Let us turn to that portion of
Holy Scripture that we read at the end of the Gospel according
to St. John in John chapter 21. And I want to draw your attention
to words that we find at the end of verse 22. John 21, the
end of verse 22. What is that to thee? Follow thou me. What is that to thee? Follow thou me. Words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the final words of Christ
that we have here in this Gospel. And looking at the context, We
see that they're words that were spoken to Simon Peter. See how there at the end of verse
18, the Lord says to him, follow me. Then Peter turning about,
saith the disciple whom Jesus loved, that would be John, following,
which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, Lord, which
is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus,
Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If
I will that he tarry till I come. What is that to thee? Follow
thou me. And the theme, the subject matter
I want to take up is simply that Christ is the way. Here we have
the way of Christ. Here we have the way of salvation. Remember how previously he says
in chapter 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. One of those many great statements,
those I am statements that we have in this gospel as we see
that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, he is the son of God,
he is that one who has come, the image of the invisible God
and so in John we have this wonderful revelation of him who is I am
that I am and the Lord Jesus is amongst other things the way,
I am the way he says. What is that to the follow thou
me? and with regards to this way
I want to mention some three things this evening first of
all to notice that there are sufferings in the way there are
temptations also in the way but finally there is safety in the
way first of all let's say something then with regards to sufferings
in the way. And we see this in the in the
context what the Lord is saying to Simon Peter, the one whom
he is speaking with. Look back at the 18th verse,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest
thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another
shall guard thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This
spake he, signifying by what death he, that is, Simon Peter,
should glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he said unto him, Follow me." Now, the language there in verse
18, we might say, is somewhat obscure and dark. but there is surely some significance
even in that fact that the Lord speaks in such a fashion because
the way of the Lord is not always an easy way, far from it. The
psalmist says thy way is in the sun and thy path in the great
waters and thy footsteps are not known and so the Lord quite
deliberately speaks in this somewhat obscure fashion onto Simon Peter
as he is explaining those things that are going to befall him. How often as we find ourselves
walking in that way, that narrow way, we feel as if we have to
grope so much for the why. We're so unsure and so uncertain. Remember the language that we
find in the book of Isaiah 59 verse 10 we grope for the wall
like the blind he says and we grope as if we had no eyes we
stumble at noonday as in the night we are in desolate places
as dead men or sometimes the way that the Christian has to
walk as he is a follower, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, it
is a difficult way. God has said in Scripture concerning
his people, I will bring the blind by a way that they know
not. There is always that mystery
in the ways of the Lord, the way in which the Lord works in
his providences. So often it seems that they are
contrarian. It's not the way that we would
naturally choose for ourselves. And so we see here with regards
to Simon Peter as the Lord bids him to follow in that way. It is a way that ultimately is
going to lead to death. Having had that statement in
the 18th verse concerning the girding of himself and then another
girding him and leading him in a way that he would not choose,
this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify
God. Ultimately, it will come to that
he must die as he walks in that narrow way that is leading to
life everlasting. And Peter never forgot that. Peter was ever mindful of that.
He refers to this incident when he writes there in his second
epistle in chapter 1 and verse 14, knowing, he says, that shortly
I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ
hath showed me. He knew. He remembered the words
of the Lord Jesus. And what is it that the Lord
is saying to him? There, in verse 18, there is
a certain contrast, we might say. The contrast between Freedom
and liberty on the one hand and then on the other hand the complete
lack of any liberty. Captivity we might say. When
he was young, as a young man he would gird himself. Remember
how there in the Middle East at that time, still today I suppose,
they do wear flowing garments because in the great heat that
is a much cooler form of attire. And if a man wants to do anything
that involves any effort he would gird himself, he would have a
girdle and he would gather up his flowing garments. And that's
what Peter would do as a young man. He was free. He could gird
himself. He could do the thing that he
pleased to do. He had complete liberty. And he uses that figure again
when he's writing in his epistles. In 1 Peter 1.13 he says, gird
up the loins of your mind Be sober and hope to the end, as
you would gird up your garments to engage in some activity. So,
with regards to the mind, using a figure of speech, gird up the
loins of your mind, or make sure that you're sober-minded. consider the word of God, the
promises of God. As those who are professing the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ you have a blessed hope. And
so he's encouraging those that he is addressing himself to in
that epistle that they should gird up the loins of their minds
just as they do that in a real and a physical sense. That's
the figure he uses. But when all This is the contrast
he's making there in verse 18. When old he says, another will
guard thee and they will guide thee and lead thee and carry
thee where you wouldn't go. Your liberty is now gone. This
is the figure then that he is using and ultimately what is
going to happen, they're going to lead you to death. Really what the Lord is saying
here, that he is going to eventually endure a martyr's death. That will be the end of his life,
martyrdom. Here then the Lord is speaking
to him of a way that will involve sufferings. And there's an inevitability
about it. It's the word of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's the word of God. He's not
a man that he should lie. He's not the son of man that
he should repent. Has he said it? Shall he not do it? Has he
spoken it? Shall he not make it good? And
see how the Lord there in verse 18 prefixes what He is saying
to him. Verily, verily, I say unto thee. And you know the force of those
verilies. The word is literally Amen. Amen. It's a Greek word. It's
translated verily here in our authorised version. It might
equally as well as being translated as the word truly it means so be it that's the force of the word
we use it of course usually at the end of prayer we say our
Amen so be it when we close our prayer and here it's used to
emphasize the truth of what the Lord is saying What the Lord
is stating to Peter is something that is certainly going to take
place. It's going to happen. It's not
just a single verily. It's a double verily. And we
find many double verilies in the Gospel according to St. John. And the double verilies
often fall from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. There is an inevitability. And
friends, that is true with regards to us and our lives. There is a certain inevitability. We sang it just now, of course,
in our opening praise, that lovely hymn of John Fawcett, concerning
the way in which the Lord leads His people, He led them forth
by the right ways, the text, that stands at the head of the
hymn here in Gadsby's. And he asks the questions there
in verse 5. Is this, dear Lord, that thorny
road which leads us to the mount of God? Are these the toils thy
people know while in this wilderness below? Previously it says, temptations
everywhere, annoyance, sins and snares of make me sigh. My earthly
joys are from me torn and often absent God I mourn. It's a strange,
it's a mysterious way. It is a way of sufferings and
it cannot be avoided. Remember again the language of
Peter. It's Peter again who is so aware of these things there
in his first epistle in the opening chapter of verse 6. He says,
Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The trying of faith
in the midst of sufferings. And there's a need to be there.
Now for a season, he says, if need be. It is necessary. And the Lord knows when it is
necessary. All this way that Simon Peter
is to walk in is the way of suffering, inevitably so. And as there are
sufferings, so it's a life of changes. Life will not always
be as it was. There will be those changes.
Why? The psalmist speaks of those
who have no changes. In Psalm 55 he says, Because
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. He's speaking
of the ungodly. The ungodly. In contrast to Godly, why that
man knows something of changes, and certainly that was the experience
of the apostle. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither
thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou
shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee,
and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. or that life which involves
many changes, it's an in and out, it's an up and down sort
of life that the believer must travel. And of course you're
aware of how John Bunyan paints it all so wonderfully when he
describes the journey of Christian from the city of destruction
to the celestial city. It's the narrow way that leads
to life. sufferings in the way. And then,
secondly, to say something with regards to temptations in the
way. Temptations. The hymn writer
says, this way that's found by few, ten thousand snares beset,
to turn the seekers' steps aside and trap the travelers for it. There are snares and traps in
the way, because there is an adversary. There is Satan. And again, Peter, doesn't Peter
speak of that terrible foe? 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant,
he says, because your adversary. as a roaring lion walketh about
seeking whom he may devour. Oh, the devil, you see, he's
an active foe, and he will seek many times to entrap the pilgrim's
feet, and cause the child of God to slip, or he'll come with
his subtle temptations and seek to draw the child of God aside
out of the narrow way into by-path madder aware to be those then
who are not ignorant of his devices he is so subtle, so clever he
can even use small things and by small things he catches us
out it's interesting to see what is happening here It seems that
as the Lord is speaking with Simon Peter and the other disciples
are there, then the Lord begins to walk away. He has spoken to Peter there
in verse 18, and we're told, signifying by what debt he should
glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he saith, unto him, that is, unto Peter, follow me. And the Lord must be walking
away now, then Peter turning about, seeth the disciple whom
Jesus loved following. The Lord is, as it were, in the
circumstances, calling Peter aside from the other disciples,
but not surprisingly. John, the disciple whom the Lord
loved, who leans on his breast, so familiar with the Lord, Peter
turns around and there's John. And Peter seeing him says to
Jesus, Lord, what shall this man do? Now, the significant thing here,
in a sense, is how quickly Peter is diverted, his attention is
diverted. It's so easy, this is Peter,
you see. But isn't this how Satan can
take advantage, can take advantage of Peter and the sort of man
that he is? He's a man so impetuous, so impulsive,
we know that. Remember that great miracle when
the Lord walks on the waters to go to the disciples and there
they are and they're in the midst of the sea and they're fearful
because a storm has has brewed up and now the Lord is coming
this strange sight a man walking on the waters to them and Peter
When he sees that it's the Lord, he's soon out of the boat and
he's walking himself on the waters to go where the Lord is. But
then he saw the wind boisterous, we're told, and he was afraid.
