You Follow Me! (Part 1)

Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

John 21:20-23 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?”

INTRODUCTION

Two of the harder aspects of my job are starting and finishing preaching through a book of the Bible. Starting is hard because it takes an exceptional amount of work and thought and prayer to get my head around the whole of the book—which is a prerequisite to handing any of it well. And finishing is hard in a way that is similar to having a child graduate and move out—it’s hard to overstate the emotional, spiritual, and chronological investment it takes to make it through an entire book (especially one like John). If anything, it’s an underestimate to say that I’ve spent well over 1000 hours of my life in John’s Gospel since I began. That’s over 40 full days of feeling the weight of being responsible to rightly preach the Word of God to the people of God.

At the exact same time, however, spending thousands of hours preparing to and preaching through whole books of the Bible is by far one of the most rewarding aspects of being a pastor as well. What a gift it is to be able to sit in the very words of God, day after day, year after year, experiencing God’s presence and grace through them, being continually reshaped by them, and then sharing them with a people I love. I do wish there were some way you all could experience the same thing.

With that, as you can tell, we’re almost done in John and it’s now official that I’ll be preaching through Ecclesiastes next. I’d encourage you all to begin reading through Ecclesiastes over and over. As you do, I’d also encourage you all to pray through it, asking God to help you understand it, in order that you might be duly transformed by it. One more thing…make a list of everything that stands out—questions, observations, encouragements, etc—and teach your kids to do that as well.

And with that, let’s go back to John for one of our last times.

In chapter 19, John records Jesus’ crucifixion. In chapter 20, John tells of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His resurrection appearances to many of His followers. Throughout chapter 21, John continued recounting Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances, interactions, and teaching. In the first 14 verses of 21 (which Pastor Colin preached on two weeks ago), Jesus found several of His disciples at the tail end of an unsuccessful all-night fishing trip. In two remarkable acts, Jesus miraculously filled their nets with fish and kindly provided a beach-breakfast for His exhausted friends.

At some point during the course of the early morning meal, Jesus pulled Peter aside in order to restore and recommission him. Jesus restored Peter from his three-times denial of Jesus and recommissioned him to provide pastoral/shepherding care for Jesus’ followers.

In our passage, Jesus and Peter were still talking, but this time Peter noticed someone listening in. In the course of this ongoing dialogue, we find four clarifications (who was following them, what was he doing, what difference did it make to Peter, and—back on the subject of death—when would the following man die). In the clarifications we find a number of important applications for us as well.

In all of that, we’ll see that the big idea of this passage is that following Jesus is the primary call on all of our lives. The main takeaway, therefore, is to follow Jesus.

CLARIFICATIONS

As I mentioned, the bulk of the passage answers questions that are asked (or at least implied) in the passage. That is, Peter wonders about and Jesus clarifies four different things.

As we dive in, I can’t help but to wonder how many times have you may have wished you could get Jesus to clarify things for you in real-time like this.

Jesus, I’m not sure how to help this person. What do I do?

Jesus, how do I honor you with this diagnosis or ailment or disability or loss or difficulty?

Jesus, why is it so hard for me to know what to do with myself? And when I do know what to do, why is it so hard to stay on task? Would you help me?

Jesus, I’m having trouble understanding what your Word means. I’m trying, but I just can’t seem to figure it out. How do I live it out faithfully when I’m not sure if I have it right?

Jesus, my kids are out of control or money is tight or my marriage is hard or it’s hard not being married or my job is oppressive or I’m lonely or …

On one hand, of course, we don’t have the same exact experience as Peter did in this moment. On the other and more important hand, however, we have something better (Jesus told us this explicitly—John 15:26). We have the Spirit in us and the completed Bible. Along those lines, one of the most important biblical truths you can learn is that the Word and Spirit of God are living and active (Hebrews 4:12). That means we really are talking to Jesus when we pray and He really is talking to us when we read His word.

In other words, in this passage, in His willingness to answer Peter’s questions and explain things to him, we have a remarkable example of Jesus’ kindness and patience on display. But equally significant is the fact that you and I have even greater access to Jesus’ kindness and patience today. Talk to Jesus, therefore, in prayer, knowing that He hears you even more fully than any person in this room can. And read His Word, therefore, knowing that in it, He is speaking to you with more insight and intimacy than anyone in this room can.

Who Was Following? (20)

With that, the first (kind and patient) clarification is found in v.20. It’s not clear exactly where Jesus and Peter were in relation to the other disciples as they talked, but it is clear that someone had crept up towards them while they did.

