they had caught nothing until Jesus came to them. It is well to here remember His words, “without me ye can do nothing,” Joh 15:5; Jas 1:22.
5) “Yet was not the net broken.” (ouk eschisthe to diktuon) “The net was not torn,” broken or harmed, as it had been on a similar occasion, Luk 5:6. The word of truth is that net which the church is to cast into all the world. It will not break or fall. And all who bear and share it will surely be successful fishers of men. Let us cast it and drag it in, sow the seed and thrust in the sickle, and the presence of His person and power shall be with us, to bring prosperity beyond our comprehension, Psa 126:5-6; Ecc 11:1-7; Isa 55:10-12; Joh 4:34-39; 1Co 3:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(11) Simon Peter went up.The better reading inserts therefore: Simon Peter therefore went upi.e., because of Christs command. He went up into the ship now lying on the shore with one end of the net fastened to it, and drew the remainder of the net to the shore.
Full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three.The greatness and the number are dwelt upon because in any ordinary haul of fish a large proportion would be small and valueless, and be cast into the lake again (Comp. Mat. 13:47 et seq.). These were all great, and their size and number led to an exact account being taken of them. This would be talked of among the Apostles and their friends and fellow-craftsmen, and is, with the picturesque exactness which is characteristic of St. John, recorded here.
We have no clue to any mystical interpretation of this number, and it is probably not intended to convey one. The various meanings which men have read into it, such as that it represents one of every kind of fish known to the natural history of the day; or that one hundred represents the Gentile nations, fifty the Jews, and three the Trinity; or that there is a reference to the 153, 600 proselytes of 2Ch. 2:17; or that it expresses symbolically the name of Simon Peter, take their place among the eccentricities of exegesis from which even the latest results of criticism are not free. Still, as all the more spiritual interpreters, from St. Augustine downwards, have seen, the differences between this and the earlier miracle (Luk. 5:1-11) are too striking to be unintentional. That represents the visible Church, containing good and bad; the net is cast without special direction as to side; the net was broken and many escaped. This represents Gods elect, foreknown by Him; all are good; the net is brought to shore, and none are lost. (See Notes on the parable of the Draw-net in Mat. 13:47-50, and comp. especially Trench, Notes on Miracles, 3 and 33.)
Yet was not the net broken.Comp. Note on Luk. 5:6. This is again one of the details which point to an eye-witness as the writer.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Great fishes The net cast in the former similar transaction, catching fishes, good and bad, may represent the Church of the earth mixed with hypocrites and apostates. But this, where the fishes are all good and great, represents the Church of the finally saved.
A hundred and fifty and three This reckoning presents no number of mystical signification. So it does not show that the elect are the fixed foreordained number which can be neither increased nor diminished. But it does intimate literally that the fishes were each worthy of a count, and that the whole was a lot to rejoice at. Symbolical that the finally saved will each be accounted great and worthy in the eye of the Saviour.
Not the net broken In the former miraculous draught the net began to break. So the earthly Church is often distracted and torn by false members, by sins, and by schisms; but the Church of the advent will be an unbroken Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11 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.
Ver. 11. Yet was not the net broke ] When God will bless a man, all second causes shall cooperate and contribute their help. As when he will cross us, the strongest sinew in the arms of flesh shall crack, our likeliest projects miscarry; he will curse our blessings, blast our proceedings, as King John confessed, “ever since I was forgiven and subject to the see of Rome, I never prospered.” a Oto, one of the pope’s muscipulatores, mice catchers, as the story calls them, sent hither by Gregory IX, after three years’ raking together of money by most detestable arts, at last departing hence, he left not so much money in the kingdom as he either carried with him or sent to Rome before him. Such notable fishers are Peter’s pretended successors; all is fish with them that comes to net.
a Postquam Deo reconciliatus me ac mea regna (proh dolor) Rom. subieci ecclesiae, nulla mihi prospera, sed omnia contraria advenerunt. John Rex.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
11. ] , into the boat, which apparently was now on the beach, in the shallow water.
. ] This enumeration is singular, and not to be accounted for by any mystical significance of the number, but as betokening the careful counting which took place after the event, and in which the narrator took a part.
., herein differing from what happened Luk 5:6 , when it was broken .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
went up = went back.
to. Greek. epi. App-104., but all the texts read eis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
11.] , into the boat, which apparently was now on the beach, in the shallow water.