And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And when the Lord is in the boat,
subsequently Peter is safe and sound, but the Lord rebukes him
there of little faith. Oh, but Peter, you see, His eyes
are so quickly diverted. The Lord had said, follow me.
But he turns and he sees, he sees John. And it's a simple diversion,
but it's a diversion. And now he's not following the
Lord as he should. He's not doing that that the Lord has commanded.
The Lord says, no man having put his hand to the plough and
looking back, is worthy of the kingdom of God. There can be
no looking back. Or remember how at the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot's wife looked back and was turned into
a pillar of salt. All those that look back are
not worthy of the kingdom of God. Now we must not be unduly
hard on Simon Peter. Surely, surely it is good to
have an interest in the well-being of others. It's good to have
a concern for others. Is he not a mark of the grace
of God within us when we love the brethren? Why Christ says
here in chapter 13 and verse 35, By this shall all men know
that you are my disciples. when you have love one for another.
All doubtless these men, they loved one another. The Lord,
their Master had died. They'd experienced remarkable
things. They'd previously had proofs
of his resurrection. He had appeared to them on those
two occasions in the upper room. We were reading earlier today
there in chapter 20 how he appeared and showed them his scars, and
how Thomas was not present, and then on the following Lord's
Day, the first day of the week, he appears again, and now he's
appeared the third time. Oh, how strange! How strange
have their experiences been, but they're still together. And
here they are, they seem not to know what they should be doing.
They were together, Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and
two other of his disciples. And it's Peter who says, I go
a fishing. And they all say, we also go
with them. And it's then that the Lord appears to them. It
is such a strange situation, a strange scene, but they love
one another. And they want to be together.
They are still those who were the disciples of the Lord. And
again, think of the language of John in his first epistle.
We know, he says, we know that we have passed from death unto
life because we love the brethren. That's a wonderful statement,
is it not? Sometimes maybe we find encouragement
when we are full of doubts and fears as to the reality of our
experience. Do we really know the Lord? Are
we really those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have
we really tasted of the goodness and the grace of God? We've never
seen the Lord, but we know the brethren. Or do we love the brethren? And it's not only the brethren
that are alive, sometimes there might be those books on our bookshelves,
the writings of gracious men and women of old, and we've read
something of them and their writings, their experiences or their teachings,
and we've felt such a union to them. And then we think, well,
I love the brethren. There are those who are my dear
brethren, there are those who I've never met in the flesh but
I've read something of them and I have a real love for them and
surely I must be one then who is a true follower of the Lord
Jesus. We know, says John. It's an assurance. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. Let us not then
be too hard on this man the Lord says follow me but Peter
turning about see if the disciple whom Jesus loved following and
now he's concerned about John and in many ways that's good
but he should not be turning about Think of the language of the
church or we could say the language of the individual believer there
in the Song of Solomon crying out, My own vine have I not kept? My own vine have I not kept? What is that to thee? says the
Lord to Simon Peter. What is that to thee? Follow thou mine and see now
how this call is much more emphatic at the end of verse 19 when the
Lord begins to walk away he simply says to Simon Peter follow me
but now the personal pronoun is inserted and he says not just
follow me he says follow thou And it's a singular pronoun.
