John 21:20-25 – The End: Following the Unspeakably Great Christ

© Eric M. Schumacher – Preached August 1, 2010 at Northbrook Baptist Church

(Audio)

In May 2007, we began our journey through the Gospel of John. And this morning, after about three and a half years and almost 100 sermons later, we’ve reached its conclusion.

And so, as we leave John’s Gospel this morning, I want you to meditate with me on three facts about the Jesus that we meet in John’s Gospel. The first is this:

1) The Christ We Meet in John’s Gospel is to Be Followed, Even Unto Death.
On our vacation, we were guests of Grace Life Church of the Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which is where we attended corporate worship. On the top of their building is a very tall steeple with two crosses. One, larger cross is central and prominent. The second, smaller cross is offset below the other.

Our boys picked up on it right away. One exclaimed, “Look, that church has two crosses! Why does it have two crosses.” And every time we would drive by, one would say, “We go to the church with two crosses.”

You don’t see just two crosses together very often. One solitary cross, we’re familiar with, representing the cross on which Jesus died. Or, we’re familiar with three crosses together—picturing Christ crucified between two thieves. But why two?

Their answer is simple. “The central more prominent cross…is our Savior’s cross. Apart from his death, we are hopelessly lost in sin.” “The smaller cross…represents the saint’s cross. …Jesus taught that His followers must carry their own cross. Because of the saving work of Christ on His cross, we gladly follow Him in this Satan-controlled world. For 2,000 years, His followers have endured misunderstanding, ridicule, and other persecutions—some even martyrdom. This is the saint’s cross.”

Both these crosses show up in John’s Gospel.

The Savior’s Cross
The Cross has been the prominent feature of John’s presentation of Jesus.

In chapter 1, John the Baptist announced Jesus saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” In chapter 2, Jesus says that his body is the temple which will be torn down and raised up in three days. In chapter 3, Jesus said that he had to be “lifted up” as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so that whoever looks to him in faith will have eternal life.

In chapter 10, Jesus tells them that he is the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life in the place of his sheep. His sheep are those who hear his voice and follow him.

Half the Gospel, chapters 13-20, focuses on the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, focusing on the cross.

And so, throughout the whole of the Gospel, Jesus’ cross has stood prominent. We can’t end the Gospel without remembering that. Central to John’s message, which was Jesus’ message, is that Jesus is the sinless Son of God who lived a perfect life and died beneath the wrath of God, so that whoever confesses they are a sinner, repents and believes in Jesus as the Risen Christ will be forgiven, become God’s child and have eternal life.

This cross, the Savior’s cross, is unique. It is something that only Jesus can do and bear. In fact, in John 13, when Jesus was preparing his disciples for his crucifixion and departure, this little dialogue took place between Jesus and Peter:

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?"

Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." 

Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 

Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”

Peter thought he was capable of accompanying Jesus, even to the cross. But Jesus told him, you are not capable of laying down your life for me, until I have first laid down my life for you. You will only follow me afterward.

The Saint’s Cross
Our text for this morning shows us the other cross—“the saints’ cross.”

In verse 18, we saw that Jesus described what would happen to Peter in the future—“when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not want to go.” And John has explained for us in verse 19 that Jesus said this “to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.” Peter would be crucified.

Our text comes on the other side of the cross from when Jesus rebuked Peter. Jesus has confronted Peter. And, Peter has repented and believed in Jesus.

This cross is only given to saints—for those set apart by God for himself. It is only given to those for whom Jesus has lived a perfect life, for whom he has died upon the cross, for whom he has been raised; to those whom he has drawn unto himself, who have repented of their sins, and believed that Jesus is the Christ.

After all that—Jesus says, “Here is a gift—a cross. You will die by crucifixion.”

Peter’s cross is not suffering to atone for his sin or those of any others. No, it is a cross by which he will glorify God (verse 19).

Peter will be arrested for believing and preaching the Gospel and threatened with execution. And, perhaps they will say:

“Peter, are you not one of his disciples, who was with him in the Garden that night? Are you not one his disciples, who tends his lambs and feeds his ‘sheep’ the message that Jesus Christ is Lord? Are you not one of those who preaches that he is the God-man who died and rose again? 

“But, before you answer, Peter, consider this. If you say “yes,” then we will crucify you. You will suffer great pain. You will never see your wife again. You will never see your children again. You will not experience the joy of playing with your grandchildren. You will never enjoy again your home, your church congregation, your reputation as an apostle. You will be robbed of everything this world has to offer you.”

And, perhaps, Peter will say in response:

“Not once, not twice, but three times I tell you: I am one of his disciples. I preach his Gospel to his sheep. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, God in the flesh, crucified and risen.

“You can take me from my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my home, my church, and my ministry. You can rob me of every joy ever afforded by this world. But, having it all taken away, Christ will remain mine, for he died to make me his.”

