Limitless Word
Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish.
John 21:13 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Jesus came and took the bread, gave it to them, and the fish likewise.
  • KJV Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
  • BSB Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish.
  • NKJV Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
  • NASB Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus takes the bread and fish and gives them to the disciples. It matters because the risen Lord personally serves and feeds His people.

Overview

In an act recalling His feeding of the multitude and the Last Supper, Jesus distributes bread and fish to His disciples. The risen Christ takes the role of host and servant, nourishing those He loves. The familiar gesture would have reassured the disciples of His identity and care. It pictures the ongoing provision of the Lord for His church.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • John 21:9So when they got out on the land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
  • Acts 10:41not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
  • Luke 24:42–43They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 21:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 21:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.