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God’s Ultimate Purpose for Us
Getting Closer to Jesus: When Peter, whom the Lord had just told what kind of death he would suffer, asked Jesus, “Oh yeah, what kind of ending do you have planned for John?” And Jesus shot back, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”
“What is that to you?” In other words, “Mind your own business! You worry about what you need to do, and I will take care of what I need to do.” That’s the gist of what Jesus was saying to Peter.
Jesus had been drilling down to some issues that needed to be resolved in this rough fisherman-turned disciple. It was a difficult conversation that needed to happen before Peter could become the rock-solid apostle Jesus had in mind, and Peter did what so many of us do: When the spotlight got focused on him a little too brightly, he tried to deflect that light to some of John’s flaws.
Jesus kept the focus right where it needed to be: “Peter, quit worrying about what will happen to John and just focus on what I’ve called you to do. If I allow him to stay alive until I return, that is none of your business. You’ve got enough to worry about just taking care of your own junk, let alone John’s. Just take care of you and you’ll be fine!”
Not bad advice! Wouldn’t we save ourselves a whole lot of wasted energy by just minding our own spiritual business? I know that’s true for me. The time and emotional drain I spend worrying whether someone else is walking with Jesus the way I think they should takes away from the spiritual energy that could be focused on growing me up in Christ.
Now that is not to say that we should never express loving concern for another believer’s spiritual progress. Sometimes the people we care deeply about frankly need to step it up in their growth as a disciple of Jesus—and we need to call them out on that. However, since spiritual formation is an ongoing process that will not conclude until the day we die and reach heaven, you and I need to remember that we, too, need to step it up!
So the next time you have an urge to voice a “concern” about what another sister has said or how another brother is living or what another local shepherd is doing or the kind of theology a prominent Tele-evangelist is espousing, just remember what Jesus said to Peter: “What is that to you? Just worry about you and make sure you are following me!”
You see, those people you are worried about will have to answer to God for their lives one day, but so will you. And since it is highly unlikely that you will be able to change them one bit by all the energy you spend worrying about their spiritual condition anyway, try devoting that same energy to your own obedience. Besides, if you really want to see them change, the better focus of your efforts would be to pray for them. Spend at least as much time bringing them before the Father in prayer as you do thinking and talking about how upsetting they are to you.
Do that, and change will happen, all right—but it will be you who changes! So mind our own business today—it is not such a bad thing to do!
Take the Next Step: Think about the top five things you find irritating in the people you live, work, or worship with. What does your irritation over those things reveal about you? Ask the Holy Spirit for discernment as you process this, and then surrender what is revealed about you to God.
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God's Ultimate Purpose for Us
Getting Closer to Jesus: The disciples were reeling with the resurrection—in both delightful and disappointing ways. That Jesus rose from the grave was the ultimate game-changer for them. This proved beyond all doubt that Jesus was who he claimed to be—God in flesh, the Lord of life and Savior of the world—and it removed any question that he would do what he said he could do—forgive sin, cure disease, deliver the demonized, give abundance, and in fact, grant eternal life. For them, this was the truly greatest news ever!
Yet Jesus wasn’t quite fulfilling their expectations of a resurrected Lord. He wasn’t throwing off the yoke of the Roman Empire and reestablishing Israel as the world’s superpower. (Acts 16) He hadn’t wiped out sin and instituted the rule of God’s kingdom on earth. He didn’t set the disciples up as ruling governors in his ascending government. To their disappointment, the disciples awakened post-resurrection to the mundane realization that they needed to go back to work to make a living—and even that wouldn’t be easy:
Simon Peter told his fellow disciples, “I’m going out to fish.” And they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (John 21:30)
And even while Jesus kept appearing in the banal grittiness of their post-resurrection reality, both proving his sovereignty over life and death as well as providing fresh miracles in their daily toil, he also kept forcing difficult conversations on them. Jesus was continuing to ferret out their selfish desires and false expectations and limiting ideas of what was next.
