PsalmTree

 John 21:20-25

Jesus and the Beloved Apostle

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?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 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?”

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.

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

😇 John makes it clear, his Gospel contains only a small fraction of the things Jesus did and taught. But, it’s enough. We find some of the last recorded words of our Savior are quite sobering; the cost of following Him can be very high. So, how do we proceed?

We must compare ourselves to only one example; Jesus Christ. But, that bar is unreachable so we tend to look around for another comparison. Peter picked John. I get it…Jesus had just told Peter he was going to die for his faith. Peter immediately wanted to know what was in store for John. 

None of his business…

Sean McDowell says “Even though they were crucified, stoned, stabbed, dragged, skinned and burned, every last apostle of Jesus proclaimed his resurrection until his dying breath, refusing to recant under pressure from authorities.” 

We could never endure that kind of pressure if we were looking around to see how other Christians were faring. Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). 

This explains why nearly 90% of professing christians never share their faith with others…in violation of Jesus’ command in Matthew 28; “Go, and make disciples.”

What’s in store for me? I don’t know, but the last century witnessed more martyrs than any of the centuries since Christ arose from the grave. The trend is continuing. Should I cower in fear? Or should I keep my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith? The historical odds tell me I will live to a ripe old age and then Jesus will take me home. But that’s not how I should live. I should live every day as though my faith could cost me everything…because it could, if I lived it properly. Only then will I have the courage to boldly become the disciple Christ calls me to be. 

🙏🏼 Lord, God…the apostle Paul reminds me, I have not received a spirit that makes me a fearful slave. Instead, I received God’s Spirit when he adopted me as his own child. Now I call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with my spirit to affirm that I am Your child. And since I am Your child, I am Your heir. In fact, together with Christ I am an heir of Your glory. But if I am to share Your glory, I must also be willing to share Christ’s suffering. 

But I know that You cause everything to work together for my benefit because I love You and am called according to Your purpose. So, who can condemn me? No one—for Christ Jesus died for me and was raised to life for me, and He is sitting in the place of honor at Your right hand, pleading for me.Nothing can ever separate me from Christ’s love.  If I have trouble or calamity, or am persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death it doesn’t mean You don’t love me. No…I am convinced that nothing can ever separate me from Your love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither my fears for today nor my worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate me from Your love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate me from Your love that is revealed in Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen.