Restored

All right, hey, here's what we're gonna do.

We're gonna close down John today.

So, for those of you who don't know, we've been in the book of John for two years, and this is the last sermon in John's gospel this morning.

So we started that uh at the beginning of 2023, and we are going to conclude it today.

And so I'm excited, some of you might be too excited for us to get out of John and into something else, but nonetheless, I hope that we can see what John has for us as we wrap up this gospel narrative.

And here's what I want to kind of draw our attention to.

I think this book ends in a really weird way.

Uh, and I think we can say that fairly because what we see is this contrast between two disciples.

And what we're going to realize is that John puts before us Peter and himself and this engagement with Jesus on this beach after breakfast, and then it's over.

And what John, I think, is trying to help us understand is going to be the central theme this morning.

See, as we come to a close here in the epilogue of John's Gospel in chapter 21, uh, what we typically see as the central theme of this is the restoration of Peter.

Right?

Peter was the one who had denied Jesus publicly three times in Caiaphas's courtyard at the arrest and trial of Jesus.

And many people look at this as the public restoration of Peter.

And I would agree, this is the public restoration.

And I say public because I think that the scriptures actually give us some sense of confidence that there was a private restoration of Peter already.

In fact, Luke chapter 24, verse 34 records that the two disciples who Jesus had met on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection comes into this room where all these other disciples are, and they declare this that the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.

Luke 24:34

The Apostle Paul emphasizes in his letter to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15, he includes what is of most important that we should remember as those who are in Christ, is that he, being Jesus, was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas or to Peter, and then to the 12.

And so I would uh argue that there was already a private restoration of Peter as Jesus revealed himself to him early after his resurrection.

That they had already been reconciled, and that Peter was experiencing the reality of Jesus' resurrection in himself already.

And now, here at the end of this gospel, in the company of six other disciples, Jesus will publicly restore Peter at Galilee, where he had commanded his disciples to meet him.

And so here on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is finishing up his fireside breakfast of fish and bread with seven of his disciples.

And as they finish, Jesus looks at Peter and says, This, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

Now, try to put yourself this morning in Peter's position.

Can you imagine being there in front of these six men that you're very close to?

They know your mess, right?

They know that you were the one who denied knowing Jesus.

They know that you ran in hide under the darkness of night in the face of Jesus' suffering and trial.

They know you.

And here Jesus, the resurrected Messiah, looks you in the eye after breakfast and says, Do you love me more than these?

Because here's the awkward part of this question.

Jesus isn't asking Peter, do you love me more than you love them?

No, Jesus is asking Peter, do you love me more than they love me?

Do you love me more than they love me, Peter?

You see, Peter throughout the gospel, he stands apart as a very passionate and zealous disciple of Jesus.

Jesus is, or Peter's always the one out in front.

He's always the first one on the scene.

He's always the one to take that initial risk, right?

It was Peter who walked on water.

It was Peter who was there confessing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

It was Peter who told Jesus, I'll go to prison with you, I'll die for you.

It was Peter who drew his sword in the garden to strike the high priest's servant that night.

But it was also Peter, this passionate, zealous disciple, who, when faced with the certainty of Jesus' suffering, denied that he knew him.

And this is kind of the mark of a passionate man.

They are passionate from one extreme to the other.

And Peter, in his passion, here at this moment is being asked by Jesus, how intense does that passion burn for me?

And Peter replies, Yes, Lord.

You know that I love you.

And Jesus charges Peter, then, feed my lambs.

Now, Jesus goes back and forth with Peter, asking him relatively the same question three different times.

Simon, son of John, do you love me?

In the same way that Peter had denied Jesus publicly three times.

Jesus is calling for Peter to affirm his love for him publicly three different times.

And after each time, Jesus charges Peter to care for and shepherd the sheep of his fold.

This is the commission that Peter's getting from Jesus here this morning.

He's stating, if you love me, then you will be a shepherd to my sheep.

You will be one who cares for them, who nurtures them, who feeds them and tends to them.

And the first way that Jesus charges Peter to care for his sheep is by feeding them, to nourish them in the word of God, to reveal the gospel of Christ to them, to make sure that through God's word, Jesus' sheep will truly live.

You see, this is how Jesus helps us understand that we don't live by bread alone, but we as his sheep are nourished and we truly live by every word that proceeds from God.

When he was being tempted in the wilderness, and Satan tried to get him to turn this stone into bread that he may eat.

Coming out of Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 3, we see, and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:3

This is what Peter was being commissioned to do: feed my sheep.

Make sure that they truly live by teaching them God's word, to steward and deliver the revelation of Jesus' gospel so that his lambs would surely live.