Peter, in particular, was getting roughed up. In order to restore Peter after he denied Jesus three times on the night of his arrest, Jesus sat with Peter and point-blank asked him three times if he truly loved the Lord, much to Peter’s discomfort. (John 21:15-17) Then, when Jesus was satisfied with his response, he revealed to Peter the cheery news that he was going to die a very undignified, unpleasant death:
I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go. (John 21:18)
Then we are told something that is most unusual, although, which at this point, should come as no surprise, either to Peter back then, or us right now: “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.” Then Jesus followed that difficult statement up by saying to Peter—and to you and me, by extension: “Follow me!” (John 21:19)
As we have seen throughout the Gospel of John, the glory of God was the most significant theme in the life and message of Jesus. There has been no more passionate pursuit, no greater focus, no greater investment than to use his earthly time to promote God’s glory. And it is clear he expects his disciples to take up this very theme in their lives, through their message and even in their deaths. Yes, even in the way that Jesus will arrange for them to die, with their dying breath, they will lift glory to Almighty God.
What we learn from this, among other things, is that sooner or later, to be an authentic follower of Christ, we must come to grips with the fact that God’s agenda is quite different than ours. Peter had to learn it; so must we. Truth be told, until our dying day, we will wrestle with a sin nature that continues to insist on our own way, that our will be done, and that God fulfill our ideas of how his kingdom should play out.
Yet the Resurrected Lord will remind us, for as long and as often as it takes, that we are not the center of the universe, God is, and that God does not exist for our sake, but we exist for his glory alone. And when we get that—as Peter ultimately did—we will be well on our way to living out the ultimate purpose for the transference of Christ’s resurrection power and life to us: for the glory of God alone.
The Gospel of John ends with the reminder that all the books in the library of human language can never contain the story of Jesus, not by a long stretch. (John 21:25) Truly, how could the glory of God ever be contained? It can’t—especially when untold myriads of fully devoted Christ followers, every day throughout the world, for the rest of time, are living out their lives for the glory of God alone!
As Jesus said to Peter, he says to you and me, “Follow me—in life and in death. Soli Deo gloria!”
Take the Next Step: Go about your day today with this purpose: To let others see through you how great God is. Make “Soli Deo Gloria” your life’s theme!
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Jesus in Our Ordinary Moments
Getting Closer to Jesus: John 21 is a rather strange chapter. In a sense, it almost seems unnecessary. John 20 could have easily been the conclusion of this amazing Gospel, for it more than adequately tells the resurrection story (John 20:1-10), more than adequately offers proof that Jesus was alive (he visibly appears four times to his disciples in John 20:11-29), more than adequately issues Jesus’s Great Commission to his disciples (John 20:21-23), and more than adequately summarizes the purpose of John’s account as well as the core of salvation that we read about again at the end of John 21 (John 21:30-31).
But then, like a man who wears both belts and suspenders, as if we really needed any more, here comes chapter 21 offering even more stories that Jesus is alive indeed. Yet these stories are a bit strange in that they are not so much grand appearances of the Resurrected Lord in his empty tomb splendor, a la chapter 20, they are more of the garden variety insertions of Jesus into the everyday life of his disciples:
• Jesus shows up at the fishing business during the graveyard shift and offers some helpful advice: “Hey fellas, try throwing your nets on the other side of the boat. I betcha there’s a bunch of fish over there!” (John 21:6)
• After work, he has breakfast with his team: “Hey guys, I got a fire going, so bring some of those fish you just caught. Let’s eat before you head home.” (John 21:9-14)
• Before they leave, he offers some challenging but encouraging professional direction to Peter, discouraged from failing the Lord in his moment of need: “Hey Peter, I know you denied knowing me at my trial, and you probably think that’s a deal breaker for me ever using you as team leader to this band of disciples, but chin up, I’ve got a big job for you.” (John 21:15-23)
Much has been made in this chapter about the disciples going back to what they previously knew—the fishing business—as if they were giving up on their call to ministry. But after the grand appearances of the Resurrected Lord in chapter 20, certainly these guys weren’t giving up on Jesus—they were more than convinced he was alive, and the Lord over death and Author of life. No, they were simply doing what men did in those days—work. They were bi-vocational pastors, so perhaps they were just being responsible.
