In verse 11, John totals this miraculous catch at 153 fish. Why would he use such a specific number? Explanations range from the generic to the outlandish. The most popular theories revolve around 153 representing all mankind through a little math magic.
St. Augustine came up with the idea that this number shows the importance of the 10 commandments and the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. You need both elements so that combines to 17. Now, if for some unknown reason you add up every number from 1 to 17 (1+2+3+...+17) you get 153! Ta-DAH!
St. Gregory the Great took the 17 and multiplied it by 3 representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to get 51. For good measure he multiplied it by 3 again and, abracadabra, we get 153!
St. Cyril broke the number into its decimal columns of magnitude. 100 represents the large number of Gentiles to be saved. 50 represents the smaller number of Jews to be saved. 3 represents the very few willing to dedicate themselves completely to God through celibacy. Bippity boppity boo-YEAH!
However, the most popular explanation is that at the time there were 153 known species of fish signifying that the disciples would reach all the different people groups of the world. This may be the most enticing solution because in verse 9 it shows that Jesus already has caught some fish which could represent the disciples. And it's the disciples in turn that catch everyone else. The closest historical proof I've seen for this is St. Jerome quoting the Greek author Oppian at 153 species of fish in the region. Unfortunately, he actually said 157.
I expect that John did have some purpose in stating the number 153, but we can't know the true significance unless we asked him. His answer could be as simple as, “Dude, we caught so much fish that it took forever to eat it all. Now I like fish, but that was so many meals in a row that I started a countdown to figure out when it'd finally all be gone. That's why that number is burned into my brain.”
If you can eat 153 fish sticks in one sitting:
St. Augustine came up with the idea that this number shows the importance of the 10 commandments and the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit. You need both elements so that combines to 17. Now, if for some unknown reason you add up every number from 1 to 17 (1+2+3+...+17) you get 153! Ta-DAH!
St. Gregory the Great took the 17 and multiplied it by 3 representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to get 51. For good measure he multiplied it by 3 again and, abracadabra, we get 153!
St. Cyril broke the number into its decimal columns of magnitude. 100 represents the large number of Gentiles to be saved. 50 represents the smaller number of Jews to be saved. 3 represents the very few willing to dedicate themselves completely to God through celibacy. Bippity boppity boo-YEAH!
However, the most popular explanation is that at the time there were 153 known species of fish signifying that the disciples would reach all the different people groups of the world. This may be the most enticing solution because in verse 9 it shows that Jesus already has caught some fish which could represent the disciples. And it's the disciples in turn that catch everyone else. The closest historical proof I've seen for this is St. Jerome quoting the Greek author Oppian at 153 species of fish in the region. Unfortunately, he actually said 157.
I expect that John did have some purpose in stating the number 153, but we can't know the true significance unless we asked him. His answer could be as simple as, “Dude, we caught so much fish that it took forever to eat it all. Now I like fish, but that was so many meals in a row that I started a countdown to figure out when it'd finally all be gone. That's why that number is burned into my brain.”
If you can eat 153 fish sticks in one sitting:
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