John 21:20-25 “You Follow Me!”

1:04For two and a half months, Serbian artist Marina Abramovich did exactly that at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in a performance that was called The Artist is Present. Eight hours a day, Abramovich sat across from every museum visitor who stood in line and maintained eye contact. Contact with them the entire time without saying a word. Some stayed less than a minute. Some stayed for almost eight hours. Many came back to repeat the experience more than once.

1:48In all, Abramovich fixed her eyes on more than 1,500 people for a total of over 716 hours over that two and a half month span, an average of nearly 30 minutes per visitor. You would think that fixing our eyes on anything all day, every day, would be impossible. But for followers of Jesus, that's precisely what we're called to do. This morning we have come to the end of the Gospel of John. For the past 15 months, we've studied the account of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.

2:29And at the end of chapter 20, John told us his purpose for writing. It is so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in his name. That's why we called the series Believe and Be Saved. Well, for the past two weeks, we've been in chapter 21, the epilogue to John's Gospel, where he's tying up loose ends and answering the remaining questions. And in our two days, Text this morning, John is going to answer one more question, a question that would have been relevant 30 to 35 years after Jesus died and rose and ascended into heaven, the time frame when John is writing this account in the mid-60s A.D.

3:15Last week we saw in verses 15 through 19 how Jesus restored Peter, telling him to feed his lambs and tend his sheep and feed his sheep. He then gave Peter a sobering picture of what the future held for him. That at the end of his life in his old age, he, like Jesus, would be crucified. And that leads Peter to ask the question: what's going to happen to John? His close friend and associate, this other member of Jesus' inner circle?

3:50If Peter was going to be crucified, what's going to happen to this other man, this man that Jesus loves? And instead of a direct answer, Peter gets a direct rebuke. And we get a critical lesson. And that lesson, friends, is one that I want to stay with us for the rest of our lives. It is that we must fix our eyes on Jesus and follow him. Let's take a look here at verse 20 as we begin the passage.

4:27They've just finished that breakfast on the beach, and Jesus and Peter Peter, as we know, go for a walk, according to verse 20. We don't know whether all the disciples followed Jesus and Peter on this walk, but we learn here in verse 20 that John did. As usual, John doesn't identify himself by name, but he calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved, a designation that he's used before in the gospel. But this time he adds another mark of his identity. He identifies himself as the one who leaned back against Jesus at that Last Supper and asked him who was going to betray him.

5:07So it seems from these clues, once again, that this man is John. And I want you to pay attention to the first few words here in verse 20. Because I think these first few words really set the tone for what we're talking about this morning. The first few words in verse 20 are: Peter turned and saw. Peter turned and saw. Friends, in this moment, he takes his eyes off of Jesus and he puts his eyes onto his friend and his fellow disciple, John.

5:45That same idea is highlighted again in the beginning of verse 21. Look there. It says, When Peter saw him. Peter turned and saw. When Peter saw him. John's emphasis at the beginning of this passage is on Peter and what Peter is doing with his eyes. Where are his eyes focused? Now, this is not the first time that Peter has taken his eyes off of Jesus. If you're familiar with the rest of the Gospel, you know that there was an account, a historical event, when the disciples are out on a boat and Jesus comes to them walking on the water.

6:27And the disciples are terrified. They think it's a ghost. There's a huge storm going on. And Jesus speaks to the disciples and he says, Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid. And then Peter says, for reasons I don't understand, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come out to you on the water. I don't think I would have said that. But Peter says that. And Jesus invites him out onto the water with him. And they're standing there on the waves. And I want you to look at what happens in Matthew chapter 14. Look at the first few words here. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid.

7:07And beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. What happened here? Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. He took his focus off of the Lord. And instead, he focused on the circumstances around him. The wind and the waves, his fear.

7:50And friends, I think every one of us can relate. Because in the storms of our life, when our circumstances feel overwhelming to us, we can be quick to take our eyes off of Jesus and begin focusing on our circumstances and how bad they are and our inability to overcome them with our intellect, with our money, with our efforts. We take our eyes off of Jesus and we put them onto our circumstances and our inabilities, and then we begin to sink metaphorically.

