John 21:5

5 He called out to them, "Friends, don't you have any fish?" "No," they answered.

John 21:5 Meaning and Commentary

John 21:5

Then Jesus saith unto them, children
And still they knew him not, though he used this endearing and familiar appellation, and which they had been wont to hear from him; and he had called them by a little before his departure from them, ( John 13:33 ) and which he uses here as expressive of his tender affection for them, their relation to him, and that he might be known by them:

have ye any meat?
that is, as the Syriac renders it, (oelml Mdm) , "anything to eat"; meaning fish that they had caught; and whether they had got a sufficient quantity to make a meal of for him and them.

They answered him no;
they had got nothing at all; or at least what they had was far from being enough to make a breakfast of; for so a meal early in a morning may be most properly called, though it is afterwards called dining. Christ's children, true believers, are sometimes without spiritual food; there is always indeed enough in Christ, and he has an heart to give it; but either through prevailing iniquity they feed on something else, or do not go to him for food, or go elsewhere; but he will not suffer them to starve; for as he has made provisions for them in the ministry of the word and ordinances; and he himself is the bread of life; if they do not ask him for food, he will ask them whether they have any; will kindly invite them to the provisions he himself makes; will bid them welcome, and bless them to them.

John 21:5 In-Context

3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them. They said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat. That night they didn't catch anything.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, "Friends, don't you have any fish?" "No," they answered.

6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat. There you will find some fish." When they did, they could not pull the net into the boat. There were too many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Simon Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Peter heard that, he put his coat on. He had taken it off earlier. Then he jumped into the water.