Everyone one of us is influenced by someone else, and consciously or subconsciously our lives are patterned after them: we follow. So we better know the kind of people we allow to be our influencers. Eli Black was a brilliant businessman best known for two events in his life: He masterminded the multimillion dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate, and he jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am building in New York City. In the book An American Company, an executive described a business lunch he had with Eli Black. When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking. The executive hadn't eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker. But Black acted as though he hadn't heard him and went on with the business meeting. After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk. Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive's plate and then blocked the rest as before. It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased. When you play "follow the leader," check to see who is at the head of the line. Eli Black, for all his power, ended up in suicide. Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior of the world. [Our Daily Bread, February 6, 1994] Jesus is not just the Savior, He is Lord. He is not God s spokesman with truth we should consider; He is THE WORD whose every word we must obey. Salvation is not just the gift of eternal life, it is new life. Discipleship is not an add-on to forgiveness of sin, it is what the moment of salvation began. If there is anyone who must be followed and followed with unflinching allegiance and with every breath it is the One who created you and died for you: Jesus, Savior and Lord.
For Discussion What is discipleship? Encounter Read God s Word so that He can speak to you. John 21:15-22 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Explore God's Word by asking questions of what you saw. The notes that follow may help you think through these questions. 1) Why do you think John added chapter 21 to this Gospel account, right after closing it with his purpose-statement of a gospel invitation in 20:30-31? What s the connection between the story of Jesus and Jesus conversation with Peter? 2) Peter the denier of Jesus had gone back to fishing with other disciples. Why? What might have been going on in his thoughts?
Explore (con t) 3) Why did Jesus repeatedly ask Peter about his love? How is this question connected to feeding His sheep? 4) Many times God calls somebody to action perhaps something difficult right when they are at their lowest point, maybe ready to give up or just resigned to drift. Think about Moses tending sheep for 40 years, or Elijah wishing he was dead, or Peter after denying Jesus. Why does God do this? 5) 6) Why do you think Jesus told Peter about how he would die? What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does it involve? It is only for a few? Is it the same for everyone? Is it an invitation or a command? What does it look like? Has Jesus called you to follow Him? Are you? What does it look like? Notes on the Passage 15 - The following conversation may have taken place as Jesus and Peter walked along the shore, with John within earshot close behind (cf. vv. 20-21). Jesus began by addressing Peter as "Simon son of Jonas (John)." In the Gospels, Jesus addressed Peter this way on only the most important occasions. These were: Peter's call to follow Jesus (1:42), his confession of Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 16:17), and as he slept in Gethsemane (Mark 14:37). When Jesus addressed Peter this way here, Peter probably realized that what Jesus was about to say to him was extremely important. Jesus used a word for "love" (Gr. agapas), in His question, that many scholars have understood to refer to total commitment to another person. Other equally competent scholars, however, do not believe it had this strong meaning. Peter will answer Jesus three times with the synonym phileo. In his Gospel, John did not usually make fine distinctions in meaning on the basis of synonym differences. Generally he treated syno-
Notes on the Passage (con t) nyms as having essentially the same meaning. For example, John used both agapao and phileo to describe the Father's love for the Son (3:35; 10:17; 5:20), Jesus' love for Lazarus (11:5, 3, 36), and Jesus' love for the beloved disciple (13:23; 20:2). Jesus asked Peter if he had more love for Jesus than he had for "these things" (Gr. pleon touton). What did Jesus have in mind? Was it the fishing boats and nets that Peter had returned to, or was it the other disciples? The comparison seems more likely to have been with the "love" of the other disciples for Jesus, since Peter had earlier professed complete devotion to Jesus in the upper room (cf. 13:37; 18:10). Peter had claimed that his love for and commitment to Jesus were so strong, that even if all the other disciples forsook Him, he would not (Matt. 