What About John?

In John 21:18, Peter got some horrible news:

“Jesus said to [Peter]… ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, 'Follow me.'"

Jesus told Peter that he would eventually die by crucifixion. How did Peter respond?

"Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him….When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?'” (v. 20-21)

Peter “turned” away from the Lord and “saw” his fellow disciple, John.

He began to sinfully compare himself to John.

He began to measure his situation against John’s.

Maybe he thought something like…

Is John going to get a better deal than me? After all, he did get to sit next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and he seems to have an especially close relationship with the Lord.

Does this mean that the Lord is going to let John off with an easy death? Will he die peacefully in his sleep while I have to die a martyr’s death?

Peter couldn’t contain himself anymore. He blurted out, “Lord, what about this man?”

We’ll consider our Lord’s shocking answer when we continue our series.