John 21:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.

NIV: He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

NASB: And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find the fish.' So they cast it, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great quantity of fish.

CSB: "Cast the net on the right side of the boat," he told them, "and you’ll find some." So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish.

NLT: Then he said, 'Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!' So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

KJV: And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

NKJV: And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Early in His earthly ministry, Jesus rode out on a boat with Peter, who had just come up empty after an entire night of fishing. Peter cooperated with a seemingly petty request from Jesus, resulting in a massive haul (Luke 5:3–7). Peter reacted to this in faith (Luke 5:8). More recently, Peter and six other disciples are waiting for Jesus in Galilee (Matthew 28:9–10; John 21:1). They've decided to go fishing once more. This is either out of boredom or to resume the trade (John 21:1–3). This night, like the other, has been a failure. Due to the early light (John 21:4), they don't recognize the person on shore calling out. His question is casual (John 21:5), something like a modern English speaker saying, "you kids didn't catch anything, did you?"

What Jesus says is much like His advice in their earlier encounter, and with almost the same results. This is not a chance occurrence, as if they caught only a few fish, or continued with a successful night. If catching fish was simply a question of casting the net a few feet away, these experienced men (John 1:35–42) would have done it already; there's a good chance they already had. Yet now the net is so full they can't pick it up. Peter will once again grasp the significance and immediately react (John 21:7).

John 21:1–14 begins by describing another encounter between the disciples and Jesus, after His resurrection. Seven of them have an unsuccessful night fishing; this is possibly a sign that their calling is to be evangelists, not anglers. A figure on the beach tells them to cast their net to the other side of the boat, resulting in a massive catch. John realizes the man is Jesus, and Peter dives overboard to swim to shore. There, the other disciples arrive to find a breakfast of bread and fish waiting for them, along with Jesus.

After Jesus' resurrection, a group of disciples goes fishing while they wait in Galilee. From a distance, a figure appears and tells the men to cast again. Despite a fruitless night, they obey, and the net is immediately overflowing with fish. This confirms that the man on the shore is Jesus. As the disciples eat a meal with Christ, He presses Peter to reaffirm His faith. Jesus then predicts the nature of Peter's death; He does not do so for John. The gospel of John ends with an affirmation of its source, and a reminder that no single book could contain every detail of Jesus' ministry.

The final chapter of the gospel of John evokes the recent trend of a "post-credits scene" from films. After the main story has been told, John includes one last scene to further add details about what is to come. After Jesus' resurrection and appearances, He meets with the disciples near Galilee. A major outcome of this meeting is Peter's restoration to his former status. No finite work could fully explain Jesus' ministry, so John's eyewitness account is only part of those truths.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.