Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Should Peter Have Been Fishing Naked?

John 21:7 KJV
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

The Bible says Peter put on his fisher's coat and cast himself into the sea to go to Jesus.

He had been fishing naked.

The context makes me think this is a lapse into sin in Peter's life. He likely went fishing thinking of going back to life as it was before Christ. He had a fisher's coat; obviously meant to be worn while fishing. Course people can be careless about modesty, so even if it was customary to strip the coat it doesn't mean it was considered modest or culturally acceptable. The fact that he put it on to swim to shore (I would think you would take it off - swimming in cloths is difficult and sometimes dangerous) implies it would have been inappropriate to be on shore and before Christ with what he didn't have on.

I scanned through every reference to nakedness in the Bible and found that, with the exception of before the fall, it is always considered shameful.

Peter's backslidden condition was shameful and in no circumstances should he have been naked on that boat.

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