We really start to see the calling of a pastor, the calling of a shepherd of God's people, that their first and foremost priority is that they feed the lambs God's word, God's truth, that in it they might truly live.

But then we see this other side of shepherding that Jesus' charge to Peter incorporates it is to tend his sheep, that Peter would lead, protect, and lay his life down for their well-being.

You see, one thing about shepherding is that the shepherd always carries the crook.

And this is what Peter was being called to.

Be a shepherd who carries the crook, that guides Jesus' people along difficult terrain, that brings back a lamb from the danger set before them, that strikes a wolf when they seek to steal one away.

Peter, tend my sheep.

Carry the crook of the shepherd.

You see, if Peter loved Jesus, it would be most demonstrated by being a faithful and good shepherd.

As Jesus continues to ask Peter if he loves him, we see Peter's response to Jesus intensify.

And it really culminates in verse 17, where John says that Peter was grieved because Jesus had asked him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

And what does Peter do?

He responds in this utter abandonment.

Lord, you know everything.

You know everything.

You know that I love you.

I think there's something that we have to draw our attention to here.

And the first thing is this Peter cannot escape Jesus' intimate knowledge of his heart.

Lord, you know.

You know who I am.

You know the condition and state of my heart.

You know all things.

You know that I love you.

You see, it would be foolish for Peter to try and exaggerate his love for Jesus.

Or in this false humility, try to diminish his love for Jesus.

Here stands Peter in front of his Savior, and all he can say is, You know my heart.

I don't even understand necessarily why you're asking me this question, let alone three different times, Jesus, you know me.

And you know that I love you.

You see, Jesus knows all things, even the genuineness and measure of our love for him.

We cannot escape the intimacy of his knowledge of us.

Jesus knows us.

The second thing is this Jesus' call to Peter as a response to his confessed love for him isn't just a call to shepherd the flock, but it's a call to be a good shepherd.

And a good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep.

And here we see at the end of passage in 17 through 19 exactly how Peter was going to do that.

It says this in verse 17, and he said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he has said this to him the third time, Do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.

Verse 19.

This is hone in on this verse.

This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.

And after saying this, he said to Peter, follow me.

Jesus is telling Peter that his love for him is true.

And it's going to be displayed by Peter laying his life down for the sheep like Jesus did for them.

You see, Jesus tells Peter here that he was going to die.

And by what death he would actually glorify God?

Can you imagine being Peter in that scene?

And Jesus, the resurrected Lord, tells you how you're going to die.

And then his next statement is, follow me.

Follow me.

I I don't know.

Do you guys ever play super weird family games where you're like, oh, what would you do if you knew how you were gonna die?

You guys don't you guys don't have that conversation around dinner?

We do sometimes, like weird things.

Like it's kind of like if you won the lottery, what would you do, right?

If if you knew how you were gonna die, how would that change your life?

What would you do?

And here, Peter has been revealed how he's going to die.

That it's going to be a martyr's death for the sake of Christ, by through it, his blood would be glorifying God.

And then Jesus says, Follow me.

I can't imagine what would have been going on in Peter's heart.

You see, tradition actually tells us how Peter died.

We don't have historical record, but what tradition tells us is that his hands were stretched out like Jesus said they would be, because Peter died by crucifixion.

He died a martyr's death, but he did not count himself as worthy to die in the same way as his master.

So he was crucified upside down.

He died for the gospel.

He followed Jesus even unto death.

He was a good and faithful shepherd to Jesus' people.

You see, this is how Jesus portrays the essence of a good and faithful shepherd.

In John 10, when Jesus was revealing himself through one of his seven I am statements of the gospel, he says, I am the good shepherd.

And the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

This was the defining characteristic of a good and faithful shepherd, because the hired hands would flee at the sight of danger.

But no, the good shepherd would stay and he would be faithful unto his mission and he would lay his life down.

And here in this exchange of Jesus and Peter, he's calling for Peter to do the same thing.

Lay your life down for them, Peter.

You said you would die for me.

Do you remember when you spoke to me in the upper room and you said that you were willing to die with me?

You'll be able to follow through on your commitment for my glory, for the good of my people.

And so here on this shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is admonishing Peter, reminding him of this love.

This love that he professes to have for him and what the cost of that love ultimately will be.

And then Peter hears that call of discipleship.

Follow me.

You see, discipleship is costly.

We have to remember that.

The cost of discipleship is one of everything we possess.

That there is nothing, not even our life, that is off the table in the cost to follow Jesus.

Imagine being Peter.

Imagine in that moment, Peter knew what following Jesus was going to cost him.

