Jno. 21:21-22 "Peter therefore seeing Him said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what about this man?' And Jesus said to him, 'If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.'"
Between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension back into heaven was the space of about 40 days. During this time He made several appearances to selected disciples, most of which are cataloged by Paul in I Cor. 15:5-8. John concludes the account of Jesus' ministry with one of these appearances. Some of the apostles had returned to their former work as fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. After toiling all day and all night without a catch, they were returning to shore when they saw a man standing on the beach. Asking about their catch, and being told that they had had no luck, the man told them to let down their net one more time on the right side of the boat. Doing as he said, they were amazed when suddenly their net was filled with so many fish they were unable to draw it back into the boat. Instead, they hauled the net the remaining 300 feet to the beach. Realizing the event was a miracle, they were at once convinced that the man on shore was not a mere man; he was, in fact, THE MAN, their Lord Jesus Christ.
After eating breakfast with Him, the apostles had an interesting conversation with Jesus. Three times He asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" And three times Peter replied, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." Then Jesus said to Peter, "When you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go," (v.18). With these words Jesus prophesied that Peter would end his life as a martyr for Him, for John then explains, "This He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God," (v.19). Peter was not a little disturbed by this forecast that his life would end in violence because of his discipleship. And he responded in a most natural, human way. It is said that misery loves company; no one wants to suffer alone. Turning about and seeing John, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"
Apparently, Peter thought, if tragedy would end his life of Christian witness, a similar fate should await John. After all, they had been, and would continue to be, the more prominent of the apostles. An announcement that martyrdom lay in store for John would have somewhat blunted for Peter the awful statement by Jesus that he would be sacrificed. Most of us would have responded very much as Peter did, had we been in his place. Do we not, when tragedies overtake us, seek out "support groups" of people who have suffered, or perhaps are yet suffering, the same distress as we?
Jesus' reply to Peter conveys an important lesson to us. Looking him in the eye with kindness and sympathy, but also with a firm rebuke, Jesus said, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?" That is, if He chose to prolong John's life throughout the Christian Age until His return, it was none of Peter's concern. Peter's business was comprehended in Jesus' final three words, "You follow Me." The Lord wanted Peter to concentrate his attention on the task of following Him, and not let himself be distracted by what was, or was not, happening in the lives of other disciples. The same lesson applies to every Christian. So often we begin to fret because another's situation seems to be more favored than our own. Then we feel disappointed that our fidelity and service seem to have been overlooked. At other times we notice that hardships come upon us which have bypassed other Christians, and we begin to wonder why we should suffer while others enjoy peace and security. In Jesus' answer to Peter we are advised not to question such things but rather to focus attention upon following our Lord.
