John 21:10

Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now taken. Simon Peter therefore went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, the net was not rent.

It is hard to have patience with scholars who make this event a Johannine adaptation of Luke's account of another event (Luke 5:1-11). There are more differences between them than there are similarities.

<MONO>

JOHN'S RECORD LUKE'S RECORD

Christ was on the land. Christ was on the water.

There was one boat. There were two boats.

The catch was pulled ashore. The catch was left on board.

The net held. The net broke.

Six men brought in the catch. Two shiploads of men did it.

The number of fishes is given. The fishes were not counted.

Christ was 100 yards distant. Christ was on board with them.MONO>

To meld these two miracles requires the contradiction of both Gospels; and it would be just as correct to make the signing of the Magna Carta and that of the Declaration of Independence the same event.

Simon Peter went up ... He "went aboard" (English Revised Version margin), meaning that he went up into the boat and unfastened the net prior to beaching the catch of fishes. Again, Peter took the lead in matters requiring action.

A hundred and fifty and three ... Commentators have had a field day with this number, some pointing out that it is a number formed by adding all the cardinal numbers consecutively from one through seventeen, thus making it a perfect number. It seems to this writer that there is no more significance to the number of fishes than there was to the six water-pots at Cana or the 200 cubits that Peter swam to meet the Lord. The big point of all such details lies in their being the kind of specific details that only an eye-witness could have or would have given. There are many examples of such details in John.