Masculine Examples from John 21

All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

In a culture that largely hates and assaults every good masculine trait we could have, it’s good to remind ourselves of how the Scriptures picture what a true man is. Of course, we see no better example than our Lord Jesus Himself. But there are some portions of Scripture that remind us of true masculinity from the character of His servants. One such portion is the epilogue to the Gospel of John, known for its account of Peter’s restoration to leadership ministry by the Lord’s personal conversation. However, we see much more than this highlight from this account. The behavior of the apostles in their fishing, and Jesus’s treatment of them after they labor fruitlessly, show us a couple more essential qualities of men of God.

So, let’s remind ourselves from the examples of Jesus and the apostles of a few of the traits we men of God ought to possess in our daily lives. I submit that this passage shows us that men naturally crave hard labor, brotherhood, and tough love. And these things can only be provided by the Lord through the Spirit.

Men of God Need to Labor

The tail end of John’s Gospel begins with some of the apostles being “together,” and then Peter making the decision to go “fishing”. In order to understand the significance of what they end up doing by traveling to the “Sea of Tiberias,” or of Galilee, you have to know what has just happened. Jesus just rose from the dead, and appeared to most, if not all, of the disciples in the upper room in which they were staying for the Passover week. Although not recorded by John, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells them,

“’And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you [the Holy Spirit]; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high [the Holy Spirit].’’”

(Lk. 24:49)

He gave them clear instructions when He appeared to them after His resurrection. They were supposed to stay in Jerusalem until the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out upon them by the Lord. So, without indicating it, John’s last story of the disciples finds them blatantly disobeying the Lord’s command to stay. Instead, they go to the Sea to fish.

This is understandable, since they were all too eager to do something while they were waiting for the Spirit. And it shows us their natural, unwise, masculinity, coming out in clear detail. Apparently, they rationalized their behavior by telling themselves that since Jesus was no longer leading them, then they ought to go back to their previous occupation.

All the men that go fishing were fishermen before Jesus called them to follow Him. John lists “Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples . . .” – Jn. 21:2

It seems from the other Gospels that Peter owned a fishing business, since one writer speaks of the boat “belonging to Simon,” in which Jesus teaches lessons to crowds listening on the sea shore. And at least a few of these men are described as being fishing partners, especially the “sons of Zebedee,” who are James and John. So, after having Jesus appear to them in Jerusalem, telling them to wait there, and then leaving them again to bide their time without Him, they felt the urge to go back to the work they had done for decades.

As men, they were simply impelled by their inner urge to work, and to provide for themselves. This is an excellent instinct, but it must be ruled by a passionate desire to please the Lord in all things. If they had trusted Jesus, they would have waited in Jerusalem like He said, and He probably would have visited them again. Instead, they move Him to visit them while they’re attempting to fulfill their calling as men through their own human reasoning.

Their failure to obey Jesus is clearly why they come up empty from their night of fishing. John notes that,

“They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.” – Jn. 21:3b

So how does Jesus show them the well-intentioned, but prideful, folly of their way? He provides them with the fish they were searching for:

“And He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.’ So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” – Jn. 21:6

By doing this, Jesus was once again proving to them that He would provide for all their needs, and that His commands for them were better than their own reasoning, no matter how uncomfortable they seemed. After this, the Lord goes a step further, and uses the fish He’s provided for them to give them a meal to facilitate their brotherhood, another one of their longings that He fulfilled for them.

Men of God Have Brotherhood

Again, the next part of this story shows us that brotherhood is given to us when we obey the Lord, and He provides us with the gifts in which we all share. In this case, it was a meal that they enjoyed together as brothers in God’s new family. So,

“Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ . . . Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.” – Jn. 21:12-13

Eating meals together is a common theme throughout the New Testament, as it represents a familial bond among Christians that should be most powerfully celebrated through the Lord’s Supper. We also see in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus shared another meal with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And then in the early stages of Acts, the assembly in Jerusalem were “breaking bread from house to house” (Acts 2). Under normal circumstances, there’s simply no fellowship and brotherhood without eating meals together. If you want to grow in your brotherly affection and unity, you must eat with your brothers.

But even alongside this recognition of mutual love and devotion, there needs to be accountability and tough love, which Jesus shows next.