.] This enumeration is singular, and not to be accounted for by any mystical significance of the number, but as betokening the careful counting which took place after the event, and in which the narrator took a part.
., herein differing from what happened Luk 5:6, when it was broken.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 21:11. , of great fishes) which just now the great Lord had called, little fishes, Joh 21:10. It was thus (by fishing) that they had their livelihood (whilst in Galilee) up to the time of their journey into Judea.- , a hundred and fifty-three) It is wonderful that the actual number should be thus expressed in tins passage, as contrasted with Luk 5:6 (the ratio of which number might have affected the disciples more then than now), although the completely round number one hundred and fifty was so near, to which might have been also added for accuracy, as in Joh 21:8, about two hundred cubits. The number cliii., is memorable. Jerome, on Ezekiel 47 : [9, 10, There shall be a very great multitude of fish-their fish shall be according to their kinds], They who have written of the natures and peculiar qualities of animals, who have learned , as well in the Latin as in the Greek language, of whom Oppian, a Cicilian, is the most learned poet, assert that there are one hundred and fifty-three kinds of fishes, all of which were taken by the apostles, and not one remained uncaptured; whilst both the noble and base-born, the rich and poor, and every class of men, are being drawn out of the sea of the world to salvation. Comp. Mat 13:47, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.- , was not broken) A new miraculous circumstance.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 21:11
Joh 21:11
Simon Peter therefore went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, the net was not rent.-Peter ashore could pull the net more easily than those in the boat. He did it. The number, one hundred and fifty-three, even if very large fish, would not at all strain such nets as are now used. But then the material and workmanship of boats, nets, and all things requiring mechanical skill were of an inferior order. [We take it that he went to the waters edge on the shore. The net was not a large one, as our people count large, on the fishing shores, else it would have held more than one hundred fifty fishes, and it would have been no wonder that it did not break. Now nets are dragged frequently that draw to the shore thousands of fishes.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
was not
Contra. Luk 5:6.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
and for: Luk 5:6-8, Act 2:41
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
The disciples had reached the edge of the water when Jesus told Peter to bring some of his fish. The writer mentions the fact of the net being unbroken notwithstanding the number and size of the fishes, and such reference to it indicates that another miracle was worked to preserve the net.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 21:11. Simon Peter therefore went up, and drew the net to the land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three; and for all there were so many, yet was not the net rent. Again Peter appears in all the prominence of his character and work,the leader of the apostolic company. The fishes drawn to shore by means of the net were great: yet neither by their sire nor by their number was the net rent. No fish was lost. (See further below.)
The comparison of this miracle with that of the draught of fishes in Luk 5:4-7 supplies various points of contrast, at once bringing out and confirming what we have yet to speak of as the inner meaning of the section before us. Of these the most interesting are that the fishes are all great and good, and numbered; in the earlier narrative we have no such statements. In the earlier, too, the net was breaking: here the net was not rent. The contrasts all point to the difference between a ministry of trial with a suffering Lord, and a ministry of triumph with a glorified Lord.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 11
Drew; that is, with the help of the others.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Peter did not leave his fellow disciples to struggle with the nets while he stood by. He helped them pull the huge catch of fish that Jesus had provided to land.
There have been many allegorical explanations of the meaning of the 153 fish. Most of these are much too involved to explain here. [Note: See the commentaries, or for a brief overview, Carson, The Gospel . . ., pp. 672-73.] Many of these involve gamatria. Gamatria is the discipline of deriving a word or words from the Hebrew, or in this case the Greek, letters that also represent numbers in their respective languages. One of the more credible explanations of the 153 fish is as follows. Jesus formerly told His disciples that they would become fishers of men, an obvious metaphor (Mar 1:17). If the fish here represent the converts that Jesus would miraculously provide for His disciples to "catch," perhaps their large number represents many converts (cf. Mat 13:47-50). The fact that the net did not break may symbolize the capability of the gospel to "catch" many people without failing. [Note: Bruce, pp. 401-2.]
Perhaps John simply recorded the number as a detail to lend authenticity to his testimony (cf. Joh 2:6). He was, after all, a fisherman himself. Most fishermen know exactly how many fish they have caught whenever they catch some, and this was a very unusual catch. Probably the disciples divided the catch and so had to count the fish.