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?”

The key to this clarification concerns John’s descriptions of himself. As both the narrator/interpreter of the story and a participant in it, John presents himself both anonymously and intimately present. Never once did he mention himself by name while he consistently described himself at the center of the main events of Jesus’ life and ministry. John wanted to be simultaneously non-distracting from the story and clear on the fact that he was eminently qualified to tell the story. Both show up in his choice of monikers.

His main self-designation is “the beloved disciple” or “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20). In this passage and the next, he added two more descriptions to even further enhance his anonymity and qualification.

In v.20, he highlights not only that he is (familiarly) “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” but also that he is the “one who also had leaned back against [Jesus] during the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’” John described himself as the one who was privileged to sit nearest to Jesus, to lean on Him, and to have His ear.

In a similar manner, as we’ll see in v.24, he said of himself, “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.” He was the one witnessed the things he’d written about from such an inside perspective that “we know that his testimony is true.”

Again, in writing his Gospel, John determined to remain anonymous throughout the entire Gospel, while simultaneously revealing that there was, perhaps, no one more qualified to tell and interpret this story of Jesus.

Who did Peter see when he turned around during his walk with Jesus? He saw John, the author of this Gospel. Why is that significant? It’s significant in that it meant that John was constantly nearby as an eye/earwitness to the things he wrote about. Why was he so close? Because he was loved and trusted by Jesus. Why does that matter? It matters because it means we can trust that what he wrote was true and that it was written for the glory of Jesus.

In coming to recognize all of this from Jesus’ first clarification, from v.20, we are able to better recognize and receive John’s Gospel as the remarkable gift from God that it is. It is no small kindness that Jesus allowed John to walk so near Him, in such love, so that He might record and interpret the most important benefits in all history for our benefit.

Are you rightly grateful? Do you rightly thank God for this? Do you read it as you should—eagerly, confidently, transformationally, obediently—consistent with what it is—the account of a man inspired by the Holy Spirit to write of things he personally witnessed at the side of the Son of God who loved him dearly?

The Gospel of John is an awesome gift from God to us. John’s first clarification—a description of himself—helps us to see that more clearly than ever.

What About This Man? (21)

The second main clarification is found in the next verse.

²¹ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

There are two things I’d like to point out from this. The first concerns the relationship between Peter and John. In a way that is fairly unique from the other Gospels, John consistently paints himself and Peter as the two disciples closest to Jesus. They had (and would continue to have, as we’re about to see) different roles to play in furthering Jesus’ ministry. Likewise, John reveals that they had different personalities and gifts. And yet, once again, both men were constantly in Jesus’ inner-most circle; friends with Jesus and friends with each other.

There is very little that is sweeter than a good friend who helps spur you on in life and ministry. My first taste of this came as a new believer in college. As virtually everyone around me was partying and seeking other forms of worldly pleasure, my friends and roommates continually challenged me to go with them to share the gospel with other kids in the dorms, to go to prayer gatherings, to fight sin, and to spend time each day in God’s Word.

Dozens (hundreds?) of my classmates heard the gospel because my friends encouraged me to share it, I learned to experience and express my dependance on God through hours of corporate prayer at the prompting of my friends, I found and fought sin I didn’t even know was sin as a result of the exhortation of a few brothers in Christ, and I read through the Bible for the first time, slowly learning to understand it because I had good friends who patiently and persistently walked alongside me as an infant in the faith.

Likewise, fast forward 30 years (almost exactly), I was talking with Pastor Colin earlier in the week about this exact thing. My fellow elders (John, Matt, Mark, and Lord-willing Colin) are some of my best friends. And yet, our friendship is not very tied to that which makes up most friendships—shared hobbies or worldly interests. In a number of ways, the four (now five) of us couldn’t be a more different in personality and earthly pursuits. Matt is a musician in a way none of the rest of us are. Mark is a mechanic of grass and machine. I don’t think any of the rest of us have much of a clue about those things. John is a techy to the point that none of us even know what he does for a living or understand a single one of his t-shirts. We’re all still getting to know Colin, but he’s already brought more style to our preaching rotation than the rest of us combined.

In spite of all these differences, differences of a sort that generally keep guys like us from being good friends, we have a friendship that is much deeper than every other kind. That’s because it is based on something infinitely deeper—our mutual love for Jesus and His mutual call on our lives to feed His sheep (you all). We are better friends through a shared faith and engagement in shepherding ministry than we could ever be with those who merely share our recreational interests.

