The Ends - [John 21:15-25]

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Well, I had to I'd asked for some help last night. I asked
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Jonathan how many messages we've been in John for and this morning is 108 number 108 which
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Sounds like a lot until you realize you know if I was doing this every week That'd be like two years and instead it took me ten years to do this
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I'm just slow like that Yeah, sorry what makes a book a
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TV show a movie great Well in our household there are a few requirements one is that it has to have
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Sorry if it ends poorly, we're just like yeah done with that never want to see it again Don't want to read it done, but I find that it's usually when you so identify with some of the characters in there and the themes that you wish that it was just gonna keep going and As I've gone through the gospel of John I find myself thinking
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I really I mean I have been blessed in so many ways I Think you know before I started this
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I thought first of all I think when I proposed going through John to Mike my My expectation would be that he would sit there and just go you're never gonna get through that He said go for it, and I said great
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But I I think you know I've always liked John because of the theological precision with which
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John Speaks and which he writes, and you know how much
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Depth there is here But I think as I've studied through this what
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I've really come to appreciate so much is not just Jesus Christ God But Jesus Christ man the humanity and the compassion and the love that he has for his friends and You know do
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I wish? That there was a sequel no, but I do kind of think
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I'd like to start at John 1 and just kind of go through it I'm not gonna do that, but I in my mind.
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I'm like I kind of want to do that. I'm gonna miss this book But let's read
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John 21 Beginning in verse 15 as We conclude here this morning the gospel of John verse 15
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When they had finished breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of John Do you love me more than these?
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He said to him Yes, Lord. You know that I love you He said to him feed my lambs
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He said to him a second time Simon son of John do you love me?
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He said to him Yes, Lord You know that I love you He said to him tend my sheep.
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He said to him the third time Simon son of John Do you love me?
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Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time do you love me? And he said to him
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Lord, you know everything You know that I love you
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Jesus said to him feed my sheep Truly truly
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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
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This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God After saying this he said to him
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Follow me Peter turned and saw the disciple whom
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Jesus loved following them the one who also The one who also had leaned back against him during this during the supper and had said
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Lord, who is it that is going to betray you? When Peter saw him he said to Jesus Lord what about this man?
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Jesus said to him If it is my will that he remain until I come what is that to you you follow me?
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So the saying spread abroad Among the brothers that this disciple was not to die yet.
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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?
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This is the disciple who was bearing witness about these things and has written these things and we know that his testimony is true
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Now there are also many other things that Jesus did were every one of them to be written
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I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written now last week
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We saw that Peter and the disciples had gone up to the region of Galilee up the
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Sea of Galilee Sea of Tiberias as it's called there Just as Jesus had commanded them and whatever
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Peter's motivation was for going fishing He announced what that he was going fishing and the other disciples said well, we'll go with you
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They all joined him the other six that were there including Including John the beloved disciple and James the sons of Zebedee who were as we can learn elsewhere
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They were all Peter James and John were all fishermen. They had a company together. They all worked together
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Before they went into ministry with Jesus So these are professionals and they spend all night on the
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Sea of Galilee fishing and they catch nothing
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And I'm sure you all remember the Greek word for nothing anyway, and At dawn just as lights coming up a figure appears on the shoreline about a hundred yards away from them
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They can't see who it is And he tells them if you remember cast your net on the right side and what he does from that point forward is demonstrate his mastery over all nature and in fact his
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Ability to create He creates breakfast creates fire.
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In fact If you recall from last week, it said That none of the disciples even dared to ask who are you because they knew it was the
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Lord John had said it while they were on the fishing boat and From that point forward nobody dared to ask it
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We're going to see in a few weeks here when we go into the book of Acts really men who?
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Turned the world upside down They abandoned
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Jesus just a couple weeks before in a few weeks. They're going to embark an adventure that I'm sure
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No one Thought possible not humanly speaking. How could they do that?
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By seeing the risen Savior by seeing his power by understanding who he was
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They're no longer thinking. You know what this all depends on us, you know miserable fishermen, etc, etc, etc
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Weak frail Betrayers of Jesus those who flee at the first sign of trouble
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Our success depends on him on The God man the one who commands and things happen
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We're no longer We we don't have to think we're going to be overwhelmed by circumstances
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We've got a God who could just snap his fingers as it were and feed us breakfast.