That's the beauty again of our authorized version. It distinguishes
the singular from the plural. The word thou, that's a singular.
It's very personal, this. Oh, it's the Lord. You see, the
Gospel call is personal. And the Gospel call is direct. And the Gospel call is really
so, so simple. Back in Isaiah 35 we're told
the wayfaring men though false shall not err therein in this
narrow way or there is a blessed simplicity in the gospel and
it comes to us so not only so simply it comes to us so directly
the Lord speaks and how when the Lord speaks to a man how
He addresses that man And that call, you see, is the call of
one who has authority. Here we have again the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ, as he addresses this man. Where
the word of a king is, there is power, we're told in the book
of Ecclesiastes. And this is the word of a king.
This is the word of that one who has just overcome death,
he was conquered sin and death he was vanquished satan and vanquished
the grime all what power and he says to Simon Peter what is
that? to thee follow thou mine and
so finally I want us to come to this, we've said something
with regards to this way of crisis, way of salvation being a way
of sufferings, and it's a way of temptation. Satan is not inactive. But it is a way of safety. There's safety in the way. There's
safety in the way. And where do we see that safety? Primarily we see it in this,
that the Saviour is sovereign. The Saviour is sovereign. His
call of grace is always an effectual call when He calls His disciples. What do we read there in Mark?
Mark 3, 13, He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth to him
whomsoever he would. And they came unto him, and he
ordained twelve that they should be with him. He goes up into
a mountain, and He calls on to Him whom? Whomsoever He would. It's His will. It's His sovereign
will that is so paramount. Now, do we not previously have
the detail of the way in which He called those first apostles? In the very first chapter of
Mark, there in Mark chapter 1, And verse 16, we're told, Now
as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother
casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus
said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become
fishers of men. And straightway they forsook
their nets and followed him. And when he had gone a little
further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
And straightway he called them, and they left their father Zebedee
in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Who is called, you see. The call
of Christ in the Gospel when he comes to his people is an
effectual call. We believe in that. We believe
in that. You know that it's one of the
five points of Calvinism, as we call them. Total depravity,
unconditional re-election, limited atonement, irresistible grace,
and the perseverance of the sons. There it is. The last but one
of those famous points, the irresistibility of the grace of God, the effectual
call of the gospel. And that's how the Gospel came
to those Thessalonians. Oh, it came not in word only. It came in power. It came in
the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. And Paul says to them there in
the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians for this cause also thank we
God without ceasing because when ye receive the word of God which
ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as
it is in truth the word of God which effectually worketh also
in you that believe it's an effectual word and this is the word you
see of the Lord Jesus Christ when he says what is that to
the follow thou me whatever objections any of you might make if that
call comes you see the Lord's call cannot be resisted it is
the word of a king and he makes his people willing in the day
of his power follow thou oh it's personal follow thou me And as we see this sovereignty
in the core, so also there is a sovereign saviour, remember,
behind all those sufferings, and all those temptations, that
are involved as we're walking in this narrow way. Remember what Peter can say when
he writes, we've already referred to those words, writing in his
second epistle, concerning himself and his dying even as our Lord
Jesus Christ has shown. Oh, the Lord Jesus is that one
who is sovereign, a time to be born, a time to die. And had
not the Lord shown something of that to Peter? He that for
me in the womb, he shall guide me to the tomb, all my times
shall ever be subject to his wise decree. Oh, how true are
the words of John Ryland in the hymn. And the Lord, you see,
is that One who is Sovereign. And Christ is that One who has
gone before. That's the wonder of it. Twice
we have it here, at the end of verse 19, and here at the end
of verse 22, it's followed. It's followed. The Lord Himself
the Good Shepherd. He goes before the sheep, and
they follow Him. And He gives unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. It's a following of Him. And
Christ has gone before, and He's gone before in that path, that
way of sufferings, and that way of temptations. Or we know how
at the very beginning of His earthly ministry He was so sorely
tempted. even after his baptizing. And
the Father had said, from heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. And the wicked devil, he immediately
challenges that word. If thou be the Son of God. If
thou be the Son of God. Oh, what an if! How the Lord
is so tempted at the very beginning of his earthly ministry, and
the devil only leaves him for a season. The devil, we're told,
left him for a season, just a little while. And when he comes to the
end of his ministry, can he not say to his disciples, ye are
they which have continued with me in my temptations, in my temptations
all his life? Oh, he knew what sort of temptations
were. he knew what sufferings were and believers have to follow
him unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to
believe on his name but also to suffer for his sake says Paul the way of faith it's the way
of sufferings where there is faith there is a trying of faith Ah, but what does the Apostle
say in that he himself has suffered being tempted? He is able to
succor them that are tempted. Oh, he has suffered and he can
succor because he knows our experiences. That's the wonder of the Lord.
We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, we are told, but was tempted in all points
like as we are, yet without seeing. Therefore let us come boldly
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in every time of need. O the Lord Jesus, He is
that one who has gone before, and that's the comfort of the
child of God. Though a cup seems filled with gore, there's something
secret sweetens all. It's the way of the Lord. It's
following Him. It's following Him in the way.
And He is that one who is sovereign in all these things. And His
sovereignty is an absolute sovereignty. Think of the book of Job. and
all that befell that dear man of God and it's all quite clearly
the scene is set there in the opening chapters all the devil
is there but the devil is no free agent he cannot do anything
without the Lord's when the sons of God come to present themselves
remember there in in the opening chapter in the second chapter
It's as if Satan has to receive leave from God and yet God is
not the author of sin. Oh, there's much that's mysterious
here. But surely there in the book of Job we see quite clearly
the absolute sovereignty of our God. In all the troubles and
the trials and the sufferings that come to Job, over it all
is the sovereignty of God. and He is sovereign even in temptations. We are told quite clearly, there
hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man.
But God is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted
above that you are able, but will with the temptation make
a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Oh, it's
the comfort you see, and it's the safety of the sovereignty
of God. in this way that Simon Peter
must walk in. What is that to thee? Follow
thou me. It's enough. It's enough to know
if we're following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ, all
is safe, all is secure. And then finally there's this
here, there's a sanctifying purpose in all of the Lord's dealings
with us. Again, back in Isaiah 35 and
verse 8, And highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall
be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass therein. Well, this is the way of the
Lord. It is that way of holiness. And all the Lord's dealings are
to that end. What's the point? What's the
purpose of chastenings? but we're told there in Hebrews
12 it's for our profit that we might be partakers of His holiness
that's what the Lord is doing it's profitable it's so we might
be partakers of that holiness that belongs to the Lord sanctify them through thy truth
thy word is truth isn't that the the prayer of the Lord Jesus
previously here in in chapter 17 and verse 17 he prays for
their sanctification we've considered over these past weeks here in
these closing chapters of of John's gospel something of the
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and amongst other things we thought
of that authority that we see in his prayer there in chapter
17 we thought of his His sovereignty
in all His sufferings. Remember what we've considered
there previously in the beginning of chapter 18 when He declares
Himself to be the Great Jehovah, the I AM that I AM. When they
come to lay hands upon Him in the garden and to arrest Him,
they cannot touch Him. They are seeking Jesus. And what does He say? I am He. But the He, remember, in italics
introduced by the translation, by the translators, literally
He says to them, I am. And they fall backward. And they
cannot touch Him. No, He voluntarily goes that
way of suffering, and then on the cross He cries out, it is
finished. And He yields up the ghost. No
man able to take his life, he has authority, he has power to
lay that life down. And he has authority, power to
take that life again. And so, this morning, we can
see that out there, in the previous chapter, chapter 20, we see him
in all his resurrection power. As he demonstrates to his own
disciples the reality of that resurrection. all the authority
of the Lord Jesus and here we see it now in salvation when
he comes to a man and when he addresses a man and when he calls
a man to be a follower of him and he says to us what is that
to them follow thou me or God grant grace to us each that we
might be those who would truly follow the Lord Jesus Christ
or that He might come to us and speak these words so personally,
just as He spoke to that single man, Simon Peter. What is that to thee? Follow thou mine. May the Lord
bless to us His Word. Amen.