“Do you worst. But, I will enter into the joy of my Master. In his presence there is fullness of joy.”

And with such a response, comparing the pleasures of this world to the pleasure of Christ, Peter will show the weight of the value of God—he will glorify God.

That is what Christian cross-bearing is. Taking up your cross to follow Jesus need not mean a literal crucifixion. Cross-bearing is living with whatever Christ gives you—whether execution or long-life, painful ministry or popularity—in such a way that you display the worth of Christ over and against the world.

What Peter Must Learn
Now that is something Peter still has to learn, and will, with time.

In verse 20, we read that as he walked along with Jesus, “Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.” The “disciple whom Jesus loved” is John, the author of this Gospel. It is his humble way of referring to himself without mentioning his own name.

So, “when Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’” In other words, Peter is asking Jesus, “If I’m going to be crucified, what is going to happen to John? Will he die this way too?”

Some read Peter’s words in a gracious light, asking out of concern for a dear friend. But, given the content of Jesus’ reply, such a motivation is unlikely.

Peter is asking out of something like jealous self-interest, envy and rivalry. “Lord, what about this man?” “If I have to be crucified, he will be too, right?” “You’re going to be fair with the children in your church, right, Jesus? You’ll treat them all the same, right?”

Jesus’ reply is classic Jesus, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

In other words, Jesus is asking, “Peter, what business it is of yours what I choose to do with John? Your business is to follow me. Mind your own business!”

A few things we should glean from Jesus reply about following him:

First, Christ is Sovereign Over His Sheep.
He replies, “if it is my will that he remain…” What happens to a Christian in the course of following Jesus is a matter of the will of Jesus. The ministry, suffering, rejoicing, pleasure, pain, barrenness and fruitfulness in the life and ministry of each believer is distributed to them according to the will of Jesus.

That should give us great comfort. The Lord who loved us and gave himself for us is reigning over us and giving to each day what he deems best.

Second, Following Jesus Will Not Look the Same for All Sheep.
Jesus puts forth the possibility of willing that John remain living in this world until he returns in glory.

In verse 23, John points out that some people thought this is actually believed this is what happened, that Jesus willed that this disciple would not die. (In fact, Augustine records that in his day, 300 years later, people were saying that John was still alive! He was buried in Ephesus, but he was not dead. He was only sleeping, and the movement of the ground around his tomb was the result of his breathing.)

You can imagine how dangerous this false-interpretation of Jesus’ words could have been. Excitement about the return of Jesus would have swelled as John grew older and older. And what damage would be caused when he died without Jesus having returned. The testimony about Jesus would appear to be false—because this saying had not come to pass.

So, John does careful exegesis of Jesus words to give the correct interpretation. He says, “Jesus did not say to him that was not to die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” Jesus merely states that if he wanted to keep John alive until his return, he was free to do so, and it was none of Peter’s business. He did not say that is what he would will.

But, John points out in the next verse that he is the author of this Gospel, who is still alive—“who is bearing witness about these things.” This Gospel was probably written around the year 90 AD, about 60 years later, about 30 years after Peter was crucified.

These two disciples had very different lives following Jesus. Peter would be a very significant and strategic pastor in the life of the early church, on and after the day of Pentecost, guiding and helping the early church in those crucial days. And then, his life would end in a painful, tortuous death by crucifixion.

John, on the other hand, would live a very long life. He would be exiled to the island of Patmos. But he would be released and allowed to return to the church in Ephesus, where he died at an old age. He would be a very significant and strategic author, of a major Gospel, three letters, and of a “Revelation” to encourage a suffering and persecuted church.

One would die a martyr. One would die in old age. But both would be faithful disciples.

We should learn from this that following Jesus will not look the same for all saints. What the walk of faith looks like and results in has always been varied for God’s people. Listen to this description in Hebrews 11:32-38 of what the saints did by faith:

[Some] obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

All of them had faith. But did you notice the difference of what they experienced? Some “escaped the edge of the sword” and some “were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.”

All saints are thrown before lions, so to speak. Some reach out their hands and stop the mouths of lions. For others, the lions reach out their paws and disembowel them with one swipe. And both are faith-motivated cross-bearing. And often, our lives are a mixture of both.

Third, He is Not Accountable to Us.
Jesus’ reply is sharp—“what is that to you?” “Peter, what I want to do with my people is absolutely none of your business. I am the King; you are the subject. I am the Master; you are the servant. I am the Shepherd; you are the sheep. I do not answer to you. I am not accountable to you.”

That is a gracious answer. As the Lord in the whirlwind did with Job, it is a grace-motivated thing for Jesus to put us in our place, under his absolute sovereignty. It is a good place to be.