But he was willing to move forward.

He was willing to go.

But I think it's fascinating in the story that John records.

After Jesus tells Peter to follow him, they start this short walk.

And behind them is John.

And Peter turns and looks at John, and he asks Jesus, Well, what about him?

What about John?

I think Peter might have been looking for Jesus to say, Oh, he's gonna die too.

He's gonna suffer a martyr's death.

His blood will be spilled out for my glory.

Peter, don't you worry, you'll get the same fair, equal ending.

Peter's like, if I've got to do this, then what about this guy?

Jesus, you called me to lay my life down for your sheep.

You told me how I would die to glorify the Father, but what about him?

And I love Jesus' response.

What is it to you?

You want fair, Peter?

Is that what you're looking for?

Are you looking for some sense of equality?

Peter, if I want him to live until I return again, what is that to you?

You're going to die for me.

Your blood was called to be spilled for my glory.

What is it to you what happens to John?

I'm reminded of this scene in Revelation.

If we want to think about and ponder the holiness of God and the sovereignty of his hand, that he will ultimately work all things according to his good pleasure for the glory of his name.

I think Revelation chapter 9 is one of the clearest places that we can see that.

Revelation 9 · chapter mention

Chapter 6, 9 through 11, I believe is what it is.

And what you have here is Jesus on the throne and surrounding the throne are the martyrs whose blood was spilled for the sake of his gospel.

And they cry out to him who is seated on the throne, When will you avenge our blood?

And his response to them, not till there's more.

Not till all who have been called to die has been fulfilled.

God will do all things according to the pleasure of his good will for the glory of his name.

Peter, you're gonna die.

For me.

What is it to you what happens to John?

I think we get caught up in this sense of fairness in life, right?

The cultural anthem that is sung so loudly every day is this one of equality.

God knows nothing of equality.

God knows nothing of fairness.

And we struggle with this.

We wrestle with this reality, especially when our life seems to be more like Peter's, riddled with adversity and suffering and trials, and the brother or sister next to us seems to get all of this amazing blessing and a wonderful marriage, and kids that like listen to them and do what they ask, and success at work, and all these great things happen, and then you're sitting here and saying, God, why me?

What about me?

Why does my life look this way, but his life looks like this?

Or why does my life seem to be filled with sorrow, but her life seems to be filled with such joy?

Why?

What is it to you, O man?

Is it not for my glory that I work all things for the good of those who love me?

I mean, think about this thing we call the Christian life.

There will some of us, some of us will die in our old age, seeing our great grandchildren just fill our homes, and some of us will die early with our bodies filled with cancer.

God loves us both.

Some of us will have success, some of us will be marked by failure, some of us will only know sorrow, and some of us will be.

Filled with delight and joy, all things for our good, for his glory.

Peter, what is it to you what I do with John?

If it be my will, this is how it will look.

You, you're gonna die for my glory.

Do you love me?

Do you trust me?

Will you follow me?

Then the Gospel of John just closes with this self-disclosure John gives of, hey, you know that guy who was leaning back on Peter's chest and asking, like, hey, who's going to be the betrayer?

That was me, by the way.

And I wrote this whole book.

And it ends with this statement of the incomprehensible volume of Jesus' life and ministry.

It says, 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.

And when we read the end of John's gospel, like we can get stuck on that amazing, wonderful, incomprehensible statement.

If we were to try to write down everything Jesus did in his life and ministry, the world could not contain its volumes.

But let us not lose sight of the scene before us.

Two disciples stand in the presence of Jesus on the shore of Galilee.

One called to be a sacrificial shepherd who would lay his life down in a martyr's death for the glory of God.

And the other called to be a faithful witness whose life would end peacefully in the fullness of old age in a city where people loved him.

And Jesus' question still stands.

Do you love me?

You see, tradition tells us that John was the only apostle that did not die a martyr's death.

They tried to kill him.

Tradition tells us that they actually tried to boil him alive in a vat of oil.

Like just deep fry the dude, right?

And uh that didn't work.

He lived through it, according to tradition.

Then he was sent out onto this island called Patmos, where he actually got the revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of our canon in the Bible.

But when he was released, he returned to Turkey, modern-day Turkey, Ephesus more than likely, where he cared for Jesus' sheep, where he loved them faithfully, where he served them humbly, and where he died in old age.

Every other apostle suffered a martyr's death.

But see, with Peter and John here on this seashore, both lives, both fates would be according to the will of God for the glory of God.

And I think this is our main idea.

Our life and death are in the sovereignty of God for the glory of God.

Our life and our death are in the sovereignty of God for the glory of God.