There is a unique joy and strength in good friendships. John and Peter seemed to share one.

The second thing I want you to see here flows from the first. Given their close relationship, their prominence in Jesus’ earthly ministry, that which Jesus had just revealed to Peter concerning His future, and the fact that Peter just spotted John following behind them, it was entirely natural for Peter to wonder about Jesus’ plan for John.

Peter had been specifically charged to provide an ongoing pastoral, shepherding role for Jesus’ followers. What’s more, he had been specifically promised that it would end in his own crucifixion. But what about John, Peter wondered? What were the particulars of his ministry and how would it end?

There’s a chance Peter’s question contained some lingering thoughts of comparison (implied somewhat in Jesus’ reply) (Would John’s ministry be superior to his? Would his death be more pleasant or noble?), but more than likely, he was mainly curious concerning the fate of his friend and close partner in ministry. Again, that’s part of the very definition of a good friendship—you care about Jesus’ plans for your friends.

Ask the Lord to burden you to pursue good friendships even if it’s easier to sit at home or find mere hobby-friends. Ask God to use you to forge friendships that are rooted in a shared belief in the gospel and a shared longing to share it with the world. Ask the Lord to help you love your friends well by caring as much about their faith as your own. Ask God to help you find more joy in a friendship with someone who has nothing other than the gospel in common with you than with someone who has everything else in common.

That fact that this is already happening here is one of my great joys. Let’s grow in that, Grace. Let’s intentionally cultivate good friendships, rooted in the gospel here.

The second clarification, Peter’s wondering about John’s fate, helps us to see these things.

What Is that To You? (22)

The third clarification in this passage is found, once again, in the very next verse, v.22. In it, Jesus clarified the most important aspects of Peter’s question (“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!”

As I just said, Jesus’ reply might imply at least a hint of a misguided heart behind Peter’s question—that Peter was asking for more selfish/comparison reasons. If so, it’s a good lesson for us concerning the often-slow process of our sanctification. We might wish that God would instantly take away our sinful tendencies, but He has better, slower plans than that.

While that might be a part of this, much more significant is the fact that in it, Jesus revealed the heart of both what the Christian life isn’t and is.

Regarding what the Christian life isn’t, Jesus’ point was simple: Peter, along with every other follower of Jesus, was given a unique mission and fate for God’s glory and his good. That’s all he needed to worry about. We glorify God, not by doing what others do or by getting the same results as others, but by being faithful to God’s charge to us, by trusting in God’s promises to us, and by celebrating whatever fruit God has determined to bear through us.

We are not held accountable to someone else’s calling, according to someone else’s gifts, or in comparison to someone else’s results.

Therefore, Peter could only rightly worry about what Jesus had for John once he was first content with what Jesus had for him. Therefore, Jesus said, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

Regarding what the Christian life is, instead of worrying about others, Jesus said, “You follow me!”

What would you say if someone were to ask you: What is the very essence of being a Christian? Or: All the way at the bottom, what does it mean to be a Christian? Or: What is the Christian life in simplest terms?

The answer, I believe according to Jesus’ words (here and throughout the Gospels), is following Jesus. I’ll come back to this next week in detail, but for now see clearly the simple fact that before Peter could be rightly concerned for John, his ministry, his fate, or anything else, he needed to fix his eyes entirely on Jesus and determine to walk with Him no matter what happened to John or anyone else.

Jesus’ main response to Peter’s question about John was that everything and everyone else takes a back seat to following Me. There are no higher claims on your life, Peter. There are no higher pursuits. There are no greater concerns. Nothing else can come first in your mind or heart. There is not a single thing—no family need, no health concern, no leisure or vocational pursuit, no relationship, no act of service, no friendship, no nothing—that trumps the call to follow Me.

This is one way to understand many of the problems in the Church today—people claiming to be Christians who spend most of their time going to places Jesus never went and for reasons He never shared.

In this vein, there are many who believe themselves to be following Jesus while affirming sexual deviancy, attempting to redefine marriage, promoting abortion, and redefining the Church’s mission—things Jesus never condoned and repeatedly condemned. They tend to use the right terms (like justice, love, compassion, care for the vulnerable, etc.), but with definitions entirely contrary to Jesus’. The things they do to “follow Jesus” are actually going in the exact opposite direction to Jesus.