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He could do whatever he wants and This morning. We're going to see four ends for really
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Completions for ends We're going to see
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Jesus demonstrate his authority demonstrate his deity again We're going to see first the end of Peter's estrangement from Jesus second the end of Peter's fishing career
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Third the end of Peter's curiosity and fourth the end of This gospel us
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John really just ties up a couple loose ends at the end and I'm gonna warn you up front You know pastor Michael often say if my first point is 30 minutes, you know figure it out.
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I've got four points It's gonna be a two -hour sermon. My first points pretty long.
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The other ones aren't nearly so long So I don't want anybody with a calculator just going our first end the end of Peter's estrangement from Christ We're going to see this is an interaction between Peter and Jesus where there are three questions three answers and three commands
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But there's an underlying issue and that's this estrangement from Jesus Question number one verse 15
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When they had finished breakfast this marvelous breakfast that Jesus had made
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Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon son of John. Do you love me? more than these
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And I wrote my notes. I said the best breakfast in history You know what a true true truth just between us girls here.
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I don't like fish But if I could have been there that morning and had that fish, I think I would have wanted it
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I don't eat a whole lot of bread these days if I could have had that bread.
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I Would have had that bread. I want to be there right? I want that breakfast But it's interesting here when
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Jesus says to Simon Peter Simon son of John He hasn't called him that since John chapter 1 when he first meets him
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He gives Simon the name the nickname Peter and he hasn't called him
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Simon son of John or Simon bar
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Jonah That's the Hebrew He hasn't called him that since John chapter 1.
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This is a formal moment This is kind of like I don't want to call it an inquest because I don't I don't think that's right
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But Jesus is setting something right here So he doesn't call him the more friendly
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Peter. He says Simon son of John now when he says
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Do you love me more than these? What does he mean by these? I mean, that's an obvious question.
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You have to look at it. You have to go What does he mean? Because there are a few options He could mean do you love me more than this fishing equipment the nets and the boats and all these other things because it seems
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Like maybe you're thinking about returning to your former life So that's one possibility
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Do you love me more than these other men over here? Do you love me more than they do?
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or Do you love me more than these other men in the sense that am I more important to you than those guys are?
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So those are the three most popular options Which is it? Let's turn in our
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Bibles for a moment to Matthew chapter 26 just to kind of help us understand what's really going on as Jesus as I said, there is this estrangement.
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Well, why is there an Estrangement, I think we need to set that up and then we'll see what
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Jesus is ultimately doing here Matthew 26 verses 30 to 35
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And this is the evening of the Last Supper and this is Matthew describing right as they leave here from the upper room and When they had sung a hymn they went out to the
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Mount of Olives Then Jesus said to them you will all fall away because of me this night for it is written
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I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered But after I am raised up,
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I will go before you to Galilee Where are they now Galilee, right? Peter answered him listen
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Though they all fall away because of you. I will never
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Fall away Jesus said to him Truly I tell you this very night before the rooster crows you will deny me three times
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And listen to Peter's response verse 35 Peter said to him even if I must die with you
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I will not deny you and All the disciples said the same Peter was the leader of the disciples.
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No question about that, right? He says I will never I will never fall away. I'll never deny you they all say the same, but what does that mean?
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Even if everybody else falls away, I won't even if everybody else denies you
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I won't Essentially that's a statement that Peter loves them or loves him
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More than they do right? I know this one thing Jesus those guys might be weak.
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I'm not They might be frail. I'm not They might think they love you.
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I know I love you when Judas leads the
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Jewish Soldiers and or the leaders and the and the Roman soldiers to where the disciples are gathered so they can arrest
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Jesus Who is it who impulsively draws a sword cuts off somebody's ear, right?
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this is this is Peter ready to fight to the death and Yet that very night.
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He denies Jesus three times Let's flip over for a moment to well
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Luke 24 Luke 24 and While we're doing that.
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I just want to say that we we know at this point in John That Jesus has appeared to the disciples twice as a group
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What's not recorded for us? Is the is the fact that Jesus also has appeared to Peter We know that it's in 1st
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Corinthians 15. He says Paul writes that While he's giving the list of post -resurrection appearances.
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He says that Jesus appeared to Cephas or Peter But what's interesting about these
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Meetings with Peter after the resurrection is there's no record of reconciliation Jesus denies him three times, right?
