Keep Your Eyes on Jesus and Future Glory
David W Palmer
(John 21:18–19 NKJV) “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” {19} This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Jesus had just finished re-commissioning and assigning Peter to the ministry role of shepherding his church. Next, Jesus gave Peter a warning about the parallel journey—suffering. In this passage, Jesus hinted at the martyr’s death Peter would face as a consequence of obediently following Jesus. Later, Peter wrote:
(1 Peter 2:20–21 APE) “… But when you do what is good and they afflict you and you endure, then it magnifies your honor with God. {21} For you are called to this, for even The Messiah died for our sake and left us this example, that you would walk in his steps.”
Peter fully understood and explained clearly that our call to follow Jesus, to walk in the Spirit, and to be led by him, will inevitably lead to the type of suffering he described—the suffering that comes because you are obeying Jesus. (He is not talking about the suffering that comes because of rebellion and disobedience to Jesus (See: Psalm 107:17).)
During his time of ministering to the church in Jerusalem, Peter suffered arrest and beating for his faith (Acts 5:18, 40; 12:4–11). Church history records that he was later crucified, dying the martyr’s death Jesus had predicted.
Yes, suffering in many ways—demonic attack, affliction, persecution, ostracism, and rejection—accompanies obedience to Jesus’s call and assignment. But this is insignificant when compared to the glory that awaits those who are faithful to the end; both Peter and Paul confirmed this truth:
(Romans 8:18 NKJV) “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
(1 Peter 4:13 NKJV) “But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
In verse 19 of John 21 (written above), we see that Jesus concluded his declaration of Peter’s future with the same words with which he had originally called him: “Follow me.” Jesus brought him—and us—back to this as the very foundation of our whole Christian experience. Let’s do everything and see everything in the context of the call to follow Jesus—both in his footsteps, and by being led by his Holy Spirit.
After being assigned to pastor and called to follow—something that he should have kept as an exclusive agreement between himself and Jesus—Peter succumbed to a distracting temptation; he compared himself to another of Jesus’s followers:
(John 21:20–22 NKJV) Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” {21} Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” {22} Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
After hearing that his call and ministry would cost his life, Peter wanted to know about John’s future. Perhaps John’s assignment would have him reveling in luxury, enjoying prosperity, and living as a celebrity. Peter may have been tempted with jealousy over what may appear to be an easier journey for someone Jesus seems to favor. He protested, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus’s response is one we should all take to heart: “If I … what is that to you? You follow me.”
Jesus doesn’t want us to take our eyes off him—even for a second:
(Hebrews 12:1–2 NLT) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run w