At the same time, and on the opposite end, there are many others, claiming to follow Jesus, invent new rules to bind people’s consciences, add to God’s Word things that are not there, live in ways that are entirely separated from and antagonistic toward those who are different from them, and speak a lot about a certain kind of sin while tolerating a different kind. They too often use the right words with the wrong meaning.

Both groups, and many in between, are willing to follow Jesus on certain parts of His path, but only on their terms. Both groups like the idea of following Jesus, but according to their own definitions. Both groups like doing things in Jesus’ name, but only after remaking Jesus in their own image.

Jesus, whether as a rebuke or merely a simple warning, addressed the entire spectrum of those who claim to be following Him, but really aren’t. Even if Peter’s concern for John was rightly motivated, Jesus made sure it was rightly ordered as well.

May we learn from this. May we take careful stock of whether or not we really are following Jesus in the ways we claim to be. Does His word really teach what we believe? Are our feelings about the sins of others, our corrective words, our methods of ministry, our _ really the result of following Jesus or of trying to get Jesus to follow us?

When Will He Die? (23)

Finally, interestingly, John clarified a misinterpretation of Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question. Evidently, John or Peter repeated what Jesus said (in v.22) to others and they wrongly took it to mean that John would not die until Jesus’ second coming. Again, John corrected that faulty interpretation in v.23.

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?”

Peter was going to be persecuted to the point of crucifixion at some point before Jesus’ return. When Peter asked Jesus about John, as we just saw, Jesus said, in effect, “You don’t need to worry about it. Even if his end is the exact opposite of yours, trust me that it is for My glory and his good—just as your end is for you.

It was a hypothetical situation, not Jesus’ actual declaration of John’s fate. And yet, as we’re prone to do, those who later heard the report of this conversation wrongly interpreted it to mean that John would remain until Jesus came back.

John included this in his Gospel to dispel the idea which, evidently, persisted some thirty years later.

At the same time, as I said, he also included it to dispel the heart that produced the idea which persists in us today. That is, we too are frustratingly drawn to misinterpret the Word of God. Sometimes we do so knowingly, intentionally, and for our own purposes and sometimes we do so unknowingly, genuinely longing to honor Jesus, but failing to do so nevertheless. Either way, the consequences can be anything from frustrating to deadly.

Getting God’s Word wrong is frustrating when it causes us to live disordered lives.

For instance, genuinely believing Jesus taught that obedience to God always leads to financial gain and physical health is very frustrating when we lose our job or get sick.

Similarly, genuinely believing Jesus taught that well-meaning parenting always produces good, godly kids is very frustrating when it turns out that despite our good intentions, our kids wander.

Genuinely believing Jesus taught that God always answers the prayers of the faithful as they are prayed is very frustrating to those who do not get what they asked for.

And genuinely believing Jesus taught that you deserve to be happy in every moment of your marriage is genuinely frustrating with the sinner you married sins.

I’ve heard each of those things attributed to Jesus and from very frustrated people who don’t know what to do about their circumstances. Each of these situations involves someone who wrongly believes they rightly know the will of God. That’s hard to watch.

As bad as that is, getting Jesus’ words wrong can have consequences far worse than frustrating, they can also be deadly.

For instance, genuinely believing that Jesus accepts everyone on their terms, or that we can work our way into God’s favor, or that genuinely believing any of those things means that you are still stuck in your sin and that you’re going to hell when you die. That’s as deadly as it gets.

The forth and final clarification is that confidence in one’s understanding is not always correlated to the rightness of one’s understanding and that can be really frustrating, even eternally fatal.

CONCLUSION

In our passage, in the course of an ongoing conversation between Jesus and Peter, we saw four clarifications.

In John’s first clarification—a description of himself as anonymous and yet one of the closest, most beloved of Jesus followers—helps us to see that the Gospel of John is an awesome gift from God to us.

The second clarification, Peter’s wondering about John’s fate as an expression of his friendship with John, helps us to see the goodness of gospel-rooted friendships.

The third clarification helps us to see right to the very heart of what Christianity isn’t (anything before Jesus) and what it is (a grace-driven life characterized by following Jesus).

And the fourth thing John clarifies is that confidence in one’s understanding is not always correlated to the rightness of one’s understanding and that can be really frustrating, even eternally fatal.

In all of that, we’ll see that the big idea of this passage is that following Jesus is the primary call on all of our lives. The main takeaway, therefore, is to follow Jesus.

Next week we’ll do a deep dive into the nature of what it really means to follow Jesus.