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John 21:20-23  THE WRONG QUESTION

Introduction:

	In a recent text Jesus asked Simon Peter three
questions.  In our text today Simon Peter asks Jesus a
question.  The problem is that he asks Jesus the wrong
question.

I.  The setting for the text

	Jesus had asked Simon Peter, "Do you love me?" Three
times He asked that question.   Then He told Peter to feed
His lambs and His sheep.  He had also told Peter that in his
old age he would be arrested and that he would be bound and
carried where he would not want to go.  John said He was
talking about the kind of death that Peter would die.  He
would die a martyr's death.  Jesus had concluded by telling
Peter, "Follow me."
	It appears that when Jesus said, "Follow me" He started
walking and expected Simon Peter to follow Him.  Which he
did.  Simon Peter followed right after Jesus as He walked
away.
	What Jesus was doing was to give Simon Peter an object
lesson to demonstrate to Peter that he was to follow after
Jesus all the rest of his life.  Peter was to follow in the
teachings of Jesus.  He was to follow in the work of Jesus
preaching the gospel to the lost.  He was to follow in the
work of Jesus in a local New Testament church.  He was to
follow in mission work, spreading the gospel and helping to
spread New Testament churches among the other nations of the
world.
	There was a great work that Simon Peter was to do for
Jesus.  He was to spread the gospel, teach the young tender
lambs.  He was to also to feed the older more mature
Christians.

II.  The question which Simon Peter asked

	V. 20, "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple
whom Jesus loved following..."  When Simon Peter followed
along behind Jesus, he became aware that someone else was
also following them.  Perhaps he heard the footsteps.
Perhaps he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye.
Perhaps he just sensed it.  At any rate, he looked around
and saw one of the other disciples following them.
	It was a particular disciple.  It was one to whom Jesus
had been especially attached.  It was one to whom Jesus had
shown more love than He had shown to any of the other twelve
apostles.
	(V. 20), "...which also leaned on his breast at supper,
and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?"  The
disciple that Peter saw was the Apostle John.  John was the
disciple to whom Jesus had shown the greatest love and the
disciple which had leaned on the breast of Jesus during the
eating of the Passover Supper.
	This special love which Jesus had for John came in
handy for Simon Peter at the Passover Supper.  Jesus had
announced to them that one of the twelve apostles would
betray Him into the hands of the Jewish leaders, but He did
not say which apostle that would be.  Simon Peter wanted to
find out.  So he leaned over and quietly asked John to ask
Jesus.  He figured that if there was anybody who could get
this information from Jesus it would be John.  So John did
ask and it was to John that Jesus identified Judas Iscariot
as being the culprit who would betray Him.
	At that time Peter must have been glad that Jesus loved
John so much because it helped him to get the information
which otherwise he would not have been able to get.  But
now, he was not at all happy that Jesus loved John the most.
It had stirred up some jealousy in his own heart.  At least
this is the conclusion that we are led to believe based on
the question which Peter now asked Jesus.
	V. 21, "Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, what
shall this man do?"  Remember that Jesus had told Simon
Peter that he was to feed the lambs of Jesus and to feed the
sheep of Jesus and that in the later years of his life, he
would be arrested and put to a martyr's death.  This kind of
news combined in the heart of Simon Peter with the touch of
jealousy which Peter already had toward John and formed a
very strong resentment toward John.
	Jesus had earlier instructed them to love one another
and I am convinced that there was a love in the heart of
Simon Peter for John.  But right at this moment the stronger
feeling in the heart for Simon Peter toward John was
resentment.  He resented the fact that Jesus loved John more
than him.  Peter was jealous of John.
	How many times have brothers or sisters in the same
family felt jealousy and resentment toward one another?
Mother or dad or grandmother or grandad had shown more love
and affection toward another brother or sister than to this
one and this stirred up jealousy and resentment in the
heart.  Or how many times have members in a church been
stirred to jealousy because some other member of the church
was getting more love and affection from the other members
of the church?
	But with Simon Peter there was more to it than the
greater love and affection which Jesus had shown toward
John.  Jesus had told Peter, "Feed my lambs and feed my
sheep."  This was a heavy work load.  This, too, stirred up
that jealousy and resentment even more.  It seemed to Simon
Peter that Jesus was putting most of the work Jesus on him.
If Jesus wanted to put all that much hard work on him, he
wanted to know:  What kind of assignment did He have for the
Apostle John?
	Was Jesus going to give him a heavy work load and let
John off with some easy job that would be a snap to do?  In
his mind he immediately jumped to the conclusion that John
would have little or nothing to do and he resented it.  He
resented John.  He was jealous of John.  It would be easy
right at this time for him to forget all of the kindnesses
which John had done for him from time to time.  I have no
idea what all John had done for Simon Peter, but I do know
of two things.  At the supper table it was John who had
asked Jesus who the betrayer would be.  John had asked this
question as a favor to Simon Peter.  Also at the trial of
Jesus, when Simon Peter was outside the  courtyard where
Jesus was on trial before Caiaphas it was John who had gone
to the attendant at the door and got permission for Peter to
come inside.  That must have been but one of many such
little kindnesses which John had showed him.
	But when your own heart is filled with jealousy and
resentment, it is hard to remember the kindnesses which have
been shown to you.  Instead it is easy to forget them.  Do
you know what I mean?  Have you ever had such an experience?
Have you ever felt jealousy and resentment toward a brother
or sister in Christ when you ought to be feeling gratitude
for the kindnesses which have been shown to you?  So the
question that Peter fired away at Jesus was, "Lord, what
shall this man do? What kind of work do you have for him to
do?"
	But with Simon Peter there was still another matter
that stirred up his jealousy and resentment toward John.
Jesus had just informed him that in the latter years of his
life he would be called upon to suffer greatly for Jesus.
He would be arrested and his hands would be bound.  He would
be brought to trial before the Roman court and he would be
sentenced to death --- death by crucifixion.
	Simon Peter had earlier told Jesus, "I am willing to
die with you and I am willing to die for you," and he surely
must have meant it at the time that he said it.  But things
were different now.  Why would Jesus want him to be the one
who would suffer if He was going to let the other disciples
get off light?  Especially, why would Jesus ask him to
suffer and to die for Him if He were not also going to ask
John to suffer equally?  He resented even the thought that
Jesus might let John off light, but require him to suffer
much.  He resented John and he resented Jesus.
	So Peter fired off his question at Jesus:  "Lord, if
you are going to ask me to do so much work for you and if
you are going to ask me to do so much sacrificing and
suffering for you, then what are you going to ask John to
do?"
	Now I am not sure that Peter was aware of it, but
actually his resentment toward John had turned into
resentment toward Jesus.  He resented the thought that Jesus
might call upon him to do more than He was expecting John to
do.  He resented the thought that Jesus might call upon him
to sacrifice and suffer more than He expected John to
sacrifice and suffer.
	Actually, he had no way of knowing what Jesus was
expecting John to do.  For all he knew Jesus might be
expecting John to do far more work than what He expected
Peter to do.  And for all he knew Jesus might be intending
for John to suffer far more than he would suffer.   He was
filled with jealousy and resentment without cause.
	Even if Jesus had been asking for him to do more work
than John and to suffer more than John, he should have felt
honored by such a request.  He should count it a privilege
and an honor to work and to suffer for Jesus.
	But lest we become too critical of Simon Peter let us
check up on our own lives.  Let us check up on our own
feelings when we think we are baring more than our own share
of the work load in the church or when we think that someone
else is getting more than their share of the praise and
glory for what is done.