Much has been made about the miraculous haul of fish—153 large ones, to be exact. But was it a really a miracle or was it the result of Jesus seeing from the shore what the disciples a hundred yards into the water couldn’t—a school of fish on the opposite side from where they were looking. In commentary on John, William Barclay offers this interesting insight into this incident, quoting H.V. Morton, a well-known nineteenth-century travel writer who extensively wrote on the Holy Land,
It happens very often that the man with the hand-net must rely on the advice of someone on shore, who tells him to cast either to the left or the right, because in the clear water he can often see a shoal of fish invisible to the man in the water.’ Jesus was acting as guide to his fishermen friends, just as people still do today.
Much has been made about Jesus’ interaction with Peter—a difficult conversation where the Lord presses him on the depth and strength of this disciple’s love. Many preachers have highlighted the different Greek words for love used by Jesus (agape) and Peter (philos), as if there were some veiled secondary conversation going on between the two. But perhaps this was nothing more than the Lord showing a struggling disciple, embarrassed and discouraged that he had failed the Lord, that Jesus indeed had big plans for a future of ministry impact.
For certain, John 20 is about the spectacular, undeniable miracle of the Resurrected Lord walking out of an empty tomb, but chapter 21 brings to us the spectacular, undeniable miracle of a Resurrected Lord waking into our ordinary moments. As I ponder the purpose of this addendum to the resurrection, it seems to me that more than anything, this chapter is simply yet thankfully showing us how Jesus goes out of his way to come to us in our mundane moments—the difficult slog of our daily work, the banality of our breakfast, the harsh reality of redirecting our failure into building blocks of a future usefulness in service to him.
John 21 is the ongoing miracle of the Risen Lord in the rote details of our dull dailiness.
Thank God John included this postscript of a Risen Savior who goes out of his way be the Resurrected Lord for real life.
Take the Next Step: Write down three ordinary moments of the day that is ahead of you—a stop for coffee on the way to work, a trip to the post office, taking out the trash when you come home, etc. Now, thank God in advance that Jesus will be with you in those moments, and anticipate how he will help, encourage, and direct you as you go about your ordinary day.
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The Strongest Proof of All
Getting Closer to Jesus: We get it backwards—understandably. The advancement of the scientific method in our day has taught us that empirical proof must come first, then we can place belief in the certainty of something. There is no room, or even need, really, for faith, which requires trust rather than evidence. “Follow the science” is now the mantra of our modern enlightened minds. We have been steeped in that dogma for generations now, so it is no wonder that we wrestle with not having physical, visual proof for our faith in Jesus Christ.
According to our line of thinking, Peter, John, Mary, and Thomas were most fortunate. On that first Easter Sunday, Simon Peter ran with John to the tomb, and seeing that the stone had been rolled away, he pushed past John and went straight in, where he saw the strips of linen lying where a body should have been, just as if the corpse had magically risen through them, leaving them to float silently back to earth, sans body. Then John, who had reached the tomb first, followed Peter inside. He then saw what Peter saw, and he believed. Mary Magdalene was at the tomb as well, and after Peter and John left, she encountered Jesus. Mary then went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” Later that day, the disciple Thomas, responding to the dubious news that Jesus was alive, said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later, Jesus suddenly appeared before his very eyes, and Thomas exclaimed, “I believe!” (John 20:6,8,18, 25)
They had literally, physically, and visually seen the resurrected Lord. No wonder they all believed!
Yet their belief is not met with the highest praise that Jesus would offer in that encounter. Rather, he said to them—my paraphrase,
You have seen me, and for that, you have experienced something most blessed. Now I want you to go and tell others what you have seen. And those who hear and believe will in turn tell others. But here’s the deal: Those who believe your eyewitness testimony will be telling my story not based on their own visual proof; their witness will be on the basis of pure faith. They have not visibly seen, yet they have spiritually believed. And for that, they are even more blessed than you who have literally seen.
Did you catch that? You and I want so badly to hold the literal evidence of resurrection in our hands, believing that physical proof will somehow make our case for Christ more rock solid than it already is. Jesus begs to differ. He says the strongest proof of all is to believe, for out of believing faith comes indisputable knowledge of the resurrected Lord, evidenced in the transformed life of the one who has believed.