Men of God Have Tough Love for Each Other

The highlight of this account gives us one of the best examples of tough love found in the Scriptures. Our Lord Jesus masterfully, gently, and firmly chastises Peter for his grievous denial of Him when He was suffering the greatest opposition from the world. In Peter’s pride, folly, and unbelief, he claimed that he didn’t even know his Lord and Master. He was probably suffering great inward shame, sorrow, and self-pity at having denied Jesus, and now he had foolishly led his brothers to disobey Jesus through their fishing.

Because the Lord cared about the health and joy of Simon’s soul, He had to reassure him of his devotion to Himself, and reaffirm his role as leader of the apostles. In the process, He made Peter remember his weaknesses of pride and cowardice, but motivated him to look to His power to strengthen him, as He’d promised.

Jesus’s method is to thrice ask Peter if he loves Him, and then answer each of his replies with his calling as the main leader among the apostles. And note that this was after they had enjoyed their breakfast together.

The Lord begins by bringing to Simon’s mind his arrogant claim at the Last Supper that “even if all deny you, yet I will not” (Mt. 26:33). In that claim, he was implying that he loved Jesus more than the other apostles. And this was the first major sign of weakness to the temptation to deny the Lord. Although Jesus didn’t come right out and say that Peter was arrogant, He did remind him of his arrogance expressed through this boast. His first of three questions is,

“’Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’” – Jn. 21:15

To understand what’s going on in this exchange, it’s also necessary to know which Greek words for “love” are being used. In this first question, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you agapao Me more than these,” or “Do you commit to Me more than them?” This type of love is love of your will, which will care for the object loved for its own sake, and not for the lover’s sake.

In response to Jesus’s gentle rebuke, Peter is forced to acknowledge his genuine love for Jesus, but he falls short of the agape love that His Lord desires. Instead, he says that he has phileo for the Lord, which means familial or brotherly love. It seems that he now can’t bring himself to claim that he has selfless, sacrificial love for Jesus, since he’s been broken and humbled by his failures.

Nevertheless, Jesus doesn’t chastise him for his modesty, but rather confirms His role for him as a shepherd of his brothers. So, he gives His first command as “tend my lambs” (v. 15). By replying to Peter’s affirmation of love for Him like this, He’s telling him that he’s still able to lead younger disciples through teaching and example, since he still has deep and abiding love for His Lord.

Yet Jesus continues a second time to question Peter’s love for him. This time, instead of comparing his love to the other apostles, He asks if he has any “agape” love for Him, or selflessly sacrificial devotion. Again, Peter responds in the same way by telling his Master that He knows that he has phileo love for Him. And again, Peter’s humility is now appearing in that he can’t bring himself to claim that he has the highest and perfect love for Jesus. But Jesus again reveals that the love he does have is enough for him to carry out His calling for him –

“’Tend My sheep.’”

Finally, echoing the third denial that Peter committed in the courtyard of the high priest’s palace, Jesus asks the hardest-hitting question of all –

“Do you phileo Me?” (v. 17)

Now, He was calling into question even Peter’s own love that he thought was the highest he had for the Lord. Why did He ask this question? Because He knew that Peter loved Him more than he was willing to admit now. Thus, Jesus conclusively calls him to exercise his role as leader of the disciples in the command, “’Tend My sheep’” (v. 17).

In these three questions, Jesus had to have awakened the wound that Peter had dealt himself through his denials. Yet, in response to each of these failures to love Him, Jesus assures His younger brother that he still has a God-wrought love for Him, and that he’s capable of great service in leadership. Such is the method that men of God ought to use to correct and restore our brothers to renewed service after sinful failure. Such is the tough love that brotherhood demands, and that brotherhood rewards with even deeper, higher, and stronger love. Love first for our Lord, but then its overflow in our love for our brethren in Christ.

Labor, Brotherhood, and Tough Love

So there you have it – prime examples of masculine labor, brotherly affection and communion, and tough love in the story of one of Jesus’s last bodily encounters with His apostles. Let we men of God grow in our devotion to hard work for God, fellowship together through sharing our lives, and confronting each other with tough love that heals after it stings. May we all grow to become more like our Master and Elder Brother, and carry His cross to the world.