John 21:20-25

²⁰Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray You?") ²¹When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" ²²Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me." ²³Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" ²⁴This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. ²⁵Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Now, John’s gospel closes out with an account of John himself, with the suggestion (although as John himself notes, it was not a promise or a prophecy) that he should outlive the other disciples – some thinking, mistakenly, that he would actually live until Jesus’ return. Of course, as Jesus’ response to Peter’s question indicates, there is no more room to boast in a short and passionate life which ends in the glory of a martyr’s death than there is in a long life lived in faithful service and unswerving testimony to the Savior. And the latter is what John’s life would be.

Each of us has a race marked out for us as followers of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2). Every man will bear his own burden (Galatians 6:5). Calvin says, “Out of ten persons it may happen that God shall choose one, that he may try him by heavy calamities or by vast labors, and that he shall permit the other nine to remain at ease, or, at least, shall try them lightly. Besides, God does not treat all in the same manner, but makes trial of every one as he thinks fit. As there are various kinds of Christian warfare, let every man learn to keep his own station, and let us not make inquiries like busybodies about this or that person, when the heavenly Captain addresses each of us, to whose authority we ought to be so submissive as to forget every thing else.”

John would be the faithful eyewitness, testifying to the truth of what he had seen and heard and known of the Word of Life, Jesus Christ our Savior. How solemnly he undertook this responsibility, as we may learn from his three epistles to the Church – and how grateful ought we to be for his long and faithful testimony, for it has given us the great and precious wonders of a gospel which outshines all other literature in the history of mankind, three letters which address the most pressing needs of every generation and tenderly apply the most precious wisdom ever vouchsafed to us by God, and an apocalyptic revelation which shows forth more clearly than any other writing the glory of Christ the eternal king, and the blessedness of our final destiny with Him. What a rich legacy John, the faithful witness, has left us. But let us not praise him, but the One who shone through him, with all power and authority, with all meekness and humility, with all the inexhaustible wonder of the Word of God, who alone reveals the inexhaustibly glorious nature of the Almighty Deity, showering all who belong to Him with these unfathomable riches of wisdom and knowledge that all eternity cannot begin to exhaust. This is Christ, the Lion and Lamb, our Savior and God, diverse in all His myriad excellencies!

That’s John’s gospel. Let me encourage you to continue in the practice of regularly meeting with others to study God’s word, to discuss the issues we face today, and to carry out the service of the Lord through faithful witness. Above all, let us exhibit love for one another in serving others to the glory of God.