AS FOR YOU

 

APRIL 17, 2023

JOHN 21:18-23

18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you
wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you
and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter
would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

20 So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had
leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray
you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

22 “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

23 So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”



Historical tradition maintains that Peter was crucified upside down. This is likely what Jesus was describing in verses 18 and 19. How profound that the purpose behind this gruesome death was to glorify God (v. 19). Take that truth and compare it to your understanding of your experience of personal affliction. Have you ever been angry at God over the pain or difficulties in your life and wondered why He would allow you to face it? I am going to suggest something to us all in my next question which may not be what we want to hear. Here goes, have you ever considered that affliction, pain, difficulties may be part of what God uses to shape you into his faithful follower? That instead of looking for a way to escape the uncomfortable challenges we experience in life, we are invited to surrender, to lean in and patiently wait for God to do his shaping in our lives?

In Jeremiah 18, in the Old Testament, there is a beautiful image of God’s care and purpose. There we read:

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, … , as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.

We walk the path that God has laid out for us purposely. I am not sure about your reaction, however, when I hear Jesus voice in verse 22 as He speaks to Peter, it sounds harsh in my imagination. What is it to you, Peter, if Jesus wants John to live his whole life until I come? Note Jesus words “as for you” in verse 22 as they focus completely on Peter.

Then, in verse 23 come these words, Peter, “Follow me.” The words to Peter in vs 21 are an interesting challenge to all Jesus followers. Do not, as Peter did, compare your life situation to another believer’s. Do not complain to God that you are suffering more than some other follower. No matter the cost, “as for you” Jesus says follow me, remembering “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,” declares the Lord.