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publicly to unbelievers, I Don't know this man And I'm not
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I'm not one of those Christians But there's no record of reconciliation now
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We know in Luke 24 verses 33 to 34 this is where the
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Men on the road to Emmaus Jesus comes alongside them and talks to them and They eventually figure out it was him and then he's gone and then in verses 33 and 34 it says this about those two men and they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together saying
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The Lord has risen indeed and appeared to Simon in other words the eleven and The other disciples who were there when they're joined by these men from that were on the road to Emmaus These new men hear
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The disciples saying the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. So we know that there was a post -resurrection appearance between Jesus and Simon But we don't know what was said there
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So, let me clarify you can go back to John now when I say there's estrangement. It's pretty difficult, right when somebody sins so blatantly against you and Peter certainly did that.
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I mean he boasts about his loyalty. He boasts about his steadfastness. And then what does he do? He denies him now was
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Jesus with Jesus if I would ask Jesus, you know, how do you feel about? Simon how do you feel about Peter?
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What do you have said? I don't like that guy. He denied me three times. No Because God's not like us
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He's not petty so we can be sure that that estrangement wasn't a mutual feeling.
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This is just Peter He's carrying around he's shouldering the guilt and you know, what what do you suppose the other disciples are thinking?
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Okay, Peter's kind of been the de facto leader of the the subgroup the disciples
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And what happens he's the guy who brags and then what he falls apart under pressure now imagine
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Jesus Christ has said what that he's going to leave and he's going to send a comforter the
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Holy Spirit to help these men Well, who's going to lead them who's going to lead the church?
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Peter the denier that man That'd be a stretch
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We don't know but it could be that maybe there was some kind of exchange of you know
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Peter saying please forgive me and Jesus saying of course I forgive you when if you recall last week
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Jesus or Peter jumps out of the boat and Sort of throws on his clothes and jumps out of the boat and splashes his way to the shore
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Like I think I said like a five -year -old which basically was right. We have no idea what was said
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We don't know if anything was said But when crunch time came when
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The rubber hit the road so to speak Peter denied Jesus three times So now
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Jesus is going to ask him three times in front of the disciples And it seems like the goal is restoration.
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Look your sin was blatant and Ultimately it was it was such that all these men knew about it
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Even if they weren't all present at least John was present Peter needs to be restored
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So that's question number one answer number one he being Peter said to him yes
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Lord, you know that I love you Now it's interesting because he doesn't try to Peter doesn't try to address
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You know, do you love me more than these it? Understanding that he probably understands that it's the the disciples
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Do you love me more than that is these other disciples do he understands the question, but he doesn't answer it.
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Why not? I Think in part it's because he's learned a lesson
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He's not going to shoot his mouth off. He's not gonna speak rashly and then regret it later
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All he's gonna do now instead of talking about you know what yes, I love you more than these other men or What have you he's gonna say
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I you know that I love you He's just keeping it simple And I'm sure that a lot of you here have heard
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Sermons about the difference between agape love and phileo love, right?
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the the Greek The two Greek words that are used here where Jesus first says, you know, do you agape me and Peter says well,
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I phileo you you know, I I like you I like you a lot you you are my friend and my you know, and and that kind of difference
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And I read a lot of commentaries and some of them make a big difference out of the two verbs some of them say there's no
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Difference at all others say well, wait a minute if there's no difference at all Then why does Jesus change the words and why does
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Peter use a different word? And I think those are all great arguments and I thought and I'm going I could wind up giving you another one of those sermons
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About why there's you know a big difference between Agape love and phileo love and we could just do this whole great big thing, but I don't think that's the heart of the issue.
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I think the heart of the issue ultimately is the restoration of Peter and I think
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Jesus comes at it a couple of different ways for a particular reason Because it wouldn't make any sense for him to say the exact same words over and over again
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Because it'd be asked and answered instead. There is a little shift and I think he's trying to move him toward the right mentality
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Peter had been disgraced By his own actions and now was going to be restored by the grace of God So that's question number one answer number one command number one
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Jesus. He said to him feed my lambs When we think about lambs, it's obviously a metaphor
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Jesus wants Peter to fully embrace His role as a shepherd of Christ's lamb a shepherd of the flock of God Hedrickson suggests that lambs are weak and immature hence in need of the strengthening food of the word
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So this is a call for Peter to preach and teach the Bible if Peter really loves
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Jesus He will respond by serving in this way Question number two from Jesus in verse 16.
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He said to him Jesus said to Peter a second time Simon son of John, do you love me?
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Again, this is agape. He's using the same time, but he doesn't make any reference to the disciples he asked
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Peter Directly, do you love me? And that's it. And again notice he addresses them as Simon son of John some
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Simon Barjona answer number two He said to him
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Peter said to Jesus yes, Lord, you know that I love you Exact same words that he answered with the first time around no difference command number two from Jesus Tend my sheep again
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Hedrickson suggests that sheep are prone to wander Right. We know this as we think about our own hearts.