Therefore, Our Calling is to Look at Jesus, Not at Others.
That is the message of this: We should be content with our calling. We should leave the calling of others to the will of Christ. “To ‘follow’ Jesus is to take our eyes off others and instead focus on Jesus alone.”

This is what Jesus did—Even though he was God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. But, he made himself nothing. He took on the form of a slave. He humbled himself, even to the point of death on a cross. And, he did not grumbling, complain, whine or compare his lot to that of others.

Peter’s question shows that he has so quickly forgotten all the gain that Christ is for him. Christ has died for his sin! Christ has won him God’s favor, a place in God’s presence, resurrection from the dead! If these are his, who cares what we must suffer!

Peter’s question forgets that he gets to glorify God through his death. His great suffering is not a “worse lot” than John’s calling. It is a great calling, in which he should rejoice. For he gets to glorify God!

Application: Memorize and preach Jesus’ response to yourself the next time you throw a pity-party fueled by comparison to others.How do you respond when you see Christians who have an “easier” calling or more “fruitful” ministry than you? Perhaps you are prone to looking around at other believers and asking:

• Why has the Lord given me this disease and him that health?
• Why has the Lord given me children who have food-allergies, behavioral issues, physical disabilities, learning-challenges, and social-problems, while they get kids who are healthy, well-behaved, popular, and respectful?
• Why has the Lord given him that high-paying, low stress job without much struggle, when I’ve worked harder for decades and am stuck in this place?
• Why has the Lord given her that kind, patient, faithful husband, and I’m stuck with—him?
• Why hasn’t the Lord given me a spouse, when everyone else gets one?
• Why is his ministry so fruitful, and all I seem to do is plow rocky soil?

Now I realize that Jesus’ words to Peter here are not the one-size-fits-all response to suffering. God responds to questions of “Why?” in different ways in different situations through Scripture.

But, how often in the grip of these questions and jealous and envy and strife do we need a brother or sister in Christ to kindly take us by the hand and say, “If Christ wills to give those good gifts to them, what is that to you? You follow Christ!”

Parents—when your children are not treated “fairly,” do you use it as an opportunity to train them in following Jesus? Parents, little league coaches, directors in theater and choir and band, teachers, dance instructors, Boy Scout troop leaders and Sunday School teachers and children’s ministry workers in the church are all in authority over your children—and therefore pictures of the authority of Jesus in some small way.

The way that you train your children to respond to their authority is training in how to follow Jesus. Granted, they are sinful and fallen, and Jesus is not. But the truth remains. These leaders will overlook your children. They will play favorites with other children. They may even provoke your children out of an evil delight in exasperating children!

But, how will you respond when your child is not treated “the same” as the others? Will you teach them that it is okay to grumble and complain and murmur and backbite? Or, will you teach them to respect authority, even when you don’t understand how it is executed?

Will you teach them that they don’t have to show respect, that they can come crying to you and you will march in, raise a fuss, and get them their way? Or, will you teach them to be patient, content, and respectful, even if it hurts?

When another child is genuinely more gifted and receives an honor, or simply happens to have something pleasant come their way, will you teach your children to rejoice with them?

Will you teach your children that being treated “fairly” is not their concern—rather, they should fix their eyes on Jesus? How you teach them to respond when human authority treats them differently than their peers is training them how to respond in the church when Jesus treats another believer differently.

And, what about us as living together as a church? As we move forward with selecting elders and deacons this fall, will you grow jealous and envious when you are overlooked or not selected and another is? Or will you say, “If Christ has called him, praise the Lord! What is it to me? I’m following Jesus!”

When our finances are tight, will you whine, “Isn’t anybody else giving as sacrificially as me? Why do I have to meet these needs?” or will you say, “What is it to me? I’m following Jesus!”

Or when there is ministry to be done, work to be done, people to be cared for, and you are the only one free to meet the need, will you say, “Why do I have to be doing this, when they get to do that?” or “What is it to me? I’m following Jesus!”

So our first point was that the Jesus we meet in John’s Gospel is to be followed, even unto death. The two final reasons show why this is true:

2) The Christ We Meet in John’s Gospel is True
This is a simple point, but it cannot be dismissed. John is careful to point out that everything he has told us about Jesus is true.

In verse 24, John says that he is the disciple who is bearing witness about “these things, and who has written these things.” “These things” refers to everything that John has written in this Gospel.

He writes, “And we know that his testimony is true.” John often refers to himself, in this Gospel and in 1 John, in the third person or in plural. Here is uses “we” to identify himself, and to draw his readers into confessing and acknowledging the truth of what he is saying.

In verse 20, John snuck in a reference to the fact that he was reclining at the table near Jesus the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested. That is more than a trivial fact about his identity. It is John’s way of reminding us that he was there for the whole thing. From the last supper to the betrayal to the arrest to the trial to the execution to the empty tomb to the appearance of the Risen Lord—John saw, heard, and touched everything. And he knew—as we can know—that this is true.

