John 21:22

John 21:22

I. It is not to be supposed for a moment that our Lord meant in these words to pronounce any distinct intention concerning John. The very force of the sentence lies in its indistinctness. One of two meanings, however, He must have had: either that He might, if He chose, prolong St. John's life to the Second Advent; or that St. John should, as indeed he did, survive that event which, because it was both such a manifestation of Christ's power, and such an earnest and type of His last Advent, was often called Christ's coming the taking of Jerusalem and the setting up of the Christian Church. But, under either aspect, the Lord's reproof will alike apply to those, whoever they be, who are drawn into speculative views of unfulfilled prophecy. The thought of our Lord's coming must always be the real horizon in every believer's prospect. Is it not the bright, the redeeming point, in all the future, for the sake of which we may begin to lift up our heads, "because we know that our redemption draweth nigh?"

II. On former occasions, when our Lord had said, "Follow Me," He had always prefixed the words, "Take up thy cross." It did not need it now. For Christ had taken up His cross before all men, and no one could think of following Him without taking up a cross. Indeed, the whole command was one that suited well to the time when it was spoken when Jesus was just about to leave the earth. He could point back from where He stood to that whole life, and say of every step, what no one else could ever say of every step of any life "Follow Me." We hear His words, like the last accent of a dying saint. We hear them, like the challenge of a departed conqueror. "Follow thou Me." Begin, begin at once. Lay some foundation deep. Live more in communion with God. Cast blessings as you go. Live dyingly, that you may die livingly. Keep the valley, that you may ascend the height. "Follow thou Me."

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons,5th series, p. 182.

I. What is to be understood by following Christ? In this is manifestly summed up the whole character of a Christian; and perhaps it would be impossible to find any language so well fitted to convey a clear and practical impression of what a Christian ought to be as these words do. The follower of Christ must (1) be of one spirit with his Master; (2) he must make Christ's work his work; (3) he must habitually endeavour to imitate Him or to be like Him; (4) he must separate himself from the sinful pursuits of the world; (5) he must bear the cross.

II. What is the frame of spirit in which Christ is to be followed? (1) He must be followed with the most implicit faith; (2) with the most submissive humility.

A. D. Davidson, Lectures and Sermons,p. 41.

Misplaced Anxiety

Look

I. At the mysteries which lie outside of revelation altogether. We cannot unravel the perplexities of Providence, but we can see the way of life, which Christ has made so plain that no one can mistake it. Shall we, then, turn away from the pressing duty of the present state, and the open gate which Jesus has set before us, and give up our energies to such futile guests as Solomon has described in the Book of Ecclesiastes? Do not brood over mysteries. Follow rather in the footsteps of Him who came to earth, not to make all perplexities plain, but to mitigate the miseries, and soothe the sorrows, and remove the sin of men.

II. The mysteries which spring out of revelation. Mystery is inseparable from a revelation given by a higher to a lower intelligence. It is not required of us to understand the infinite. Only God can comprehend God. What we are commanded to do is to follow Christ. That is within our power; that is on the plane of our daily finite existence. That, therefore, we ought to do at once, and with all our hearts. Leave off questioning about these matters which are too high for you, these things which God has kept in His own power. They are of no practical importance to you. Follow Christ, and very soon to you also will come that repose of spirit which lies upon the height of faith.

III. The contingencies of the future. We are all prone to pry into the years that are to come, and many are the misplaced anxieties we cherish regarding them. Sometimes we are solicitous about ourselves. We cannot see what is to become of us amid the losses and crosses that have come upon us. And if we have no such cause for apprehension, we torment ourselves about others; or we fear for the future of the Church or of the nation. Now, to all these misgivings about the future, we have but one answer, and that is furnished by the principle of my text. The future is not ours; the present is. We are responsible for the present, and not for the future, except only as it shall be affected by the present. Nay, we shall best serve the future, and secure it from those evils which we fear, by doing with our might the work of the present, and leaving the issue with our God. Your individual duty is to follow Christ in every matter that comes before you, and let no carking care for what is merely problematical unfit you for going whole-heartedly into that which is clearly the work of the hour.

W. M. Taylor, Limitations of Life,p. 63.

References: John 21:22. Contemporary Pulpit,vol. x., p. 365; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. v., p. 271; J. Vaughan, Three Hundred Outlines from the New Testament,p. 105; Ibid., Sermons,1869, p. 220; Tyng, American Pulpit of the Day,vol. i., p. 448. John 21:25. Expositor,2nd series, vol. iii., p. 241; G. Dawson, The Authentic Gospel,p. 1.