Episode 141 - "Follow me!" John 21:18-25

  18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

  20   Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

  24   This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

  25   Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

In the final episode in our study of the Gospel of John, we pick up where we left off in Jesus and Peter’s conversation where Jesus restored Peter into a mutually loving relationship. Jesus three times told Peter what he wanted him to do: “Feed my sheep.” 

After Jesus made it clear what he wanted Peter to do, Jesus revealed to him to cost of obeying his instructions. Jesus told Peter this would lead to martyrdom. Jesus told Peter that he would someday be crucified just as Jesus had. (vv. 18-19) Jesus then uttered the same command he had a few years earlier when he called Simon and the others: “Follow me.” 

Let’s stop and consider this for a moment. First of all, this revelation to Peter that he would suffer a cruel form of death as a result of following Jesus and ministering to Jesus’ “sheep” is directed only to Peter. Clearly, this is not an absolute truth for all Christians. Jesus is not saying that anyone or everyone who follows Jesus will be crucified or otherwise executed in some cruel fashion. But, should we dismiss it so quickly as irrelevant to ourselves?

In Matthew 16:24-26 Matthew records Jesus saying, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” 

We see here is what is at stake. Jesus is saying that when a person decides they want something rather than Jesus, they forfeit their own soul. They forfeit the opportunity for eternal life with God. It may mean (and has for some) that a person may be killed for their faith in Jesus. 

I know a lady who faced that very risk when she confessed to her father, who held a different faith, that she was trusting in Christ. He sent one of her brothers to kill her, but he refused to do it. She would say the Lord spared her that fate and led her away from that imminent danger. In doing so, she did forfeit the benefits offered to her by not confessing Jesus and by holding to her family and culture. Instead, she left her home, her family, and every obvious form of human security to follow Jesus. She has no regrets.

The point is that any one of us must realize that following Jesus will likely cost us something. For some, it could mean persecution and even physical death. But we must also understand the reward of eternal life with God.

Having just confessed that Jesus knew everything, Peter appeared to understand that Jesus’ prophecy was true and he was concerned. He saw “the disciple whom Jesus loved” walking behind them and asked Jesus, “What about this man?” It’s a way of saying “Why me and not him?” Jesus’ response to that was, essentially, “It’s none of your business what becomes of him. You follow me!”

There is a principle for us. Perhaps we experience some form of persecution and wonder “Why me and not him/her?” Maybe it’s not even persecution but envy that evokes the comparison with someone else. We simply need to follow Jesus and not worry about what God is doing or allowing with someone else. 

Finally, we have some closing details. In verse 24 it is stated that the author of this book is “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” An interesting detail follows this revelation. It reads “and we know that his testimony is true.” Wait a minute. If I write something and identify myself as the author, would I write, “and we know that his testimony is true?” Not likely. I would lose all credibility. What is the most likely explanation is that “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is the source of the information concerning Jesus’ life and ministry in this gospel. He has taught these things and written them down and now some of his disciples are compiling his writings into this manuscript. There are other books in the New Testament and likely the Old Testament that are penned or compiled by others than the “author.” 

The closing statement is that Jesus did so many other things that are not recorded in this book or even the other gospels. It’s safe to say that John and the other gospel writers included what best described Jesus' life and ministry on earth. May we continue to learn from them how we may follow Jesus.