John 21:1 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

After these things Jesus, &c.— As all the males among the Jews were, by the law of Moses, to repair thrice every year to Jerusalem, on the passover or feast of unleavened bread, the pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles; so the apostles and disciples who had come up to Jerusalem from Galilee, chiefly to attend upon their Master, continued, in obedience to the law, as they were obliged to do, at Jerusalem, till the end of the festival. There Jesus appeared to them a second time, eight days after his former appearance, St. Thomas being with them, Ch. John 20:26. The next appearance was at the sea of Tiberias, called also the sea of Galilee; and this is expressly said, John 21:14 to be the third time that Jesus shewed himself; whence it is evident, that the appearance on a mountain in Galilee, mentioned by St. Matthew 28:16; Matthew 28:20 was subsequent to this spoken of by St. John; and was also in a different place, on a mountain; whereas the latter was by the sea of Tiberias. Three reasons may be assigned for our Saviour's meeting his disciples in Galilee. Galilee was the country in which he had resided above thirty years, where he first began to preach the kingdom of God, and to declare and evidence his divine mission by miracles; so that he must necessarily bemore known, and have had more followers in that country than in any other region of Judea. And therefore one reason for his shewing himself in Galilee after he was risen from the dead, seems to have been, that where he was personally known to somany people, he might have the greater number of competent witnesses to his resurrection. Secondly, Galilee was also the native country of the greatest part, if not all, of his apostles, &c. There they supported themselves and their families, some of them at least, by mean and laborious occupations. So strait and so necessitous a condition of life must have rendered a long absence from thence highly inconvenient at the time of barley harvest, which always fell about the time of the passover. As soon as the paschal solemnity was over, which detained them at Jerusalem a whole week, it is natural to suppose they would return into Galilee; upon which supposition our Saviour promised that he would go before them into Galilee, which remarkable expression was again made use of by the angel, Matthew 28:7 and by Jesus himself, John 21:10. The command in the latter passage ought to be taken as a confirmation of his promise of meeting them in Galilee, Mark 16:7 and a strong encouragement to them to depend on the performance of it. To prepare them therefore by degrees for that affliction and mortification which would attend their preaching the gospel, and to give them an opportunity of seeing and providing for their families, to whom, in general, perhaps they were soon to bid adieu for ever; their gracious Lord not only permitted them to return into Galilee; but promised to meet them there, and did in fact meet them there, notonly once, but several times; since the reasons that required the apostles' return thither, were as strong for their continuing there, till the approach of the feast of weeks, or pentecost, should call them thence. Another reason for meeting his disciples in Galilee may be deduced from what St. Luke tells us of the subjects which our Lord dwelt upon on these occasions, viz. "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." It was necessary that they should be fully instructed in the doctrines they were to preach; have some view of the hopes and encouragements that were to support them under those dangers which they were to expect; have many inveterate prejudices rooted out, and be fortified with courage and constancy, and a disregard and contempt of hardships, perils, pains, and death. To these purposes nothing could more conduce than frequent visits from their Lord; and it will evidently appear, that no place could be more proper for these meetings than Galilee, if we consider that the apostles, having their habitations in that country, might reside there without suspicion, and assemble without any fear of the persecutors of their Master; for Galilee was under the jurisdiction of Herod. Whereas, had they remained at Jerusalem, and continued frequently to assemble together, the chief priests and elders, whose hatred or apprehensions of Jesus were not extinguished by his death, would undoubtedly have given such interruptions to those meetings, and thrown such obstacles in the way, as must have necessitated our Lord to interpose his miraculous power to prevent or remove them. Now as all theseinconveniences might be avoided by our Saviour's meeting his disciples in Galilee, it is more agreeable to the wisdom of God to suppose these frequent meetings to have been in Galilee, and more analogous to the proceedings of our Lord himself, who, being in danger from the scribes and Pharisees, would not walk in Jewry, ch. John 7:1. See the notes on John 21:14; John 21:24.