Sunday's sermon was based on John 21:1-14. It is the scene where Peter and six other disciples go fishing and catch nothing all night. Jesus appears at dawn, tells them to cast the nets on the right side of the boat and they catch a full load. Then the Beloved Disciple recognizes who Jesus is and they have a fish fry. Meanwhile, we are told that they caught 153 fish.Ever wonder about that odd little detail? Actually the whole story is filled with odd little details. Jesus is frying fish on a grill before they bring him any. He makes a big deal in that he serves the fish to the disciples. Peter jumps into the lake after he puts his clothes on. We are told the boat is 100 yards from the land (what is the point of that?) Why are the disciples fishing anyway? Why are they so surprised to see him? Wasn't he just there at the house inviting Thomas to poke him in the side?
Scholars have been suspicious of chapter 21 of John. It smells fishy. It is likely put together much later. It sounds a lot like the call story in Luke chapter 5. As these orally told tales go, one tradition gets mixed up and told with others. One might wonder where this legend of a big catch of fish came from anyway? Good to wonder that.
A rather odd story all told--unless we pay attention to the symbols (eg. 153, fish)
A similar story was told about non-fish eater, Pythagorus.
I think John 21:1-14 is a story about whether followers of Jesus should eat fish or be vegetarians like the Pythagoreans.
(Answer: eat fish, that's what Jesus would do).
Or perhaps it has special meaning for those in the Gno. This is a diagram of the Gnostic cosmos as described by Plato in Timaeus.
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The middle world of Humanity partakes of both spirit and matter, the eternal and the temporal.
The net in the sea represents the shifting world of manifestation, where everything is in a state of flux and nothing forever remains the same.
I think it is cool that legends about Jesus are similar to legends about Pythagorus. We are all connected by symbols and forces much deeper than that of which we are conscious.
So, thanks Jesus and Pythagorus for all the fish.
awesome! I heard a sermon on this text today which was completely different. I love how the lectionary causes us to see certain texts as if through a kaleidescope, because so many people are preaching and teaching on it at once that we hear so many different interpretations.
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ReplyDeleteFYI, Don Carson collects fanciful biblical interpretations - particularly those that abuse gematria. You can read some of them in his Baker commentary, and he mentions some of the more fanciful in this lecture (skip to 7'45"-10'00"). Hendriksen also commits a footnote to them in his magisterial NT Commentary series.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article that addresses the supposed contradictions in ch. 21 may be found here. The scholar is a bit overcommitted to his Roman Catholic interpretation, but it is a sound piece of philological scholarship. I also highly recommend John E. Alsup's Post-Resurrection Appearance Stories of the Gospels (Stuttgart, 1975) which deals extensively with the apocryphal works that contribute to understanding symbolic language within the texts.
Thanks Seeker!
ReplyDeleteHow kind of you! I really appreciate your insights on this blog and your own!
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Thanks for all the links, Chris.
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