8:26Back in John 21, here, Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus. But this time he puts his focus onto another human being, his friend, his fellow disciple, his close associate, John. Why? Ultimately, we don't know. Maybe when Peter saw John walking behind them, he thought back to the Last Supper. And if you remember in that moment, Jesus talked about that one of them was going to betray him. John is reclining at the table next. To Jesus, and Peter must be across the table because he motions to John to ask Jesus who he's talking about.

9:10And so maybe he feels like he owes John one. And he needs to ask Jesus a question on John's behalf this time. Maybe this time John motioned to him. After all, Jesus just told Peter what was going to happen to him in later years that he was going to be crucified. Maybe John wants to know what's going to happen to me. Ask him, what's going to happen to me? That's possible. But maybe Peter just had a moment like all of us have from time to time.

9:40A moment where he felt like his life wasn't fair. A moment where he felt like he deserved better. Earlier in Jesus' ministry, a rich young man came up to Jesus and said, Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus told him, in the end, that he needed to sell everything that he owned and come and follow him because the man had great possessions and his possessions were the thing that he worshipped. And the young man went away sad because he was unwilling to give those things up to worship Jesus and follow him.

10:21And Jesus said, Look at how hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And Peter has this moment, and he says, Lord, we've left everything and followed you. What will we have? And Jesus tells him that in the age to come when he returns, they're going to be blessed immeasurably in the new heavens, in the new earth. That in that time period in God's kingdom, they were going to receive blessing. But I'm not sure that that teaching had sunk into Peter's heart just yet.

11:00I wonder if that question is at the forefront of Peter's mind right now in this moment with Jesus, where he's just said that you're going to be crucified for following me. And Peter is thinking, I've left everything to follow you. And I'm going to be crucified? You see, Peter is still learning what it means to follow Jesus. He's still having his entire worldview turned upside down, learning to see things the way that Jesus sees them. Because in this world, you may make sacrifices, even great sacrifices, but you do it to get rewards in this world.

11:46And usually, if you make sacrifices, if you make enough sacrifices and the right sacrifices, you are going to see those rewards. You are going to enjoy some measure of power and prestige and success. And financial ability. That's going to come your way most of the time. And so the sacrifices that you make in this world lead to rewards in this life, which is the only motivation for making those sacrifices. But you see, what we learn from Jesus is that in his kingdom, you make many sacrifices. You pick up your cross daily and you follow him. You give up everything in this world. You open your hands to the Lord and you say, God, my life is yours, whatever you want to do with it.

12:37And Jesus says that we may not see any reward for those sacrifices in this world. We are not guaranteed health, wealth, prosperity, or any of it for following Jesus. Indeed, some of the godliest, most committed Christians in all of history did not enjoy a blessed life in this world. But it's all worth it because of what Jesus promises is coming for us in the new heavens and the new earth. But you see, Peter is still learning that. Just like all of us are still learning that. So after Jesus tells him, you're going to be crucified for following me, I wonder if Peter isn't thinking, that's not fair.

13:21Because you see, when we feel that things are not fair, that God is not treating us fairly, what we do is we start looking around for evidence to support that conclusion. That God is not treating us fairly. We start looking at other people and we start weighing their level of commitment, their level of obedience against our own. We see their blessings and we begin to justify ourselves saying things like, that's not fair. I am more committed. I am more obedient than they are. How do they have more blessings than I have?

13:56Have you ever felt that way? I certainly have. You feel like God is giving you a raw deal. You love Jesus and you're committed to following Him. You're committed to His people, the church. You're obeying Him to the best of your ability, and yet, you don't have a husband or wife. You don't have children, or the number of children that you would like to have. You didn't get into the major of your choice. You haven't landed the job that you've worked and hoped and prayed for for years.

