“You Follow Me” – John 21:17-23

Everybody wants a second chance. When we mess up, or fail to do our best, or walk away thinking it’s over, we wish someone could give us another chance to make it right, to show that we really can do what we set out to do.

The good news about Jesus is that He does, indeed, give us second chances. This passage is part of the proof of this truth.

Background

This is the most detailed event of Jesus’ resurrection appearances found in the Gospel according to John. Last week, we looked at Jesus offering Thomas the opportunity to examine His resurrected body. In this passage, we see Jesus speaking with Peter one on one, perhaps for the first time since Peter had denied Jesus.

The chapter begins with a scene similar to an earlier time. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus asks Peter to row Him out a little way from shore to get away from a crowd that was pressing in on Him. From there, Jesus taught the crowd, then turned to Peter and told him to lower his net. Peter, Andrew, James and John had been on the lake all night and hadn’t caught a thing. Nevertheless, these experienced fishermen lowered their nets, and their catch was so large that it began to sink both boats. The upshot of that encounter was that Jesus told them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Luke records that the four men brought their two boats to shore, and began to follow Jesus.

In John 21, seven of the disciples have been on the lake, fishing all night. Like in Luke, it had been a fruitless trip. As they neared the shore, they saw a figure standing there. He called out to them and told them to cast their nets again. Once again, the catch was a vast one. At this point, John turned to Peter and said, “It is the Lord,” referring to the man on shore. Peter jumped into the lake and swam to shore to be near Jesus.

By the time the others came to shore with their catch, Jesus had prepared a fire and they were able to enjoy a pleasant breakfast of fresh fish, after which they walked along the shore.

I imagine it was a quiet moment, the still of the early morning along the shore, the waves gently lapping nearby. The voices were probably subdued in keeping with the quiet of the moment. It is here Jesus began to speak to Peter, and my guess is most of the conversations died down as the others began to listen to what was being said between the resurrected Christ and their friend.

Here, Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves Him. In all three times, Peter answered in the affirmative, but the original language indicates a different kind of love being asked of Jesus and that being offered by Peter. After the third time of Peter’s affirmation of his love for the Savior, Jesus begins to tell Peter what he can expect in the future. Jesus didn’t go into detail, but it became clear as Peter lived out his life that Jesus was speaking of the disciple’s ultimate martyrdom for his faith in Jesus.

When Jesus tells Peter what to expect, He concludes with the command, “Follow Me.” Our passage looks at the conversation that follows.

Central Truth: Jesus’ response to Peter’s question reveals His gentleness and His expectations of us.

Jesus’ call (17-19)

None of us likes to be reminded of embarrassing times in our lives. There are some that we can laugh at, but most of the time there’s a period where we just want to forget it and not have to address it. There are times when it’s too soon to confront the thing we did or didn’t do.

It would seem from Peter’s expression in v. 17 that he hadn’t wanted to confront the night of Jesus’ betrayal. It had been a night when Peter had sworn he would always be faithful to Jesus, only to deny Him three times later that same night. Now, Jesus has asked His disciple three times whether or not Peter loved Him. Peter has answered as honestly as he can. It may be the reaction found in v. 17 is a response to the thought that Jesus may not believe Peter. This may be why Peter reminded Jesus, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You” (v. 17).

Jesus asks him once more to feed His sheep, then tells Peter what will happen to him because of his faith walk. Tradition tells us that Peter wound up in Rome working with the Church there. He was arrested for his faith and was crucified upside down. This was at Peter’s request. He was to be crucified in the normal position, but Peter felt himself unworthy to die in the same way Jesus did, so he was crucified upside down. The arrest and crucifixion is what Jesus is alluding to in His words of v. 18.

Having reaffirmed to Peter that Jesus still had a plan for him, and having told Peter something of what his future would hold, Jesus then comes to the point of it all. He tells Peter to follow Him.

At first glance, it may seem an odd thing to say. For the last three years, Peter has done exactly that. It was Peter who gave up his career to follow Jesus. It was Peter who affirmed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. When asked by Jesus if the disciples planned to desert Him after some hard teachings, it was Peter who said, “Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). Peter is the one who stepped out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus. For the last three years, Peter has done nothing but follow Jesus.

Yet, Jesus’ command was exactly what Peter needed to hear at that time. It was a final way for Jesus to tell Peter He trusted the disciple. Not only did Jesus want Peter to feed His sheep, but Jesus wanted Peter to follow Him. Jesus wanted Peter to continue each day to put his trust in Jesus and do what the Spirit led him to do. For Peter, the command, “Follow Me,” was in invitation to reaffirm the faith he once had and still had. It was Jesus’ way of telling Peter that the events of the night in the High Priest’s courtyard were a blip, an anomaly and that Peter would not only get past it, he would grow from it. And that would make Peter a better shepherd than he would have been before the test.

