Justin Houtz

Jeremiah 45-47; Psalm 105; John 21

DateVersionReading Plan
August 19, 2026ESV (2016)ESV Life Journal Plan – 2026

John 21

Observation & Interpretation

The final chapter of the Gospel of John begins with Jesus’ appearance to the disciples. Peter told the disciples that he was going fishing and they joined him, but caught nothing that night (John 21:3-4). As day was breaking, Jesus was standing on the shore and asked the disciples if they had caught anything. They replied that they had not (John 21:5). Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side and they would find some (John 21:6). An interesting detail here is that Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side. The right is often associated with blessing in the Bible.

In Gen. 48:8-22, Israel crossed his hands when laying them on his grandsons, putting his right hand on Ephraim rather than Manasseh. This displeased Joseph who sought correction because Manasseh was the firstborn, but Israel refused and said that Ephraim also shall become a people and he shall be great. Also, in Matt. 25:31-46, when Jesus was speaking of the final judgment, He said that the sheep would be placed on the right hand of the King while the goats will be on the left. “The unrighteous goats are told to depart from Him into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels because they failed to care for Him during the terrible Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” (BBC).

It should be said that we are not to over-allegorize or read too much into the fact that Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets on the right side, but the correlation between the command and the large quantity of fish caught is intriguing.

Application

It should strike us in amazement that God would bless us in the manifold ways He does. The disciples caught nothing on their own, emblematic of how we are unable to earn or warrant blessing through our own effort. Moreover, we are deserving of catching nothing, of being entirely apart from God and His blessings. And yet, by His grace, He gives us the biggest catch we could ever have: Himself. May it be for the saints embrace this truth with utter gratitude, that our union with Christ is the greatest blessing we could ever receive.

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