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.
If there is just one thing we should take to heart as we end our two year journey through the Gospel of John, it is this: Jesus Christ is God and He reigns supreme over all things, especially in the troubled times we are living in today.
David wrote in Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
What a comfort it is for us to know that even though the world seems to be falling apart at the seams, we can put our trust in the absolute authority and sovereignty of God. He remains in firm control, and the risen Christ who reigns from heaven is our foundation of hope and peace.
As Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
In the final verses of John’s Gospel, he writes about a few things, which at first, seem to be completely unrelated. In verses 18 and 19, Jesus predicts Peter’s future, including how he will die. Then in the following 3 verses, Peter asks Jesus about John and receives a polite but firm, “mind your own business” reply. In verse 23, John corrects a misunderstanding that was doing the rounds regarding Jesus’ reply to Peter, and in the last 2 verses, there is a testimony to John’s trustworthiness as a witness and an acknowledgement that John has left out of his Gospel many things that Jesus did. John MacArthur writes that John “had been selective rather than exhaustive in his testimony.”
So how do we make sense of this last passage in John’s Gospel? The theme which brings all these together is trust in the sovereignty of God.
All the way back in 1:43, Jesus called Philip with a clear “follow me.” And now, in our text today, He says the same thing twice to Peter in verses 19 and 22.
In the 21 chapters of John’s Gospel since Jesus first called His disciples, they had received quite an education while following Jesus. They were there to see His miracles, both public and private. They had received Jesus’ teaching and personally witnessed evidence of His divine majesty. They had witnessed the mounting opposition and ultimately the rejection of Jesus, followed by His tortured death on the cross.
The despair that followed was countered by the glory and joy of His resurrection. Because of this, the disciples were no longer the men they had been when Jesus first called them to follow Him. Yet here at the end of His ministry, Jesus renews that original call. John has told us that the purpose of his Gospel is to lead us to faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and now he simply records Jesus’ call to us all to follow Him. James Boice writes that these words “are a reminder that Christianity is Christ, not just believing in some abstract sense, but believing in Him to the point of turning our back on all else to follow Him.”
If we are going to respond in faith to that same call as the disciples did, we have to learn to trust Him as the sovereign Lord, who both knows what is best for us and controls the events of our lives in accordance with His good purpose and will. A common theme throughout John’s Gospel is the way He presents Jesus as God incarnate, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, and that life is to be found by faith in Him alone.
He wrote in 20:31, “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
So if we were to try and summarise not only our text for today, but the message of the entire Bible, we could do so by saying that we know we can trust God and follow Him in all things, even when we don’t understand it all.
As we saw last Sunday, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter’s reply each time was, “Lord, you know that I love you,” to which Jesus replied three times by commanding Peter to feed or shepherd His sheep.
Now, in verse 18, Jesus tells Peter that his public declaration of love for Christ would be tested. The first time Peter was tested, he failed, but now, by the grace of God, his loyalty to and love for Jesus would not falter.
Verses 18 and 19 again: “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.” (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.”
In verse 17 Peter had professed, “Lord, you know everything.” Time would prove that Peter was correct. The omniscience of Jesus, because He is God, was proven. Jesus knew Peter’s future, including when and how he would die, because He had sovereignly determined that future, just as David proclaimed in Psalm 139.
We’re not sure if at the time, Peter fully understood just what Jesus was saying here, but he certainly began to understand it as he faithfully shared the Gospel in the years to come. Peter paid the ultimate price for his discipleship of Jesus. The phrase “stretch out your hands,” which Jesus used in verse 19 was commonly understood in those days to refer to death by crucifixion.
It spoke of the condemned man stretching out his arms as he was tied to the crossbeam before being marched away to his execution.
The Bible doesn’t give us details of Peter’s crucifixion. The most commonly accepted church tradition is that he was crucified upside down in Rome. The belief is that when Peter was put to death, he asked to be crucified like this because having previously denied Jesus, he felt unworthy to die as Jesus did.
The problem with this theory is that Peter had been completely forgiven for his sin of denial. Certainly, by the time of his death, Peter’s faith was mature and rock solid. He would have known better than to try and make up for his own sins any other means than Jesus’ atoning death for him, so if Peter was crucified upside down (which is quite possible), it is highly unlikely that it would have been at his request.
What we do know about Peter’s death is Jesus’ prophecy in John 21:18–19. Jesus reminded Peter that, in the past (when you were young), Peter had a certain amount of freedom to come and go as he pleased, but the day was coming when that would no longer be the case.
