At the end of the book of John, Jesus’ disciples are back in Galilee, and Simon Peter decides to go fishing. A cohort of others joins him, including John, the son of Zebedee. While they are still on the water, after catching nothing all night, Jesus shows up on the shore and calls to them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They do so and wind up catching so many fish that they can’t pull the net into the boat.
After everyone gets to the shore, Jesus has a fire going with fish and bread for breakfast. He tells them to bring some of their fish. So they do, and they count them. John says there were 153 large fish “and although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn 21:11).
It is this last bit of the story that I want to comment on. The number of fish, the size of the fish, and the fact that the net did not tear are utterly extraneous to the story. By themselves, they are details that serve no purpose to further the story or to convey theological truth, yet somehow the author of John considers these details significant enough to report.
I know that if I were writing this account, I would not have reported the details about the fish and the nets because I would have seen no significance in them. They mean nothing to me because I don’t know anything about fishing. These details make sense only if you assume a certain knowledge of first century fishing. But most people, even in the first century, lack that knowledge.
Therefore, I see in these details a subtle clue that the author of John knew first century fishing, as if, perhaps, he was a fisherman.
It’s just a whisper of authenticity.
