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282 CHAPTER 21 LECTURE 1 1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin [Didymus], Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.1 2569. The Evangelist has just told of two appearances of Christ to his disciples. Now he mentions a third appearance. If we consider the order and purpose of these appearances, it is evident that the first showed Christ’s divine authority by his breathing the Holy Spirit upon them; the second showed that he was the same person as before, since he let them view his wounds; and the third showed the reality of his risen human nature, for he ate with them. There are two parts in this. The Evangelist first mentions Christ’s dealing with a group of the disciples; secondly, with two of them he especially loved (v. 15). As to the first, the Evangelist mentions the time and circumstance of his appearance, and then adds a short epilogue, This was now the third time. 2570. The time is After this, after what the Evangelist just narrated . It is significant that he says this for it shows that Christ was not with them continuously, but appeared to them at intervals. The reason for this was that he had not risen with the same life as before, but with a glorious life, as the angels have and the blessed will have: “Except the gods,” that is, the angels, “whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Dan 2:11).2 2571. The Evangelist seemed to be ending his gospel before, when he wrote, these are written that you may believe. Why, then, does he 1. St. Thomas refers to Jn 21:6 in ST III, q. 44, a. 4, ad 1. 2. See ST III, q. 55, a. 3. CHAPTER 21 283 add on this appearance? Augustine3 gives a mystical reason for this, which is that this appearance signifies the glory of the future life, when Christ will appear to us as he is. And so the Evangelist put this appearance after what seemed to be the end of his gospel so that this could be better understood. 2572. The circumstance of his appearance was that Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. It is in the nature and power of a glorified body that it can be seen or not seen, as the person wishes, by non-glorified bodies.4 That is why he says, revealed, i.e., Christ made himself visible. In the same way he is said to appear, which means the same thing as to reveal, “appearing to them during forty days” (Acts 1:3). As Ambrose5 says, that appears in whose power it is to be seen or not seen. 2573. The place is by the Sea of Tiberias, which is the Sea of Galilee . It is called the Sea of Tiberias after the city of Tiberias, which was built in honor of Tiberius Caesar. The Evangelist mentions this, first, to show that our Lord had kept the promise made to the disciples, “he is going before you to Galilee” (Mt 28:7). Secondly, he wanted to show that our Lord had banished the very great fear from the hearts of his disciples, so that they no longer remained shut up in their house, but even traveled as far as Galilee. 2574. In describing this appearance, he first mentions the persons to whom Christ appeared; what they were doing; and thirdly, the circumstances of this appearance. 2575. Christ appeared to seven persons. The Evangelist says that there were together Simon Peter, who had denied him, Thomas called the Twin, who was not present at the first appearance, Nathanael of Cana...

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