John 21:19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me
In John 21, John ends his gospel the same way it began, with Jesus calling followers to Him. Jesus had said in the very beginning, “Follow me,” and at the very end of John’s gospel Jesus says once again to the disciples who had already begun to follow Him, “Follow me.”
John 21:1 says, “After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.” John has already given a kind of conclusion to this gospel in the last verse of John 20. He says, “These are written that ye might believe.” But chapter 21 seems to be an addendum. Verse 1 begins, “After these things Jesus shewed himself against to the disciples…” In verse 3, “Simon Peter saith unto them [other disciples], I go fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.” Now, fishing for fish is not bad, but it isn’t following. Jesus had said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Peter was not fishing for men and leading people to Christ at this moment. He was fishing for fish. Why was he not following?
Are you following Christ? I didn’t ask you if you were saved, loved the Lord Jesus, or had biblical ethics. I asked you if you are following Jesus. Fishing is not bad, but it is not following. Why would we not follow? Peter shows us some reasons why people have stopped following.
First, a preoccupation with the past can keep us from following Christ. Peter had tried following Christ. He had failed miserably. He had denied Christ. Perhaps Peter was thinking, “I’ve tried following Jesus. I can’t do it.” Well, he was right. He can’t. You cannot do what you need to do, but Christ can. As you live in obedience, He gives you the grace to do what you cannot do.
Peter was essentially going back to do what he could do without Jesus, what he was successful at doing. He was a professional fisherman. Ironically, the Bible says that they caught nothing that night. I think Jesus was helping Peter to see that even if you are doing what you are naturally gifted to do, you are nothing without Jesus. He said this in John 15, “Without me ye can do nothing.”
Jesus appears on the scene. He tells the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the ship. At that moment they did not know it was Jesus, but they cast in their net on the other side and they caught a net full of fish. There were 153 fish. We know thousands of years later how many fish Peter caught. Why? I think it is included to help us know that God knows every detail. So, we can be kept from following Jesus because of failures or successes in the past.
Secondly, a fear of the future can keep us from following Christ. In verse 19 Jesus indicated how Peter would die, He says, “This spake he signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” How do you like that? Jesus says, “Peter you are going to die for following me…now, follow me.” It strikes me that the Lord knows the future better than I can even know the past. The Bible tells us how many fish they caught in the net. Sometimes I can’t even remember what happened yesterday, yet not knowing what the future holds can keep us from following Christ as we should. Do you want to know everything that will happen in the future? I think at the end of the day we really don’t want to know, yet God’s grace is sufficient for the day and the moment. He knows the future. He is already there. He will guide and provide for you.
Finally, preoccupation with others can keep us from following Christ. Peter saw John standing around after Jesus had made His prediction about Peter’s future, and Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” Jesus replied, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” Jesus never said that John was not going to die. He just said, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? follow thou me.” When I get my eyes on other people, how I compare to them, how I am better than they are, or they are better than I am, I become distracted.
I don’t need to worry about what is behind, ahead, or who is on the road with me. I need to put my focus on the One Who owns this universe and leads me into the future. Fishing is not bad, but it is not following. The Lord will lead as we follow. God gives us the grace to put aside the past, to not fear the future, and to focus on the One Who goes before us.