John has not made this up. Peter did not for a myth. This is truth. And therefore it should be believed, and our lives should be changed in light of it.

John cannot end his Gospel with a reference to himself. So, he turns the attention back to Jesus with what must be the greatest ending to any book of all time:

“Now there are 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.”

John’s point, our third and final point, is this:

3) The Christ We Meet in John’s Gospel is Unspeakably Great
Some have interpreted these words as hyperbole, a bit of excusable exaggeration to make his point about the unspeakable greatness of Jesus. Looking back over the past three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, John knows he has written enough to suffice for people to believe the Gospel. But, he also knows is has fallen far short of exhausting the glories of everything Jesus is and did.

But, I think John is not using hyperbole. I don’t think he is exaggerating. I think he is, as he has in this last chapter, taking us back to the first chapter, his prologue. In fact, I think John intends for us to read the last verses of his Gospel in light of the first verses:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Jesus we now know is the Word. He is God. He existed “in the beginning.” He created everything that is. He is the sovereign God who has reigned over all of not only redemptive history but cosmic history—the history of everything.

Everything that has ever happened since he said, “Let there be light” has happened at his command. There are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, the world could not contain the books that would be written.

If this is Jesus, why would we not follow him, even unto death?

A Personal Example
We’ve walked with Jesus through three years of his life and ministry. His entire public earthly ministry occurred over three and a half years, from when he was about 30 to about 33 and a half. His disciples were probably younger than him at this time (and at Pentecost and the establishing of the early church!), in their mid to late twenties, perhaps.

Several years ago, it occurred to me that I would live, only once, through those ages that Jesus lived out his public ministry. And I wondered what it would be like to study intensely the life of Jesus while I lived trough those years. It just so happened that I was 30 as I began preaching through the Gospel of John.

And so, as I’ve studied each passage, I’ve tried to ask myself the question, “How would I have fared in Jesus’ sandals?” “What would it have been like to have been in his place?” And what I have been taught more deeply is that Jesus is unspeakably great.

What do I see, when I compare myself with Jesus as pictured in John’s Gospel? I see this:

• He is God. I am not.
• He is Creator. I am creature.
• He left the pleasure of the Father’s side to enter this world to reveal the glory of the Father in hard ways, while I pursue my pleasure in the world and so frequently do not desire the presence of God.
• He is the perfect revelation of the glory of God. I am the chief of sinners.
• He violently cleansed the temple because he was zealous for the glory of the Father, while I compromise and shrink from reform for the sake of my reputation.
• He fearlessly corrected Nicodemus, a highly respected teacher of Israel, while I let error pass by, afraid of gaining an enemy.
• He was quick to show mercy to the Samaritan whore, while I’m so prone to self-righteous judgment.
• He was bold in the face of false teachers who wanted to stone him for breaking the Sabbath, while I shrink back and follow the traditions of man, wanting to be liked.
• He refused to give the crowds more bread and spoke hard words to them, even though it meant they all abandoned him, while I tone down truth to keep friends.
• He told the Pharisees that they were children of the devil because they did not listen to him, while I run from sharing the Gospel for fear of offending a stranger.
• He always did and said everything the Father told him to, even though it meant men would reject him, while I do what men want to earn their favor.
• He was the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep, while so often I am tempted to run away from the flock like a hireling when the wolf comes—and sometimes let the sheep suffer to save my own hide.
• He wept when Lazarus died. I get annoyed that people can’t schedule their suffering for times that are more convenient for me.
• He took the form of a slave and washed his disciples feet. I inwardly grumble that no one washed mine.
• He knew a close friend would betray him, and served him anyway. I get betrayed and harbor the grudge—for years.
• His greatest concern at the hour of his greatest pain was that His Father would be glorified. My greatest concern in suffering is that it end—and that it serve to bring me glory.
• As he was arrested, he stepped between the soldiers and the disciples, to ensure his own did not fall away. I use those I should be leading as a shield to hide behind in time of trouble.
• He is fearless in the face of the authorities who tried him, because he knew God was sovereign over all. I preach God’s sovereignty and cower before men.
• He was crucified thirsty, watching his only possessions be gambled for by soldiers. I am discontent because money is tight and we can’t buy all we’d like.
• He died under God’s wrath for my sake. I sin—for my sake.
• He rose from the dead, pursued me, preached “Peace” to me, drew me to repentance and faith, forgave me, and gave me a calling through which I have the privilege of glorifying God. I look at the other guy and enviously say, “What about him?”

When I see who I am set beside Jesus, I am convinced that my only hope is who I am in Jesus.  

I am a sinner. But, he is the Savior. He has made me his, and so he is mine. He has died, and so I live.

He is the Christ, my Lord and my God.

You should believe, and follow Him.