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They're prone to wander and they are Dependent upon the shepherd. I mean, that's what makes the
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Shepherd sheep analogy so great in John chapter 10 Jesus is the
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Good Shepherd and he's asking Peter to be a faithful Undershepherd to take as it were the stewardship of the flock the church
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To devote his life to the church question number three verse 17
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He Jesus said to Peter the third time Simon son of John, do you love me?
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And as I said previously he'd used agap. Oh, I got pale in his questions, but now he uses phileo
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And some say, you know, this is to lower the bar you don't you don't think you can do this selfless love
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Well, how about if you just kind of give me, you know a lesser love? Again I don't think so.
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What I do know is that Jesus hasn't Hasn't fully achieved his purpose yet, or he would stop asking right?
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He's not done yet But I think he does get to the point here because Peter's answer gives that away look at answer number three and seventeen
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Peter was grieved And that's the point This needed to be seen and you can just kind of you can feel this whole thing building up Where Peter is just like he's he's thinking all these things, but now it comes to the front
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John can see it Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time.
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Do you love me and He Peter said to him listen
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Not not the same thing. He said before but Lord You know
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Everything you're omniscient. There's nothing that you don't know. There's nothing that's outside of your knowledge
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You know that I love you again,
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I think it's why the repetition why is
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Jesus still asking Peter's asking himself. Is there something that?
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I'm missing here something does he know something about me that I don't is there some hidden part of me that he's about to reveal
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Jesus knows Peter's heart. He knows where his true affections are and they're with Jesus Command number three
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Jesus said to him feed my sheep again,
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Henriksen says that Christ dear sheep are immature and in need of the tender and loving nourishment of the word night as I thought about what
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Henriksen said I thought here's the picture that he's painting and I think this is a good insight into pastoral ministry
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Yes, the pulpits preach and teach the Word of God, yes Love the sheep minister to them meet their physical and spiritual needs step two and step three here
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He's saying feed my sheep Counsel them come alongside them privately with the word in the light of Jesus tender care for Peter Despite his failures.
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There's the idea that Peter is to consider the members of the church to be
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His lambs to feed them to shepherd them To love them.
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Let me just go to first Peter. I think you know Even as I've been considering this passage this week
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I just thought I think I'm never going to read first Peter in quite the same way. I'm gonna read first Peter chapter 5 verses 1 to 4 and just think about this even as Somebody as Peter has received these instructions listen to how
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Peter then talks to others about shepherding the flock of God so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as Well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed
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Shepherd the flock of God that is among you Exercising oversight not under compulsion
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Right have this mind of Christ in you But willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock and When the chief shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory
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He just says listen. This is how you are to do things and I learned it from Jesus He did he learned these precise lessons from Jesus three times he denied
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Jesus now Peter has publicly affirmed his love for Jesus three times and Jesus has essentially restored him
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He's told him he's going to place him in charge of the care of the people of God and we're going to see that right as The church
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Just kind of explodes in the in the early book of Acts and continues to grow
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It needs leadership and Peter's there to be the leader This is as I said
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Our first end the end of Peter's estrangement from Christ That's the first end the second end the end of Peter's fishing career now.
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I'm kind of half joking about that but I thought this is
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If Peter had any thoughts about going back about turning back About going back into professional fishing.
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This is the the end of that Verse 18 as really
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Jesus tells him of what's going to happen in his future
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Truly truly verily verily. Amen. Amen is the Greek I say to you when you were young You used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted
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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
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This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God There was a time
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Where Peter was free to do whatever he wanted, right? he could go as he as he pleased do what he wanted but that time is over and In fact a day will come when
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Peter's hands will be stretched out and the picture there is one of basically a rest and Being led to the cross, but it's also a picture in the early church
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This came to be a figure of speech that was used. It meant that you were going to be
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Lashed to The cross that you would ultimately carry right and you would carry it up the hill
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If that's where you were crucified you were going to carry your own cross Now there's a tradition that Peter insisted on being crucified upside down, you know, because he wasn't worthy of being crucified as Jesus was but that as one commentator said
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I think it was roughly like it it's so Ethereal so sketchy that we can't really nail it down But John knowing this decades after the incident
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After Peter would have been put to death knows exactly what happened and I'm sure you know, even again as I as I think about these verses
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Paul writing Patmos around 90 AD After all this has transpired and he thinks you know what that's what
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Jesus said and then what happened Peter was put to death and Peter did glorify the
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Lord in his death. I just think you know for John I think reliving some of this thinking it through writing it down by the work of the
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Holy Spirit Some of this would have been joyous to think about to just think about for example
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Peter throwing himself out of the boat and going to see Jesus. I think that would have been great the breakfast great
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Thinking about Peter his friend being led to death It'd be difficult
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But the words of Jesus this prophecy of Jesus Put first Peter four in a new light.
