John 1:37-39 NASB
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. [38] And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” [39] He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
John 21:18-23 NASB
Truly, truly, I say to you, 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.” [19] Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” [20] Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” [21] So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” [22] Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” [23] Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
In these two narratives from the Gospel of John we have foundational bookend principles to be a follower of Jesus. In John chapter 1 I believe Jesus reveals the first primary principal of discipleship, and in John chapter 21 we have the last principle of discipleship in the Gospel of John revealed to Peter. The Holy Spirit does not do anything arbitrarily, and I therefor think it is very significant what the first principle of discipleship in John’s Gospel is in chapter 1, and the last principle of discipleship is in John twenty-one.
On successive days John has publicly declared that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and of course John’s disciples standing around, saw John baptize Jesus, and make the declarations he made over him. Two of John’s disciples decided to follow Jesus, and when Jesus noticed them following him he stopped and asked them what they were seeking, and they said to him “Rabbi, where are you staying.” The answer that Jesus gave them is to me the first foundational principle to be a follower of Jesus, for Jesus answered their question, not by telling them where he was going to stay, but by simply saying to them “Come, and you will see.” Jesus knew that at the heart of discipleship was a life of faith and trust, and that often his disciples would have to follow him in faith, while not knowing where he was going, or what the outcome might be. If you’re like me, I always want to see first, and then I’ll come in faith. Of course, that’s not faith at all, for Jesus wants us to trust him, and follow him in obedience without having to see, only to trust. Jesus promised them that they would get to see where he was staying, but he was trying to teach them about following him even though they couldn’t see yet. I’d often have the Lord speak to me this way in my walk with him, where I would be facing some conflict or circumstance, and I did not yet know how it was going to be worked out. In those times Jesus would remind me of this verse, and this principle of discipleship, he would say to me “Chuck, just follow me by faith, and in my time, you will see.” The bottom line; “Come and see; not See and come.”
In John 21 Jesus is reaffirming Peter, and his call to be a spiritual shepherd, and then Jesus prophetically speaks into Peter’s life about the kind of death that he would die that would glorify God. At one point Peter turns and sees John, and he asked Jesus about John’s future,, and Jesus basically said to Peter “What is it to you, what I do with John’s life? You follow me!” The Holy Spirit emphasizes the importance of the statement by repeating it in the last part of verse twenty-three. What is this all about?
This is also discipleship 101; don’t compare your life, and your ministry, to someone else’s life, and their ministry. Jesus is saying “You simply need to follow me so that I can live my life through your unique version”. If we compare ourselves to other people then the enemy robs us of the joy of doing God’s will in our lives. I see clergy do this all the time. They compare the size of their ministry, to other people’s ministry and therefor consider themselves failures if there ministry is smaller, or not is celebrated publicly; or they’ll compare the kind of giftedness and anointing on somebody’s life, and the blessings that are on them, to the anointing and blessing on their own life, and it causes them to feel jealous, and envious, introspective and condemned. This truth about discipleship is so powerfully important, and of course this is not just applicable to clergy. We should never look at somebody else’s life compare ours to theirs, or our ministry to their ministry. We should simply follow Jesus, doing what we are called to do, totally confident that he’s doing it just right through us. I pray that the Holy Spirit will so work this truth into your mindset that from this day forward when you find yourself comparing and introspecting, you will hear the voice of the Lord, like the sound of a trumpet, saying to you, “What is that to you? You follow me!” Jesus wants to live his life and tell his story through your unique version of life and your unique story, and if you let him do that, then you will have the applause of heaven.