14:38How is that fair? I believe every one of us has felt that way. Maybe you feel that way today. Maybe you felt that way for a very long time. Brothers and sisters, if that's how you feel, you may be doing the very thing that Peter seems to be. Doing here. You have taken your eyes off of Jesus and you've focused them elsewhere. And you are playing a game that you cannot win. Because in every case, comparison always leads to pride or to despair.

15:22Comparison to other people leads to pride. When we compare ourselves favorably with other people, we look at them and we conclude that we are more faithful, more obedient, and more committed than they are. And it leads to a false and inflated sense of our own righteousness. And friends, the self-righteous do not seek God or His grace because they don't think they need it. Pride is the result of comparison in many cases. In other cases, the result of comparison is despair. When we compare ourselves unfavorably with other people and we conclude that we are not as committed, not as obedient, not as faithful as they are, it leads us to focus on our sin, on our failures, on our shortcomings, rather than on the grace of Christ that's been imputed to us through faith.

16:16The despairing do not seek God or His grace because they don't think they've earned it. As though grace is something that we could earn. Grace earned is not grace. So, in other cases, comparison leads to despair. Friends, all throughout the New Testament, the message is clear. We need to think of ourselves with sober judgment. We must not go around comparing ourselves to other Christians, especially other Christians in our church. Here's how Paul says it in Galatians chapter 6. Take a look at this.

16:57For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. You see, Paul tells us that comparisons are worthless. It does not matter if you are more faithful, more obedient, more committed than someone else. It does not matter if you are less faithful, less committed, and less obedient than someone else. The only thing that matters, according to Paul, is that you are more faithful, more committed, and more obedient than you were.

17:42That is the only thing that matters. When you look at your life, by the grace of God, are you growing in sanctification? Are you growing in faith? Are you growing in Christ-likeness and holiness compared to who you were? That is the only thing that matters. Every other comparison leads to pride or despair. So Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and he looks at John, and for whatever reason, he asks Jesus, Lord, what about this man? And Jesus' response is about as stern as you're ever going to see.

18:27Certainly toward one of his own disciples. Clearly, he was angrier when he made a whip of cords and cleared the merchants out of the temple, or when he confronted the scribes and the Pharisees for their dead religion and leading other people astray. He was more angry then. But the only other time you see Jesus this mad at one of his own disciples is when Jesus said that they were going to Jerusalem, that he would be crucified, and on the third day he would rise again.

18:59And poor Peter, he takes him aside and he begins to rebuke him, saying, Lord, this will never happen to you. Look at what Jesus says in response in Matthew 16. But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. So he actually has a sixth name. You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Here in John 21 is about the only other time that you see Jesus this angry, and poor Peter is at the receiving end again. Look at verse 22.

19:46Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. In other words, Jesus tells Peter that his plans for John's life and John's ministry are none of his business and none of his concern. Whether Jesus' will is for John to die tomorrow or a hundred years later is not for Peter to worry about. It does not matter. And that's because it doesn't change Peter's calling one bit.

20:29Remember the previous passage in verses 15 through 20, as Jesus restored Peter, he told Peter, here is your job. Feed my sheep, tend my sheep, feed my lambs. That's what he told him. And then he ended by saying, follow me. You see, Peter is a soldier in the Lord's army. And his commanding officer has given him his orders. Every soldier knows that you are not. Not responsible for orders given to another soldier. You are only responsible for the orders given to you by your commanding officer. Jesus has given Peter his orders. John's orders were none of his business or his concern.

21:18Friends, this principle is so important to understand for our unity as a church and for our fruitfulness in ministry, both individually and together as a whole. Never forget that the primary image that Paul uses in the New Testament for the church is the body of Christ. The body of Christ. To function properly, every part of the body has to be healthy, and every part of the body has to do its job well. The parts have to work together, and the parts have to defer to each other.

