John 21:20-23 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?”

INTRODUCTION

Two of the harder aspects of my job are starting and finishing preaching through a book of the Bible. Starting is hard because it takes an exceptional amount of work and thought and prayer to get my head around the whole of the book—which is a prerequisite to handing any of it well. And finishing is hard in a way that is similar to having a child graduate and move out—it’s hard to overstate the emotional, spiritual, and chronological investment it takes to make it through an entire book (especially one like John). If anything, it’s an underestimate to say that I’ve spent well over 1000 hours of my life in John’s Gospel since I began. That’s over 40 full days of feeling the weight of being responsible to rightly preach the Word of God to the people of God.

At the exact same time, however, spending thousands of hours preparing to and preaching through whole books of the Bible is by far one of the most rewarding aspects of being a pastor as well. What a gift it is to be able to sit in the very words of God, day after day, year after year, experiencing God’s presence and grace through them, being continually reshaped by them, and then sharing them with a people I love. I do wish there were some way you all could experience the same thing.

With that, as you can tell, we’re almost done in John and it’s now official that I’ll be preaching through Ecclesiastes next. I’d encourage you all to begin reading through Ecclesiastes over and over. As you do, I’d also encourage you all to pray through it, asking God to help you understand it, in order that you might be duly transformed by it. One more thing…make a list of everything that stands out—questions, observations, encouragements, etc—and teach your kids to do that as well.

And with that, let’s go back to John for one of our last times.

In chapter 19, John records Jesus’ crucifixion. In chapter 20, John tells of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His resurrection appearances to many of His followers. Throughout chapter 21, John continued recounting Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances, interactions, and teaching. In the first 14 verses of 21 (which Pastor Colin preached on two weeks ago), Jesus found several of His disciples at the tail end of an unsuccessful all-night fishing trip. In two remarkable acts, Jesus miraculously filled their nets with fish and kindly provided a beach-breakfast for His exhausted friends.

At some point during the course of the early morning meal, Jesus pulled Peter aside in order to restore and recommission him. Jesus restored Peter from his three-times denial of Jesus and recommissioned him to provide pastoral/shepherding care for Jesus’ followers.

In our passage, Jesus and Peter were still talking, but this time Peter noticed someone listening in. In the course of this ongoing dialogue, we find four clarifications (who was following them, what was he doing, what difference did it make to Peter, and—back on the subject of death—when would the following man die). In the clarifications we find a number of important applications for us as well.

In all of that, we’ll see that the big idea of this passage is that following Jesus is the primary call on all of our lives. The main takeaway, therefore, is to follow Jesus.

CLARIFICATIONS

As I mentioned, the bulk of the passage answers questions that are asked (or at least implied) in the passage. That is, Peter wonders about and Jesus clarifies four different things.

As we dive in, I can’t help but to wonder how many times have you may have wished you could get Jesus to clarify things for you in real-time like this.

Jesus, I’m not sure how to help this person. What do I do?

Jesus, how do I honor you with this diagnosis or ailment or disability or loss or difficulty?

Jesus, why is it so hard for me to know what to do with myself? And when I do know what to do, why is it so hard to stay on task? Would you help me?

Jesus, I’m having trouble understanding what your Word means. I’m trying, but I just can’t seem to figure it out. How do I live it out faithfully when I’m not sure if I have it right?

Jesus, my kids are out of control or money is tight or my marriage is hard or it’s hard not being married or my job is oppressive or I’m lonely or …

On one hand, of course, we don’t have the same exact experience as Peter did in this moment. On the other and more important hand, however, we have something better (Jesus told us this explicitly—John 15:26). We have the Spirit in us and the completed Bible. Along those lines, one of the most important biblical truths you can learn is that the Word and Spirit of God are living and active (Hebrews 4:12). That means we really are talking to Jesus when we pray and He really is talking to us when we read His word.

In other words, in this passage, in His willingness to answer Peter’s questions and explain things to him, we have a remarkable example of Jesus’ kindness and patience on display. But equally significant is the fact that you and I have even greater access to Jesus’ kindness and patience today. Talk to Jesus, therefore, in prayer, knowing that He hears you even more fully than any person in this room can. And read His Word, therefore, knowing that in it, He is speaking to you with more insight and intimacy than anyone in this room can.

Who Was Following? (20)

With that, the first (kind and patient) clarification is found in v.20. It’s not clear exactly where Jesus and Peter were in relation to the other disciples as they talked, but it is clear that someone had crept up towards them while they did.

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?”

The key to this clarification concerns John’s descriptions of himself. As both the narrator/interpreter of the story and a participant in it, John presents himself both anonymously and intimately present. Never once did he mention himself by name while he consistently described himself at the center of the main events of Jesus’ life and ministry. John wanted to be simultaneously non-distracting from the story and clear on the fact that he was eminently qualified to tell the story. Both show up in his choice of monikers.

His main self-designation is “the beloved disciple” or “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20). In this passage and the next, he added two more descriptions to even further enhance his anonymity and qualification.

In v.20, he highlights not only that he is (familiarly) “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” but also that he is the “one who also had leaned back against [Jesus] during the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’” John described himself as the one who was privileged to sit nearest to Jesus, to lean on Him, and to have His ear.

In a similar manner, as we’ll see in v.24, he said of himself, “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.” He was the one witnessed the things he’d written about from such an inside perspective that “we know that his testimony is true.”

Again, in writing his Gospel, John determined to remain anonymous throughout the entire Gospel, while simultaneously revealing that there was, perhaps, no one more qualified to tell and interpret this story of Jesus.

Who did Peter see when he turned around during his walk with Jesus? He saw John, the author of this Gospel. Why is that significant? It’s significant in that it meant that John was constantly nearby as an eye/earwitness to the things he wrote about. Why was he so close? Because he was loved and trusted by Jesus. Why does that matter? It matters because it means we can trust that what he wrote was true and that it was written for the glory of Jesus.

In coming to recognize all of this from Jesus’ first clarification, from v.20, we are able to better recognize and receive John’s Gospel as the remarkable gift from God that it is. It is no small kindness that Jesus allowed John to walk so near Him, in such love, so that He might record and interpret the most important benefits in all history for our benefit.

Are you rightly grateful? Do you rightly thank God for this? Do you read it as you should—eagerly, confidently, transformationally, obediently—consistent with what it is—the account of a man inspired by the Holy Spirit to write of things he personally witnessed at the side of the Son of God who loved him dearly?

The Gospel of John is an awesome gift from God to us. John’s first clarification—a description of himself—helps us to see that more clearly than ever.

What About This Man? (21)

The second main clarification is found in the next verse.

²¹ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about...