I think this really is the conclusion of John's gospel.

That life and death are determined by God's good pleasure for his glory.

And who are we to question him?

I think we really love control.

I know all of you love control.

I love control, right?

All of us to different measures.

We love to imagine that we have this control over our life.

That we're gonna be the ones who decide our destiny, that we are gonna be the ones that determine our fate.

We love control.

And even some of us love control to such a measure that our very death is taken in our own hands through our own sense and struggle of control.

We'll determine when we take our last breath.

We'll determine everything that happens in our life.

We absolutely are infatuated with this notion of control.

But what we have to realize is that all of life is in God's hands.

If God desires for your life to be marked by trials and suffering to end in tragedy or adversity, if it is his will, it will be, and it will be for his glory and your good.

Similarly, if it is marked by prosperity and fortune, if it is marked by comfort and ends in the fullness of your old age, if it is his will, it will be, and it will be for his glory and your good.

All of life is in God's hands.

And we love to believe that we have this sense of control, but the scriptures reveal to us that we don't.

Look at Psalm 139, 16.

David writes, Your eyes saw my unformed substance.

In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

God has numbered our days.

Their substance has been recorded in his book.

Likewise, when Job was pushing back about the affliction that he was suffering, he understands the sovereignty of God, he understands the glory of his name, and he responds in Job 14, 5, since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.

Or what about 1 Samuel 2, 6?

The Lord kills and brings to life.

Or what about Jesus to Peter?

If I will for John to live until I come again, what is it to you?

Who are we to believe that our life and our death are ultimately within our control?

Our fate rests in the sovereignty of God's good pleasure.

What he wills for my life is what my lot shall be, and it will be for his glory.

You see, this is the very thing Peter's wrestling with here at the close of John's gospel.

Jesus, you said that I would die for your glory.

You said that this is the way my life would end and I would suffer.

But what about John?

He's looking for some sense of fairness.

He's looking for some sense of equality.

If I have to go out like this, then shouldn't he also?

And the question stands for you: what is it to you?

What is it to you if God wills for your life to end in sorrow and tragedy, if your days to be cut short, if it's marked with affliction, what is it to you?

I believe God's infinite knowledge and wisdom enables him to work all things truly for the ultimate good of his people and the glory of his name.

And what God wills for your life, you may not love, but it will be for your good.

You see, I think the question still stands: do you love me?

Will you follow me?

Knowing the cost of discipleship, knowing that your fate is in the sovereign hands of your Maker.

The Gospel of John ends in quite an odd way, doesn't it?

A tale of two disciples whose lives and fates would be drastically different though both were derived from the good pleasure and purpose of God.

You see, in the beginning of John's gospel, Jesus made a call to Philip.

Come and follow me.

And he would make that call to the other disciples.

It would be a call that they had heard from the beginning.

Come and follow me.

But there would not be this clarity of what that actually meant, what the cost would be on the other side of saying yes.

But here in Galilee, Simon knows what the cost is.

There is clarity of mind.

It's going to cost you everything, Simon.

There's going to be a day where you're led to a place that you don't desire to go, your hands stretched out, your blood will be poured out for me, all for my glory.

You follow me.

Jesus still calls out to his disciples.

Follow me.

Follow me.

Follow me no matter the cost.

Follow me no matter what your life is marked by.

And so, church, listen.

Do you love Jesus?

He knows.

He knows all things.

Our hearts cannot be hidden from him.

I think this is very common to God's character that we are asked questions for our own personal reflection, not to discover an unknown truth that our Maker is unaware of.

Because Simon's answer to that question meant his life.

Church, do you love Jesus?

If your life is marked by suffering and hardship, if it is cut short, if your days are fewer than you anticipated, if you meet and collide with the hostility of this world because of your faithfulness to the gospel, will you follow him?

Is Jesus worth it?

Do you love Jesus?

If your life is filled with prosperity and fortune, if it's marked by comfort, if it sustains you into your old age, will you follow him?

Will you find contentment in him alone?

Will you find delight in him alone?

Will you allow your possessions to be a ministry tool rather than something that actually possesses you?

Will you stay faithful unto Jesus and will you follow him?

Are we going to allow comparisonism to destroy us?

As we look at the lives of those around us and ask God, why can't I be like that?

Why can't this thing called Christianity, this life of discipleship that I'm trying to live, why can't it look like his or hers?

Or will we allow our hearts to rest with this simple prayer?

God, I trust that you work all things for my good because I love you.

Let it be unto me as you will, for your glory.

I want to rest in that.

Whether I am called to die like Peter or I'm called to die like John, I want my faithfulness to Jesus to be marked above all things.