Returning to the Familiar
January 29
In the final chapter of John, we read about the disciples’ encounter with Jesus in Galilee. Jesus had told them to meet Him there. (Matthew 28:10) As the story unfolds, the disciples are on the Sea of Tiberius (another name for the Sea of Galilee). Peter and the others have been fishing all night. Fishing at night made it easy to sell the fish fresh in the morning. But after a long night, the boat was still empty. As their boat approached the shore, however, Jesus—unrecognized by them—asked if they’d caught any fish.
When they answered, “No,” He told them to recast. They did, and caught 153 fish—with no tears to the net! This fresh miracle, no doubt, jostled their minds. Instantly they recognized Jesus and went ashore to find a hot fish breakfast waiting for them over a warm fire. Again, we see the Master of all serving His disciples.
What happens next is that well-known story of Jesus asking Peter, “Do you love me?” Many Bible teachers have talked about the words that Jesus used in His question. Twice, He uses the same Greek word for unconditionally loving someone (agapaó), but Peter responds with a different Greek word for brotherly loving someone (phileó). Then Jesus asks Peter a third time, using the Greek word for brotherly love—the word that Peter had been using. Peter responds that he does love Jesus with brotherly love. This talk about the different words for love makes for a great illustration, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be?
Dr. D. A. Carson in his book Exegetical Fallacies has a different take. Carson suggests that the two Greek words used by Jesus and Peter were basically synonymous by this time in the development of the Greek language. In other words, the two different Greek words are frequently used interchangeably in different contexts, even in John’s writings. One Greek Lexicon (dictionary) concurs.[1] So, what’s the takeaway? The takeaway is that it isn’t so much about the Greek words Jesus used, but the number of times He asked Peter the question. Jesus was giving Peter three opportunities to express His love for Him—the same number of times Peter had denied Him. Jesus’ focus was on restoring the heart of His struggling disciple—a heart that He knew, once restored, would turn and strengthen his brothers. (Luke 22:32)
Application
How easy is it to return to what is familiar as we walk with Jesus? Most of the disciples had spent their adult lives fishing. It was their way of life. But after walking with Jesus for three years, Jesus had died and come back to life. They were probably a bit confused at this point. So, now what? They went back to what was familiar: fishing. But Jesus had called them to the unfamiliar: fishing for people.
Jesus will redeem us from every sin we commit, if we will only confess it to Him and turn away from it. (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9) Peter’s sin of denying Jesus three times may seem like a “big sin” to us, but there are no “big sins” vs. “little sins.” (John 18:15–27) In God’s eyes, there is only sin, and Jesus died to remove the guilt of that sin, as well as its power over us and regardless of whatever it is. When was the last time you praised God for the complete forgiveness and cleansing from sin that was made possible by the blood of Jesus?
[1] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, Electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., vol. 1, United Bible Societies, 1996, p. 293.
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman