JESUS MEETS THE APOSTLES IN THE GALILEE

JOHN 21

When we look carefully, we find an important detail tucked in among the things Jesus said the night he was arrested: “After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (Matt. 26:32; Mark 14:28). That detail shows up again on the day of Jesus’s resurrection. The angel told the women who had come to the tomb to remind the disciples that they were to meet Jesus in the Galilee (Matt. 28:7; Mark 16:7). Jesus himself appeared to the women shortly after that and said, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matt. 28:10). Clearly this was a matter of some importance. Though Jesus had already shown the disciples his resurrected body and had continued to teach them in Jerusalem (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:33–47), he wanted to meet the apostles in the Galilee for a reason.

The remaining days of the disciples’ lives were defined by the meeting in the Galilee. It had been their great privilege to personally listen to Jesus, observe his actions, and ask him questions. They were his emissaries who were responsible for sharing his message with others—something with which they already had some limited experience. Jesus had sent them to witness among their fellow Israelites announcing that the Kingdom of heaven was near, but he gave specific instructions to avoid the Gentiles or any town of the Samaritans (Matt. 10:5–7). This restriction no longer held (Matt. 10:18–20). God had declared that all peoples on earth would be blessed through his promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3; John 8:56; Rom. 1:16; Gal. 3:14). The disciples, who had enjoyed the honor of walking and talking with Jesus, now had the privilege as sons of Abraham of walking among the Gentiles and talking about Jesus. The commission was clearly set in these memorable words, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).

Early-twentieth-century fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee, similar to the type of boat the disciples used when Jesus met them in Galilee after his resurrection.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Courtesy of the House of Anchors Museum, Kibbutz Ein Gev.

The modern Church of the Primacy of Peter, built on the bedrock foundation of earlier remains of the fourth- and seventh-century churches.

This calling to a broader outreach occurred in the same place where they had received their initial call to follow Jesus and be his disciples. In fact, a comparison of Luke 5:1–11 and John 21:3–6 shows striking parallels. In both cases a number of these men had been out fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Although they had caught nothing after fishing all night, they listened to the voice of Jesus and tried one more time. When they did, the net was so full of fish that it was ready to burst. In the first instance, Jesus called his disciples to fish for people (Matt. 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10). With the same setting along the Sea of Galilee,23 Jesus used a parallel experience to call these men again to fish for people.

Aerial view (looking north) of the Church of the Primacy of Peter (red-roofed building in center). The north shore of the Sea of Galilee in this photo is known as Heptapegon, the traditional location where Jesus met the apostles after his resurrection.

The location highlights the audience to whom the apostles were to take the news about Jesus. The district west of the Sea of Galilee was known as “the Galilee of the Gentiles.” This was a specific name for a region that had received this title due to the frequency with which it absorbed the conquest and occupation of Gentile invaders (Isa. 9:1–2; Matt. 4:15–16).24 Thus this location underscores the reason why Jesus sent his disciples back to the Galilee. He used this location to recall them to service and to remind them that their purpose was to carry the news of rescue even to the Gentiles.

The Galilee Region