21:59You can walk on your hands. People do it. But if you walk on your hands, it's going to be super hard and super slow. And eventually you're going to burn out your wrists and your elbows because that's not what your arms were designed to do. You can try to walk on your eyeballs, but you can't do that at all. I don't think. In a healthy body, Every part is healthy, and every part of the body does its job, and no part of the body tries to do the job of another part. That kind of healthy body is going to achieve the greatest results. So, friends, in the same way, every one of us in the body of Christ has to function in the way that God has designed us and gifted us and called us to function. That is critical.

22:59We must allow others to use their gifts and their abilities and to live out their calling, and we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and use our abilities and gifts and live out our calling. There has to be mutual deference and mutual appreciation for all of the different gifts and callings in the body of Christ for us to be as fruitful as possible together. I want you to listen to this quote from Bruce Milne. He's talking about the ministries of Peter and John, and I thought this was just wonderful.

23:37He says, The ministries of Peter and John would be different. Peter would be the shepherd, John, the seer, Peter, the preacher, John, the penman, Peter, the foundational witness, John, the faithful writer. Peter will die in the passion of martyrdom. John would live on to great age and pass away in quiet serenity. There are many others on the road with us, as truly Christ's, as surely commissioned, as deeply loved, as greatly valued. Their calling and gifts may be different. Their instincts and even their convictions in certain matters may not coincide with our own, but we can thank God for them and at times be inspired and challenged by their example. In the end, however, our focus must remain on Jesus Himself. Jesus alone is our master. To him we belong. To him we must give account. We are to live looking unto Jesus.

24:55That is a good word. When each one of us keeps our eyes on Jesus and we live out the calling that God has given to us, and we put away sinful comparisons between us, and we learn to love and appreciate each other, when we encourage every member to find his or her place in the body of Christ and use their gifts, that's when we're going to thrive as a church. That's when we're going to see the greatest fruit in our ministry together. That is my hope and prayer.

25:30That we not spend our days comparing one another, drowning in pride or drowning in despair, but instead allowing each member of the body of Christ to live out their calling with their gifts in their area of service and to thank God for them. After Jesus told Peter, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? We see here in verse 23 that a rumor spread among the Christians that John was not going to die.

26:04I mean, he must have been the most popular guy in the church. John, what boat are you riding in today? Mind if I sit in your lap? So I think we see some humor here in verse 23 as John is kind of making a public service announcement to the church. For the record, Jesus didn't say that I was not going to die. Please stop using me as a human shield. If you're curious, John does outlive all the other apostles. According to the biblical and reliable historical records, John was eventually exiled to the island of Patmos, where he spent several years. And then in his old age, he went back to Ephesus and helped to lead the church there until he died full of years at the end of the first century.

26:58Since Jesus still has a child, hasn't returned to this day. He didn't live to see the second coming of Christ. But during his exile on the island of Patmos, God gave him a vision that became what we know as the book of Revelation. And through that vision, John did get to see Christ when he returned. And so in a sense, he got to see that. So when Jesus says, if it's my will that he remain until I return, what is that to you? In some sense, John did get to see that.

27:43And we are the beneficiaries. Let's conclude with verse 24 and 25. 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. 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 identifies himself as the author of the gospel, not directly, but indirectly, as is his custom.

28:30John says that he's the one that's been bearing witness with his mouth about Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection for the past 30-some odd years. And now he is the one who is writing these things down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that it will be preserved forever. Not just for that generation of believers, but for us and for generations still to come. But, friends, John is clear. He did not write everything down. In fact, he already said that. Look again at what he said at the end of chapter 20. He said, Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but 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.

29:22And now John adds that if all of the things that Jesus did were written down, the world itself couldn't contain the books. I trust that he's not just talking about the things that Jesus did in his lifetime, but all that Jesus accomplished for us through his life, his death, and his resurrection. Paul captures that sentiment well in Romans 11:33. He says, Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how uncertain. Are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways?

30:07Thankfully, those who believe in Christ will have an eternity to plumb the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. As the most famous song that's ever been written says, When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun. Friends, what we've read and studied over the past 15 months is not a myth. It's not a made-up, fabricated, wishful thinking of a man trying to make sense of a world that often does not make sense.

