John 21:2-3

‘There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus (‘the twin'), and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter says to them, “I am going fishing.” They say to him, “We are also coming with you.” They went out and boarded the boat, and that night they took nothing.'

The disciples clearly saw this as a waiting period as they were wondering what to do after Jesus had first appeared to them. The seven days of Passover and Unleavened Bread having passed they had left Jerusalem and moved up to Galilee as indeed Jesus had commanded (Matthew 28:10). There Peter decided he would spend a night fishing. This may have been because of a need for food, or it may just have been a desire to get into a boat again after some time away, giving them something to do. He may also have felt that he had to get his hand in at fishing once again because he had forfeited his right to be a fisher of men. That he still felt that his future was doubtful, in view of his denials of Jesus, comes out in the fact that Jesus calls him again to “Follow Me” (John 21:19).

‘That night they took nothing.' This was not unknown to fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:5). John, however, almost certainly sees it as illustrative of what happens when the power of Jesus is absent. In whatever they do they are dependent on Him. The indication is that Peter and the others have no future in fishing for fish. On the other hand by the power of Jesus they will be able to fish for men successfully.

‘Simon Peter' is a typically Johannine name for Peter. It occurs once in Matthew, once in Luke (both at times of transition) but twelve times in John 1-20. Thomas may be mentioned because he was prominent in chapter 20 and Nathaniel because he was prominent in chapter 1. Reference to ‘those of Zebedee' can be interpreted in one of two ways, either as a deliberate attempt to avoid mentioning the names of James and John in line with the reticence of the remainder of the Gospel, supporting the case for the Johannine authorship of this chapter, or as an unexpected reference to them indicating difference of authorship. In view of the detail given of Thomas and Nathaniel the first idea is probably to be supported, otherwise we would have expected their names to be mentioned, especially by a disciple of John. ‘Those of Zebedee' catches the spirit of anonymity while conveying necessary information. The fact that apart from them there were also two ‘other disciples' (the usual way John had of referring to himself) explains why the vague reference is given.