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Apostolic Writings Discussions

John 21 — tearing down & rebuilding Peter

Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) had a special encounter with seven of His closest students and was out to rebuild a special one, Peter, following a heart-breaking betrayal. Yeshua taught Peter that to truly love God, he must have not just brotherly love but self-sacrificing love.

Questions explored during the recorded discussion

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Why are we looking at John 21 when we just finished Matthew? How does the chapter begin? What happened immediately before this (see Matthew 28 & John 20)?

Why were Thomas and Nathaniel in the boat? They weren’t known to be fishermen. What were they waiting for?

How many disciples were there at this particular time? Who were they?

The first one mentioned was Simon Peter, what do we know about him? Peter was faithful until the end, how was he faithful? How do we know?

Who was Thomas? What was he like?

Who is Nathaniel? What does his name mean? What did Yeshua call Nathaniel?

John’s list of the apostles differs a bit from the synoptics. Why?

Who are the “sons of Zebedee”? How are they acquainted with Simon Peter?

Why were they called the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17)?

Why were they on the sea of Galilee instead of in Jerusalem? What do these men have in common with each other?

They didn’t recognize Yeshua? Why? What did He say to them to help the disciples recognize Him?

How did Yeshua “hit Peter’s reset button” in John 21? Why did He do so?

Yeshua had called them to be “fishers of men.” What do the 153 fish symbolize? What have Augustine, early Church fathers, Jewish Kabbalah, and Greek mathematicians and philosophers speculated about the number 153?

Who was John’s audience in this Gospel, and how does that suggest why the number 153 was included?

What does fish mean in prophesy? (See Eze. 29:1-7, 10 (cf. Jer. 46:10); Matt. 13:47-50; Eccl. 9:11-12; and Hab. 1:12-17)?

What is the “tower of Syrene,” described in Eze. 29:10? Where is it? What does it do? Why is it important? How is this connected to the school of Pythagorus? What did he teach that is connected to the philosophies that the apostles encountered among the nations?

What do sheep and fish have in common and what do people have in common with them?

How does Eccl. 9:11-12 compare people to fish, birds, etc.? How does God see the world?

What does Yeshua say after breakfast with the apostles (John 21:15-19), and to whom is he speaking? The Greek word agape (αγαπε) means "self-sacrificing love." The word phileo (φιλω) means "brotherly love." Yeshua asks Peter the first two times if Peter agape Yeshua. The last time, Yeshua asks Peter if he phileo Yeshua. Why did this exchange affect Peter so much? What does this interchange mean to Simon Peter? What does this mean for us today?

Reader: David De Fever. Speaker: Jeff.