Wednesday in the Word...John 21:21-25...what a great ending and another sermon video post

Wow - I couldn't believe I found this image when typing in what Peter said to Jesus asking about John!  Way to go Lego!  (Not sponsored in any way but sure bought a lot of their products for the kids and now starting on the grands!)  How often to we compare ourselves to others rather than keeping our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus' back.  

Today's Wednesday in the Word will complete the gospel of John.  It will cover John chapter 21 and verses 21 through 25.  My adventure began with this book on October 31, 2018.  Here is the link to the very first post:  https://pastorwolfgang.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-venturing-into-gospel-according-to.html

v.20, 21 - Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?"  So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?"

Peter has had "the" conversation with Jesus.  He is reminded of his denials of Jesus.  He receives from Jesus how he would die and also the instruction he received when he first met Jesus to follow Him.  John is not far behind them.  He is with the group of 7 that were with Jesus on the shore having that breakfast of fresh fish and bread over a charcoal fire.  John probably heard the whole conversation and when Jesus gave the instruction to follow, he instinctively got up.  He has been doing this for 3+ years.  

John addresses himself throughout his gospel not by name but by the phrase, "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  Jesus loved them all but John knew of His love.  He was the one who laid back on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper and asked who was to betray Jesus at the request of Peter.  We don't know Peter's motives for asking what might happen to John.  The best would be that he was concerned about John because they were good friends.  The worst might be that he had just gotten hard news from Jesus and sometimes our human nature wants company in our misery.  

v.22, 23 - Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me!"  Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?"

Now we get a sense of Peter's attitude about his question about John.  The command to follow Jesus was not to be determined by what others did or what might happen to them and not to us.  There will be Christians who will be persecuted more than others but the command is still the same.  Jesus is asserting that He is in control and not Peter and that He has the power and authority to even alter natural life spans because He is God.  We tend to gauge and compare ourselves and even our spiritual lives against one another instead of keeping our focus on the One we are to be ever transforming to be like but will never catch up to.  "Peter, don't look at John, look at Me!"

John does outlive the rest of the original disciples and I can see how some might take this statement from Jesus to mean that John might live until His return, but John who heard it, corrects the rumors.  Jesus didn't say "would" but only "if I want."  Words are very important and therefore we study the Bible for what it truly says rather than what we want it to say.  

v.24, 25 - This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

What a way to end this gospel.  John starts with the beautiful prologue in chapter 1 expressing Jesus in terms of Him who was before all things and then ends with expressing Jesus in terms of Him who all could not contain what He said and did.  We will have to wait for heaven for that!  This is John's personal account given to us with the Holy Spirit's direction.  

It makes me think of the song, "The Love Of God Is Greater Far" and the words of verse 3.  

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

  And were the skies of parchment made;

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

  And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

  Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

  Though stretched from sky to sky.

As I finish I echo John's thoughts about Jesus.  Not only was he not able to write everything that Jesus said and did but our understanding of what he did write about what Jesus said and did will be ever expanding every time I read and study the gospel of John again.  My goal is to present this great gospel from the pulpit in the near future and I am sure more will pour from these precious recorded moments with Jesus from the eyewitness account of John.

Pastor Adam