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I'll read that you don't have to turn there First Peter 4 verses 12 to 16 beloved.
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Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes Upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you
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But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings That you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed
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Peter writes this Knowing that in front of him is what? The death that Jesus said was coming rejoice
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Verse 14 if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you
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But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler
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Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian What does it mean to be a
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Christian to be a follower of Jesus? Right? Jesus said follow me if Any of you suffers as a
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Christian let him not be ashamed But let him glorify God in that name
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Again Peter knows what's in his future. Jesus has told him that Jesus knows all things
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Peter said and as we think about these words of Peter in first Peter, it's both an exhortation to others
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But also a self reminder right when my time comes I Want to suffer well in a way that glorifies the
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Jesus that I really the core of my being love Now how should
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Peter respond to what Jesus has just told him about his future The Lord doesn't wait for an answer.
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I mean if you're Peter, what would you be thinking? Jesus just told you you know, you used to have freedom now you don't
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You're gonna serve me and let me tell you what your service is going to entail. It's going to entail you
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Suffering and you dying on a cross But he doesn't even wait for an answer.
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He says Verse 19 and after saying this he said to him follow me You're going to die serving me take up your cross and follow me
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So first hand the end of Peter's estrangement from Christ second the end of Peter's fishing career.
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He's now going to be serving Jesus for the rest of his life third the end of Peter's curiosity and and you know in a way this sounds kind of almost
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Immature, but I don't think it is Peter's concern turns to John look at verse 20
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Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them The one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and said
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Lord Who is it that is going to betray you when Peter saw him? He said to Jesus Lord.
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What about this man? John again identifying himself in a couple of different ways here without using his own name, which you know today we just go why don't you just say, you know, he saw me and But that's not this is just humility.
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This is the way they would write He wants to take himself out of the equation, but verse 21 really is the focus
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When Peter saw him he said to Jesus Lord, what about this man? Not what about you know, just some random person
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But what about my friend? What about your friend? What's gonna happen to him if I'm gonna be crucified for following you
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What's gonna happen to John? Jesus and Peter obviously are walking
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John is following them And again, it's
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John writing this and it shows the depth. I think of the friendship between Peter and John There's a closeness even if we think back to the
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Last Supper how? John is Reclining on the bosom of Jesus because that's how they would do it they were all lean on somebody and John is next to Jesus leaning on him and Peter sees him and Jesus just said, you know, one of you is going to betray me.
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And so Peter looks at John and just kind of gives him the signal like find out who it is
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And he does right he he asks so that Jesus tips them those two off anyway close friends
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It's always Peter James and John the three of them together What's Jesus response
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What's gonna happen to John verse 22 basically none of your business Jesus said to him if it is my will that he remains until I come what is that to you you follow me?
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Peter knows that Jesus is all powerful. I mean who could come back from the dead?
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Who could command fish who could create breakfast? Who was this man who'd done all these miracles throughout the gospel of John?
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Well, it had to be God God in the flesh But this is a question above Peters pay grade, you know
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You ever work for a boss and they say you have no need to know that. I Used to hear that all the time
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I Still hear it from time to time all
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Peter needs to do. All he needs to be focused on is Following Jesus obeying
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Jesus doing what Jesus wants him to do And I think you know, I don't
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I don't make a lot of application I want the Holy Spirit to do that, but I do think you know, there's For us.
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I think there is an implication here. We often I think this is true of a lot of us We read the we read the
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Bible and we recognize what we need to do And what do we want to do though?
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We want to get distracted by well, what about what about what abouts? And I think there is that lesson here
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Jesus says here's what I want you to do Peter. You take care of the flock of God You preach that to them you teach them you come alongside them you strengthen them
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You come alongside them with the word privately you you need to equip them for the work of ministry do all these things
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And Peter says what well, what about John? Okay, let's go back to you.
