Verse 9. And when she climbed down to the ground, she saw a fire lying on it, and a fish lying on it, and bread...,2 a fish lying on coals, and bread apart. Jesus Christ created all this out of nothing in order to show His disciples His power and, giving them the opportunity to strengthen their strength after their labors, to express His loving care for them.

Verse 10. (And) Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fishes, which you eat today."3 He said this because he knew that the disciples had caught it. And before Jesus Christ said, "Cut in the right hand of the ship, and you will find, also because you knew that they would catch you." However, the Lord commanded that this be done so that the deed itself would not seem to be some kind of ghost, and so that the disciples would be even more surprised when they saw that a great many fish had been caught, the fish were very large, and, nevertheless, the net was not broken.

Verse 11. Simon Peter got in... He entered the vessel as more skilful in fishing, but of course the others followed him.

Verse 11... Thou shalt bring forth the darkness to the earth, full of great fishes, a hundred (and) fifty (and) three.. 4 Some interpret this to mean that the hundred fish signified those that were to be caught into Christianity from the Gentiles, and the fifty fishes meant those that were to be caught from the Jews, since more of the Gentiles believed in Christ than of the Jews. And the three fish pointed to the Most Holy Trinity, in Whom these people must believe.

Verse 11... And only to those who existed, the darkness did not break through...,5 not because it was strong, but because the Lord arranged it so.

Verse 12. Jesus said to them, "Come, dine...", since it was already lunchtime and it was time to rest after their labors (Probably some of the fish caught was baked for the hungry disciples, and the rest of it was distributed to the poor).

Verse 12... And not one dared to torment Him from the disciples, Who art Thou; knowing that the Lord exists.6 Seeing that His image had changed and was filled with amazing majesty, the disciples would have asked questions, but did not dare, knowing from the miraculous circumstances described above that it was the Lord.

Verse 13. And Jesus came, and took the bread, and gave it to them, and the fish as well. Now Jesus Christ no longer looks to heaven and does nothing else that He did before on similar occasions, as a man, showing His disciples that He Himself arranged everything that was before their eyes with a special all-wise purpose.

Verse 14. Behold, Jesus appeared as His disciple for the third time, having risen from the dead... 7 The first time Jesus Christ appeared in the evening on the same day on which He was resurrected (John 20:19), the second time – eight days after that (John 20:26), and the third time now. It is obvious that after this the disciples went to the mountain where Jesus commanded them to go, precisely after they had again received instruction from the Lord (Matt. 28:16). Jesus Christ appeared to the women, who were, as it were, His disciples, and to the two who are mentioned in the Evangelist Mark (16:12), and to Peter, and Cleopas with his companion (Luke 24:18) – but together to all the disciples He appeared now for the third time (Now He no longer lived with them permanently. whether Jesus Christ Himself ate food; it seems to me that the Evangelist Luke points to this in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in the place where Peter says: "With Him is poison and, after His resurrection from the dead" (Acts 10:41)).

Verse 15. And when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter: "Simon Jonah, do you love me more than these? She said to Him, "Yes, O Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."1 Jesus Christ asks Peter alone about this, as the eldest of the disciples. And why He asks about what He knows – we will say later.

Verse 15... And she said unto him, Feed my lambs. Jesus Christ calls His disciples His Lambs, as their Shepherd; then He also calls them sheep. Thus, Jesus Christ demands of Peter, as a proof of love for Himself, care for His disciples, and desires that He lay down His life, which Peter promised to lay down for Him, for His disciples.

Verses 16-17. And she said to him the second thing: Simon Jonah, do you love me? She said to Him, "Yes, O Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." And she said unto him, Feed my sheep. And the third saith unto him, O Simon Jonah, hast thou loved me? And Peter was offended, for a third said unto him, Lovest thou me; And she said to Him, Lord, Thou art all weighing: Thou art weighing, for I love Thee. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."2 By asking the same thing three times and commanding the same thing three times, Jesus Christ wants to show that He places a very high place on the primacy among the disciples and considers it more important than any other ministry. But Peter, embarrassed by the threefold question, and supposing that it only seemed to him that he loved Jesus Christ, but in fact did not love Him, just as it had seemed to him before that he would never renounce Jesus Christ, but nevertheless denied it, Peter, confused by this, was saddened and frightened. His former ordeal had now made him more moderate and prudent. Now he stands up as a witness to Jesus Christ Himself, as knowing all things before they come to pass, and says: Thou art all things, both present and future, as God – Thou knowest that I love Thee now with all my soul. Peter says nothing more now, because he cannot know the future, and since a little earlier, having expressed a contradiction, he was already exposed that it was in vain that he was so sure of himself. The disciples are called lambs and sheep because of their kindness and willingness to be sacrificed, first as lambs, as less perfect, and then sheep, as more perfect. Thus, Jesus Christ returns to Peter the right to shepherd the faithful, since he had previously washed away the stain of denial with bitter tears, and now, instead of three times of renunciation, he pronounced a threefold confession, and thus, first by deed, and now by word, corrected the fall that was in words. Then Jesus Christ also predicts to Peter the manner of his death, namely, that he too will die on the cross, showing that all that He said to Peter did not say because He did not know what He was asking, and not because He did not believe him...

Verse 18. Amen, amen I say unto thee: When thou wast young, thou didst gird thyself and walked, as thou wouldst have... 3 When you were more imperfect under the law of Moses, then you did what you wanted and lived as you wanted.

Verse 18. And when thou art old, lift up thy hands, and let thee know and lead, though thou wilt not.1 And when thou hast become a perfect man, and attain to the measure of spiritual stature (Ephesians 4:13), being under the perfect law of the Gospel, thou shalt stretch out thy hands on the cross, and another shall nail thee with nails, and lead thee to death, whither thy nature does not want to go, though thou hast made up thy mind to go. The soul by nature has compassion for the body, and when it hears of death, it turns away from it. In this way, God wisely arranged for our own benefit, so that in times of adversity people would not take their own lives, as has already been said. If even now, when our soul suffers greatly from separation from the body, the enemy often inclines us to suicide, then, of course, many would have resorted to suicide even more quickly if this were not the case.