In the eleventh century, St. Anselm, arguably the most brilliant Christian thinker of all time, wrote, “Credo ut intelligam”; that is, “I believe, in order that I may understand.” Two centuries later, Thomas Aquinas said, “In order that men might have knowledge of God, free of doubt and uncertainty, it is necessary for divine truth to be delivered to them by way of faith, being told to them as it were, by God himself who cannot lie.” In the seventeenth century, Blaise Pascal wrote, “Reason’s last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things that are beyond it. The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know at all.” But it was another brilliant thinker in the fourth century, the North African bishop, Augustine, who best captured the essence of what Jesus meant when he said,
Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.
After Jesus revealed himself to his disciples, he said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21) He sent them out with the story of his life, death and resurrection, and with the commissioned authority to invite those who would believe their message into an experience of the Kingdom life, both in time and for all eternity.
Since you have believed their message, you, too, have been commissioned to tell the story of the resurrected Jesus. And while you did not see the risen Lord with your own eyes, you have something even more powerful: indisputable faith evidenced in a transformed life. You are a satisfied customer, and there is nothing more indisputable—and blessed—than that.
You have believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now tell your story. As you do, your faith will be increasingly rewarded with the evidence of things not seen.
Take the Next Step: How has Jesus changed your life? Tell someone about it!
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Let the Power Flow
Getting Closer to Jesus: It was the evening of the first Easter Sunday, and the disciples were abuzz with the resurrection. A few of them had encountered the living Lord but others of them had only heard rumors that he had risen from the grave. They were about to get the surprise of their lives—and this would be a game-changer.
No man had ever risen from the dead, and if this were indeed true, it would prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Jesus was who he said he was—God come in the flesh. And if he was who he claimed to be—the living Lord of life and Savior of the word—he therefore had it within his authority and power to do what he said he would do: forgive sin, heal the sick, set those in bondage free, provide his subjects with a real experience of the Kingdom life and in fact, grant them eternal life.
This was truly the Good News!
Yet for all their anticipation of a resurrected Jesus—and all that it implied—these disciples were still huddled in fear behind closed doors. They were still intimidated by the religious leaders who ruled the day with an iron fist and the religious system that had sent their Lord to the cross in the first place. There was still a major disconnect between what they intellectually accepted and their emotional reality. Fear and concern dominated their better judgment.
Now, before we get too far down the road on this, perhaps we ought to admit that fear and concern often dominate our emotions, our behavior, and our thinking as well. We accept that Jesus is risen, that he is Lord over all, yet we easily get intimidated by circumstances, get set back on our heels by the system, whatever that might be for us, and give in to fear in our emotions. We are really no different than the disciples—their story is our story.
But thank God for Jesus! While he suddenly appeared among those first disciples—one of the benefits of having a resurrected body—he no longer needs to do that with us. Why? He doesn’t have to; he is already among us. In fact, his promise is that he will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Moreover, he shows himself to us, not necessarily by opening his wounded hands, but by holding our hands all along the way. (Isaiah 46:3) It’s true that as we look back over the course of our journey with Jesus, our testimony will have to be, “the Lord has led us all along the way.” (Deuteronomy 8:2) Then to neutralize our concerns and fears, he grants us his peace—the peace of Christ that rules our hearts and minds. (Colossians 3:15, Philippians 4:7) And he makes all this not only possible, but sustainable by placing the Father’s gift within us—the precious Holy Spirit, who infuses us with both the authority and power of God Almighty to do his will and work. (John 19:23)
So rather than living our lives huddled in fear and paralyzed by worry, like the disciples, as we act in faith upon what Jesus has done, we can live in inner confidence and spiritual power—we, too, like those first disciples, can change the world. At the very least, our corner of the world can—and should—look radically different now that the resurrection has rocked our world.
This truly is and always will be the Good News—the resurrection has rocked your world, and by the power of the resurrection working through you, it will rock your world!
Take the Next Step: Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to remind you of the full power and real authority that is now within you to live in the reality of Christ’s resurrection.
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