III.  The answer which Jesus gave to Simon Peter

	Peter must have been shocked by the sharp answer which
he got from Jesus.  V. 22, "Jesus saith unto him, If I will
that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?..."  In
effect, Jesus is asking Simon Peter, "Peter, aren't you
forgetting something?  Aren't you forgetting who is the
Master and who is the servant?  Listen, Peter, I am Deity
God.  You are but a servant.  Don't forget that!  Don't
forget that!"
	And that is something that we ought to remember.  Jesus
is the Master.  He is Deity God.  He are but His servants.
It is not any of our business what He chooses to put upon
somebody else.  It is our business to do the work that Jesus
has assigned to do.
	(V. 22), "...Follow thou me."  Peter, it is time now
for you to grow up.  It is time that you lay aside your
petty jealousy and your petty resentment toward John and
toward me.  It is time that you just concentrate upon the
assignment that have give you.  You follow me!"
	V. 23. "Then went this saying abroad among the
brethren, that that disciple should not die:  yet Jesus said
not unto him, He shall not die; but if I will that he tarry
till I come, what is that to thee?"  This verse points out
an interesting point that is totally off the main subject,
but it is a very important point.  It points out how easy it
is to jump to a wrong conclusion when reading or studying or
listening to the Bible.
	Jesus said one thing and many of the Lord's disciples
took it to mean something entirely different. This is why it
is so important for us to follow the instructions given in
II Timothy 2:15.  We are not only to study the Bible, but we
are to rightly understand its meaning.

IV.  A lesson that stands out loud and cleaar

	There is one thing that stands out loud and clear in
this text.  We are to set our love and affection on Jesus
Christ and to devote ourselves to working for Him and
serving Him to the best of our ability.  We are not to be in
the least bit jealous if the Lord shows more love and
affection to somebody else.  We are not to be the least bit
jealous if the people in the church show more love and
affection to somebody else than they do to us.  We are not
be the least bit jealous if somebody else gets more
recognition and praise than we do.  We are not be the least
bit jealous if somebody else gets the higher place of honor
in the church than we do.
	We are not to be the least bit resentful if we have a
bigger work load than somebody else.  We are never to say or
even think, "Why me?  Why put all the work on me?  Why
doesn't somebody else do something around here?"
	We are never to feel that the Lord has put more on us
than we can bare.  We are never to feel or think, "The
sacrifices I am called on to make are too heavy for me to
bare."  If you want to know what a heavy load is, then stop
and get this picture.  Get the picture of Jesus tied to the
stock and a Roman soldier cutting His back to ribbons with a
whip.  You remember that Jesus took the lashes that belong
on your back.
	Get the picture of Jesus in that weakened condition
from the whip struggling to carry that heavy cross up
Golgotha's hill for you.  You just remember that Jesus was
carrying that cross for you and He was nailed to that cross
for you.
	May God give us the grace, as Christians, to do all
that we can for Jesus.  May God give us the grace never to
complain.  May God give us the grace to count it all joy to
have the privilege to serve Jesus Christ.  May God give us
the grace to every recognize that Jesus is the Master and
that we are His servants.  May God give us the grace to
follow Him in all that we do.

Conclusion