The end of John’s Gospel contains a story about the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They had gone out fishing, and caught nothing. He called to them from shore and instructed them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. When they did, their nets were full to overflowing. Peter then recognized the Lord and jumped in the water to swimg to share. There, Jesus had prepared a coal fire with bread and roasted fish (Jn 21).

Early Christians venerated the place where this happened, singling out a large rock as the table Jesus would have used with his disciples for this meal. A church was built over that rock in the fourth century; it was located just a short distance from Tabgha, the place of the multiplication of the loaves. (See it on a map here.)

That original church was eventually destroyed—a small church from the modern era stands there now around the same stone, which is known as “Christi Mensa,” or “table of Christ.”

The location is significant because it is near a sulfurous spring that empties into the lake. The spring attracts food for fish, so it was a popular place for fishermen to cast nets—just what the disciples were doing when Jesus called to them from the shore.

It is interesting to note what most pilgrims want to do on this beach—a sign stands on the shore that prohibits three actions: fishing, swimming, and coal fires.

The conversation that Jesus shared with Peter after their meal established Peter as the leader of the disciples in Jesus’ absence. Peter denied Jesus three times during his trial, and Jesus three times asks him if he loves him. After each reassurance, Jesus commands Peter to feed and tend his flock.

The video below is taken from the shore where this exchange happened on the Sea of Galilee.