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Follow me now also here
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John puts an end to a rumor verse 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that is to say among the church, you know spread far and wide
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That this disciple again talking about himself. John was not to die
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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?
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So this idea is going around that maybe John's not going to die In fact, I think I heard that I know
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I heard it in the Mormon Church the idea that John might still be alive right,
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I'm like Dude must be about two and a half feet tall by now, you know Gravity works, but you could see how what
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Jesus said here could really get made into a mess, right? If you just kind of hear it secondhand and things start.
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Well, that must mean That as long as John is alive Well, you know, it's we haven't missed the
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Lord's return Now if he was dead, then we got a problem But Jesus isn't saying anything about his return
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But rather that Peter should not concern himself with the Lord's plans.
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He's saying essentially I'm in charge You're not don't worry about the things that you can't control
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Do what I've commanded you to do So three ends the end of Peter's estrangement from Christ the end of Peter's fishing career the end of Peters curiosity and now number for the end of This gospel and we see a few things here
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To exactly its veracity its truthfulness and its incompleteness and you say
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Hang on verse 24 its veracity Veracity John writes this is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things and who has written these things and we know that his
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Testimony is true There's a present participle here Bearing witness it means or testifying.
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It just means that it's ongoing. It's completely true right up to this point, right? 100 % bearing witness about these things
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John wrote the gospel of John duh, and he's saying listen, this is me writing this now this
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There is an interesting pronoun here and we know that his testimony is true. What is the we there are several?
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considerations here several thoughts but I think generally speaking if we just view it as John writing or maybe somebody writing with him there maybe his hand got tired or something, but the idea it's kind of a
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It includes John and is we know that his testimony is true. I think it's a royal we probably more than anything else
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Not that he thinks highly of himself. He's just saying this is true and I it's kind of adding solemnity to it
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Secondly, it's incompleteness What do I mean by that? Well what John means by that? Not that the gospel is incomplete because it is complete
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It says everything that the Holy Spirit by the hand of John intended for it to say but verse 25
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Now there are also many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be written I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written
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Now when you think about that, that's kind of an amazing statement, isn't it? All the world could not hold the books.
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Well, what does that mean? It would just imagine All the speculations that are out there about what it may have happened
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I don't know if Jesus went to India and all these other things, you know, what if what if what if what if?
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But even just having God in the flesh walk the earth things happen. They wouldn't ordinarily happen
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We already know from John chapter 20 that there you know That he writes about some things and he doesn't write about other things.
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Well, that's true of all the gospel writers they choose From the works and wonders of Jesus.
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We don't even have all of his words, right? We don't have everything that he ever said we just have those things that they wanted to Highlight that they wanted to use and highlight various acts aspects of who
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Jesus is Now in concluding this gospel
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Even just in the last chapter. We've seen his omniscience which is to say his all -knowingness
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We've seen his omnipotence his all -powerfulness that he can do anything
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And we've established that he did things that only God could do
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But John's gospel does more than that He tells us that Jesus always existed as God and yet he entered into the earth as a man
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He created the world then he came into it. He took on that second nature as he as a man and then fully submitted
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To the law of God did everything that was in the father's will Obeyed the law perfectly he was in fact as John the
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Baptist said the lamb who Takes away the sin of the world. He had to be spotless.
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He had to be without blemish He had to be without sin Jesus showed us the father perfectly reflecting the father's glory to us in terms of his words and his works
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Jesus in this gospel is falsely accused wrongly convicted and wickedly crucified and then victoriously rises from the grave on the third day just as he said he would
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I Think the best way to probably conclude this is by saying follow him
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Follow Jesus, let's pray our father.
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We confess that we are prone to wander prone to Procrastinate prone to put off the things that you have commanded us to do just like Peter prone to look at other other ways to occupy ourselves rather than By Just doing the things that you have called us to do father we think of the depth of your mercy
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When we look at the life of Peter we see him three times Deny even knowing
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Jesus deny being one of his disciples Abandoned him after he's crucified
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Be stunned by his resurrection even though you told him That you would rise from the grave
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Then we think of the tenderness we see the tenors of Jesus in restoring him father.
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We know That there is no sin That we could have done that you cannot forgive in Christ Jesus when he went to the cross
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His death was sufficient For all who would ever believe his death paid the price for all who would ever believe all their sins past present and future
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We rejoice in that we thank you for the gospel John we thank you for the portrait it paints of our
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Savior Draws to it again and again that we might know Jesus That we might long
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To serve him to have fellowship with him That we might see him