30:58This book, The Gospel of John, is the eyewitness account of a man who saw and listened to and walked with Jesus of Nazareth every day for three years. It's the account of a man who was living an ordinary life in the Middle East 2,000 years ago until Jesus performed an extraordinary miracle in front of him and said, Follow me. John watched Jesus turn water into wine and heal an official's. Servant from a deadly sickness. He watched him walk on water and make a paralyzed man walk as well.

31:39He saw him miraculously feed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish on two different occasions. He saw him restore sight to a man born blind. And he saw him raise his friend Lazarus from the dead. But most importantly, John heard Jesus say over and over again that he was going to be crucified, that he would die, that he would be buried, and that on the third day he would rise again.

32:13John was standing right there at the foot of the cross when Jesus died. And he was there with different groups of people at different times over a period of 40 days as Jesus appeared over and over in the same body that was crucified, in the same body that was buried. He is a witness, not a wishful thinker. And this book is his testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Friends, through this book, he invites you to believe that, reminding you that Jesus promised eternal life to all who believe.

32:58Faith is Evidence-based belief in something that you cannot prove. I cannot prove to you that Jesus is alive. No one can. But I can point you to these eyewitness accounts, like John's, and all of the evidence that they offer to support the claim that Jesus really did live, really did die, and really did rise again. It is reasonable to conclude that Jesus is alive. And if he is alive, then he defeated death. And if he defeated death, then he defeated the consequence of sin. And if he defeated the consequence of sin, he is the savior that we need.

33:51We are unable to save ourselves. No amount of good works, no amount of resolutions, no amount of trying harder to do better will make up for our sin against God and others or exempt us from its consequences. We need grace, God's grace, because our sin is first and foremost committed against Him, the One who created us and the One who sustains us every day, every breath. Thankfully, Jesus came full of grace and truth to live the sinless, obedient life toward God that we are called to live, but fail to live. And to offer his life in place of ours.

34:34Friends, his death and resurrection has secured salvation for all who believe. So, if anyone here this morning has not done so, the message of John's gospel is for you. Believe and be saved. For those who already believe, by recording this final action between Jesus and Peter, John has left us with this charge: Fix your eyes on Jesus and follow him. Embrace your calling, embrace your gifts, embrace your place in the body of Christ. Put away sinful comparisons with other Christians, leading you to pride or despair, and hindering the work of God among us. Instead, fix your eyes on Jesus and follow Him. He will use you, He will use me, He will use all of us to achieve His great purposes. Any one of our lives may be shorter or longer.

35:52The life of this church may be shorter or longer. The fruit of our ministry. May be thirty-fold or sixty-fold or a hundredfold, but all of that is up to Jesus. Our calling, your calling, and mine, is to fix our eyes on Him and follow Him. Let's pray. Father, as we arrive at the end of John's Gospel, our prayer is: Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We so look forward to the day when you will return and set all things right and make all things new, give us the new bodies that we long for.

37:31Wipe the tears away from our eyes. Take away the mourning and the crying and the pain that we experience every day as human beings in this world. Father, we are so thankful that we have that hope and that our hope is not wishful thinking, but it's based on the promises of a man who claimed and proved to be the Son of God. I pray that you would give faith this morning to those who don't have it. I pray that you would increase the faith of every one of us who does.

38:15We pray that you would help each one of us to fix our eyes on Jesus and follow him. And that as we do that, you would increase the fruit of our ministry. God, forgive us for the ways that we have not embraced our calling. Forgive us for the ways that we have envied and coveted what you have given to others. Forgive us for our bitterness and resentment. May we embrace our calling. May we be thankful for the gifts that you've given to us. May we use them for your glory and the good of your church.

38:57And may we see things that we have never seen. Before God, revive us, bring people to faith in your Son. Move among us in a powerful way. Thank you for your word. Thank you for John, for his ministry, for his words that still speak to us today. We are grateful. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.