John 21:18-25 – The End
We’ve come to the end of J.C. Ryle’s notes on John’s Gospel, and there are four things we can learn from these final verses. First, Jesus Christ knows what will happen to all Christians both in life and death. He prophesies Peter’s death, and history tells us that Peter is crucified as a martyr for Christ’s sake. The time, the place, the manner, the painfulness – Jesus knows every detail. Our whole future is known and arranged by Christ. There is no such thing as luck, chance, or accident in our life. Everything from beginning to end is foreseen and planned by One who is too wise to make mistakes and too loving to hurt us. We need to remember this when trouble comes.
Secondly, we learn that a believer’s death should glorify God. Peter’s death brings glory to the Lord. We can glorify God in death by being ready for it whenever it comes. We can glorify God in death by patiently enduring the suffering that goes with it. We can glorify God in death by telling others about the comfort and support we find in Christ. Deaths like these leave a mark on the living. Let us pray, while we have our health, that we can glorify God when it comes time to die.
Thirdly, we learn that we should think about our own relationship with God before we start worrying and wondering about others. Sadly, we often follow one of two extremes – either we’re so focused on our heart that we neglect to help others, or we are so busy serving others we neglect our own heart relationship. John tells us, finally, that there is so much more that Christ has said and done, but we have been told everything we need to know to understand that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners. Now we must ask ourselves if we believe in this Jesus.
Questions
- How can we glorify God in our death?
- What has this Gospel told us about Jesus?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.