Jesus calls us to follow Him. He knows us so well, that He knows what we are capable of. Jesus holds the answers to life, and He is the One true Savior. He knows what He has in store for us and what He can achieve through us if we will simply follow Him. The invitation is always out there. Today, Jesus calls us to follow Him.

Peter’s deflection (20-21)

It’s the rare person who likes to be the center of attention. When Jesus had finished speaking, Peter probably realized that no one was talking, that everyone was listening. Like so many of us when we become the center of attention, Peter no doubt wanted the attention to fall elsewhere.

Turning to see John, Peter tries to distract Jesus with the question: What about him?

One of the interesting things about sharing the Gospel with people is how they often respond to the Gospel. Almost always, when we ask someone if they know Jesus or words to that effect, they immediately try to deflect the conversation. They ask questions—“Would God really send someone to hell, even if they’ve never heard of Jesus?” “If God is so loving, how come He allows people to suffer?” Sometimes, they raise a smokescreen of, “I believe it doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re sincere.” Or maybe they try to get us off message by saying they don’t believe in faith. (Oddly enough, a belief statement is a faith statement, even stating one doesn’t believe in faith—they are saying they have faith that there is no such thing as faith.)

That’s what Peter is doing here. Rather than confront the call, Peter tries to distract. We don’t know why Peter is doing this. I believe it’s a combination of not wanting to be the center of attention and doubt in himself. It wasn’t too long ago that Peter had said with confidence that he was prepared to die for Jesus. The specter of that night and the three denials is still fresh in his mind. Part of Peter’s mind set had to be a question of whether he could really follow Jesus every step of the way.

So, Peter asks about John. He wants Jesus to talk about something else, to get people looking at someone else. Anything but making Peter confront the question.

Also, we really can’t ignore the immediately preceding discussion Peter had already had with Jesus. Three times, Jesus had asked Peter if he loved Jesus, and each time, Peter had responded in the affirmative. It’s telling, though, that each time Jesus asked the question, He lowered the standard of love for Peter to profess. The first question—“Do you truly love Me more than these?”—is met with an answer of, “I love you like a brother.” Jesus then asks, “Do you truly love Me?” Again, “I love you like a brother.” Finally, Jesus asks, “Do you love Me like a brother?” It’s also interesting to note that Jesus refers to His disciple as Simon, son of John, instead of Peter. The rock of earlier days has reverted back to Simon bar Jonah.

The way Jesus spoke to Peter must have cut to Peter’s heart. Jesus was asking him for his all, and all Peter could give was a small portion of what Jesus was asking. Still, Jesus affirmed Peter, and now He says, “Follow Me.”

Peter tried to distract Jesus with the question for lots of reasons. We do the same thing, too. We have our families, our jobs, our church—there are all sorts of things that can distract us. But the bottom line is that anything that hinders our following Jesus is a denial of His Lordship. If He is Lord, then we can’t become distracted. We must follow Him.

Jesus’ clear calling (22-23)

Peter’s effort to distract Jesus falls flat. I can see a slight smile coming to Jesus’ face as He looks first at John, then at Peter. (Is John trying hard not to look at Jesus at this time? Is he pretending he’s not listening? Probably.) Jesus looks at Peter, and asks him, “What does it matter what happens to John?”

Now, Jesus is not telling Peter that following Jesus means we stop caring about other people. And it doesn’t mean we stop investing in other people’s lives. Had Peter been asking the question out of genuine concern for John, it’s possible he would have received a different answer.

As it is, Jesus gives an outlandish response. “If I want him to live until I return, what does that to you?” In other words, “Peter, I have My own plans for John, and those plans really have no bearing on your decision whether or not to follow Me. Stop stalling, Peter, and accept the calling that is being given to you. You follow Me.”

There are people in our lives we care about. Their lives matter to us. John had been one of Peter’s close friends in the three years they had followed Jesus. It was John and Andrew who first told Peter and James about Jesus. They had been with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, at the room when Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead. It was Peter, James and John who had gone with Jesus further into the garden to pray when Jesus was struggling with His pending crucifixion. We care about these friends, and we want to know how their lives will end up. We want the best for our friends, and we care passionately about their well-being.

But, in the end, it all comes down to us and Jesus. It comes down to you and Jesus, me and Jesus. I can’t answer Jesus’ call to you just as you can’t answer Jesus’ call to me. I can’t guarantee you will always be strong in your faith, that you won’t struggle in your walk, or that you won’t endure unexpected tests and trials in your relationship with Jesus. All I can do—all any of us can do—is follow Jesus by myself. Ultimately, the only person I can control is me, and the only one who can decide whether or not I will follow Jesus is me.

Conclusion

“If I want him to live until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

Every person’s relationship with Jesus is unique to that person. Some of us came to Jesus as children, some as teenagers, and some as adults. Some came gradually, while others can recall vividly where they were and what they were doing when they first met Jesus. Every one of us is different in how we relate to Jesus.

But we all have one thing in common. Each of us has been called by Jesus to follow Him.

Each of us must answer that call. What will your answer be today?