26:33; Mark 14:29; Luke 22:33). Yet Peter had denied that he was one of Jesus' disciples, and that he even knew Jesus three times. Thus Jesus' question was reasonable. He wanted Peter to think about just how strong his love for Jesus really was. Peter replied by professing his love for Jesus, but he used a different word for love than Jesus had used (Gr. philo). Peter professed that he really did love Jesus. Peter wisely appealed for proof of his love to Jesus' knowledge ("You know that I love You"), not to his own former behavior. Jesus responded graciously by giving Peter a command, not criticism. He told Peter to "tend" (Gr. boske, feed) His "lambs" (Gr. arnia). Three more pairs of synonyms, in addition to agapao and philo, occur in this passage. Bosko (feed, vv. 15, 17) and poimaino (tend, or take care of, v. 16) may be significantly different, but they are probably not. Likewise arnia (lambs, v. 15) and probata (sheep, vv. 16, 17) create the same interpretive problem. The third pair is oidas (know intellectually, vv. 15, 16) and ginoskeis (know experientially, v. 17). Previously Jesus had referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd (10:14). Now He was committing the care of His flock to this disciple who had failed Him miserably in the past. 16-17 - Jesus proceeded to ask Peter essentially the same question two more times. Peter gave virtually the same answer each time. Peter felt grief after Jesus' third question because Jesus asked the same question a "third time." Jesus probably intended that Peter's threefold profession of love would correspond to, and in a sense counteract, his former threefold denial. Peter had denied his Lord in the presence of witnesses, near a charcoal fire, three times (18:17, 25, 27). Now he affirmed his love for his Lord in the presence of witnesses also near a charcoal fire three times. The Great Physician was restoring Peter's soul. Peter had learned not to make rash professions of great love. Therefore he did not compare his love for Jesus to the love of the other disciples, as he had done before. He simply appealed to Jesus' knowledge of his heart.
Notes on the Passage (con t) 18-19 - Jesus then gave the last of the many important statements that He introduced with a strong affirmation. It was a prediction of the type of death that Peter would die. Jesus contrasted the freedom that Peter had enjoyed in his youth, with the constraint that he would experience in later life. He was describing crucifixion. The phrase "stretch out your hands" (v. 18) was a euphemistic reference to crucifixion in the Roman world. This stretching took place when the Roman soldiers fastened the condemned person's arms to the crosspiece of his cross. Peter had been learning how his self-confidence led to failure, and how he needed to depend on Jesus more (i.e., "You know..."; vv. 15, 16, 17). Jesus reminded Peter that as time passed, he would become increasingly dependent on others, even to the point of being unable to escape a martyr's death. Therefore, Jesus implied, Peter should commit his future to God rather than trying to control it himself as he had formerly tried to do. Peter later wrote that Christians, who follow Jesus Christ faithfully to the point of dying for Him, bring glory to God by their deaths (1 Pet. 4:14-16). He lived with this prediction hanging over him for three decades (cf. 2 Pet. 1:14). Jesus then repeated His original command to Peter, to "follow" Him (cf. Mark 1:17). 20-21 - Why did John identify himself as he did in these verses? Perhaps he did so because this description highlights his intimacy with Jesus. That intimacy was evidently a factor in Jesus' plans for John to which He proceeded to refer (vv. 22-24). These plans included his writing this Gospel (v. 24). Therefore by presenting the writer as an intimate of Jesus, John was establishing his credentials as a reliable eyewitness of what he reported. A second reason may be that this description also reminds the reader of John's intimacy with Peter. This helps us understand Peter's question about Jesus' will for John. Peter evidently wanted to know what would happen to his young friend, since he himself was going to suffer crucifixion. 22 - Jesus essentially told Peter that John's future was none of his business. Rather than concerning himself with God's will for other people, even those closest to him, Peter should concentrate on following Jesus faithfully himself. The "you" in the Greek text is emphatic. Even if it was Jesus' will for John to "remain" alive "until" He returned, that was not to be Peter's concern. "The main business, even of the chief under-shepherds, is not to make others follow Christ, but to follow Him themselves. [A. B. Bruce, p. 528] Going Further One thing we can do to train ourselves to remember, is to memorize a part of what our Father has said to us. The Holy Spirit can use this to change our thinking so that our heads are more like Jesus. This week, memorize 1Cor. 11:1.