It is difficult to know what Peter’s first thoughts were when he heard Jesus’ prophecy about his death, but in time we know that he was comforted by knowing that his death would glorify God. Peter’s love for Jesus and his desire to obey and glorify Him were evident throughout the rest of his life and ministry.
We know this from a remarkable account we find in Acts 5. Peter and the other apostles were put in jail for preaching the Gospel, when an angel miraculously freed them, so they went right back to preaching the same message, which infuriated the high priest.
“‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.’ When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.” (Acts 5:28-33)
A Pharisee named Gamaliel then warned the council to be careful of putting the apostles to death. “‘I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!’ So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” (Acts 5:38-40)
Look though, at the next two verses. “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the Name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” (Acts 5:41-42)
Again, just as before, they continued to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And that was only the start for Peter and the others. For Peter to die a martyr’s death clinging to the hope of heaven testifies to the courage, faith, patience, and perseverance of this great man of God who rejoiced to be counted worthy to die for the name of Jesus.
There are a few practical lessons for us here.
God’s will for Peter was martyrdom, but for John it was to live a long life and die a natural death. We don’t know what the future holds for each of us, but we take comfort in knowing that we know the One who holds the future in His hands.
Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” What this means is that by faith we can and should give thanks even in our trials as we trust in our sovereign, loving Father.
The history of the church has shown us that following Jesus does not guarantee an easy life or even a peaceful death. The Bible has many examples of faithful saints who suffered short, difficult lives, terrible persecution, and painful deaths. Hebrews 11:36-37 puts it like this: “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.”
By God’s grace we have not had to suffer anything like that for our faith, but there are many who have down the ages. Are we prepared to glorify God with both our lives and our deaths?
Which begs the question, just how do we glorify God in our death? The answer is actually quite simple. The way to glorify God in our death is to follow Him while we live. Twice in the passage we’re looking at today Jesus calls to Peter, “Follow me.” To follow Jesus means submitting to His authority over our lives. It means seeking His will for the direction of our lives and submitting to that will even before we know just what it may entail.
J. C. Ryle wrote, “Let us pray, while we live in health, that we may glorify God in our end. Let us leave it to God to choose the where, and when, and how, and all the manner of our departing. Let us only ask that it may glorify God.”
When we learn to yield our lives in obedience to Christ, we will better be able to seek His will for us and follow His will for us. The Bible teacher Darrell Harrison wrote on Twitter just a couple of days ago, “Christian, desire daily to grow closer to Jesus Christ, to grow deeper in your love for Him, your knowledge of Him, and your obedience to Him. Hold loosely - very loosely - to the things of this world, knowing that both it and your life, are quickly passing away.”
John continues in verses 20-22. “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?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’”
How does this exchange apply to our lives? We don’t know whether Peter asked out of concern for John or out of a need to compare himself with John. Maybe he was just being curious. But whatever his reason, Jesus in effect replies, “It’s none of your business what I do with John. Your task is to follow me.”
What this teaches us is that Jesus is the Lord of every Christian, and He has the authority to determine how each believer serves Him and even how and when each one dies.
Paul teaches in Romans 12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” This is one of the most important lessons about living a life wholly submitted to God. We can’t know God’s will for us until we first yield ourselves totally to Him, being willing to do whatever He wants us to do with our lives.
The four Gospel accounts teach us that Peter and John were very different personalities, but God still used them with their individual gifts and talents for His glory, and in that sense, our call to Christian discipleship is no different to Peter’s and John’s.
God sanctifies us as He uses us for His purposes, regardless of our talents and personalities. Someone once said that introverts grow into Godly introverts, while extroverts grow into Godly extroverts.
Look at Paul as an example. Before coming to Christ, he was a zealous man of purpose, persecuting the church. After God saved him, Paul was no less zealous, but now his purpose was to boldly preach the Gospel.
The experience of one Christian might be completely different to that of other believers, but all Christians share a common calling. The Bible teaches that following Jesus includes at least two fundamental principles: a lifestyle of learning from Jesus through His Word, and a willing embrace of cross-bearing self-denial.
Firstly, to follow Jesus is to abide in His Word as we grow in our knowledge of His teaching. He said to His disciples in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
As we have journeyed through the Gospel of John, we have seen how Christians, who are genuinely seeking the truth, are taught exactly that - just who Jesus really is, and how, being God incarnate, He lays a legitimate claim on the lives of those who profess His name.
He said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” A life of following Him is one of daily, prayerful devotion to His Word, as the Holy Spirit shines in our hearts to reveal the truth of Scripture to us.
Secondly, following Jesus means we are to deny self and take up our cross as we follow Him. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23–24)
What does this mean, and how are we to take up our cross daily? This has become nothing more than a throw-away line in so many people’s lives. You hear it all the time. After complaining about some kind of burden or irritation in their lives, they shrug and say, “Oh well, I suppose that’s just the cross I have to bear.”
R. C. Sproul writes of Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23, “A cross is not merely a difficult life circumstance to be endured. Those who witnessed Roman crucifixions knew that to take up the cross meant to renounce selfish ambition and all right to control one’s own destiny; it is death to a whole way of life.”
Christian self-denial begins with the renunciation of any righteousness of our own before God. As Christians we should deny our pride and humble ourselves before God, as we seek His saving mercy through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Christian self-denial also requires us to renounce all sin.
Now this is not to say that Christians stop sinning completely. Saved we may be, but we continue to struggle with our sinful natures. John wrote in 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
However, we are to turn away from sin and earnestly seek God’s grace to live a new and holy life that pleases Him. John Stott wrote, “We cannot follow Christ without forsaking sin. It is not sufficient to feel pangs of remorse or to make some kind of apology to God. Fundamentally, repentance is an inward change of mind and attitude towards sin which leads to a change of behaviour.” As we saw last week, our sin should grieve us as we throw ourselves at the mercy of God.
Christian self-denial means we are to actively embrace crosses that can be painful and cause suffering. True cross-bearing, like Jesus’ is voluntary and intentional, as we willingly accept worldly derision and even hatred and persecution for the cause of Christ and His Gospel.
We follow a Saviour who has gone before us. As we take up our cross and follow Him, we look up and see the cross He bore for us. This is why Jesus taught Peter the importance of him keeping his eyes on Christ. When Peter began questioning Jesus about John, the message to Peter was to stay faithful to his calling first.
This doesn’t mean we are not to take an interest in the journey of faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are, after all, family and we are to be accountable to each other, but we must keep our eyes fixed firmly on Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
John concludes his Gospel by writing in the final verse, “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.” (John 21:25)
This reminds us of the sufficiency of the written testimony of the Bible. The apostles could have written more, but they have given us enough to bring us to saving faith in Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (1:1, 1:4, 1:12, 1:14, 1:29, 5:24)
That is just a fraction of what John has written in his Gospel, but even those six verses convey the central message of the Bible - that salvation has come, and it has come in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In the pages of the Bible we have all we need to see the truth of God and how we can be saved, and when we finally see Christ on His throne when He calls us home, maybe then we will hear about the “many other things that Jesus did.”
We have so much more to learn about the glories of following Christ. If the world itself could not contain everything there is to say about Him, those who follow Him into glory have much to look forward to!
Jesus says, “Follow me,” at the start of our newborn spiritual life, and He repeats that call continually on every step of our Christian journey through this world, but the best is yet to come. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, and what pain and suffering we may need to endure for the cause of Christ, but we do know that whatever cross we bear now we will exchange for a crown of glory in heaven.
Finally, we return to John’s words at the end of chapter 20. “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
The question John asks is the most important question you will ever have to answer: Have you believed in Jesus as your Saviour and Lord? At the end of your life, when you draw your final breath, that is the only thing which will matter.
If you have yet to turn to Christ in repentance and faith, what is stopping you?
If you have done so, are you trusting Him for your future, including the trials you’re facing now and the ones still to come? Are you faithfully serving Him? Are you living in the light of His promise to return? And, are you trusting the reliability of His inspired Word?
John wrote these things so that we would trust Jesus Christ, the sovereign Lord.
Homegroup Study Notes
Read John 21:18-25
Discuss the significance of John recording Jesus’ call to Peter to follow Him as a common theme throughout the 4 Gospel accounts.
How does this call apply to us?
What did Jesus mean in verse 22? When is it helpful, and when is it harmful for us to compare ourselves to other Christians?
Discuss what John writes in verse 25.
Are there areas where you struggle with what the Bible contains or doesn’t contain?
Looking back over our extended journey through John’s Gospel, what have you learned, and what has confused you?
What is the one “take away” highlight for you, and how has this impacted your faith in Jesus?
Close by discussing the significance of John 20:31.