Word’s Jesus Christ Gave to Peter & John John 21:15-25 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

This lesson concerns things spoken by the Lord to Peter and John before the Lord’s ascension.  In this passage the first thing we see concerning Peter is his restoration to the ministry. Peter denied Jesus three times (Matt. 26:33-34) and fled the scene at the hall of judgment.  Therefore, when Jesus restores Peter’s position in His ministry, He tells Peter three times to “feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The Christian life has many ups and downs and we can see in Peter’s restoration a great deal of encouragement. 1 Timothy 3:1-8 provides many qualifications for being a minister of the faith.  Yet there is one qualification that is of prime importance and absolute necessity. That prime qualification is that you must love the Lord Jesus Christ and His people (Acts 20:28, 1Pe 5:2). Why did Jesus ask Peter three times whether he loved Him?

The next thing we see concerning Peter is the prophecy of his death (John 21:18-19). Jesus informed Peter that he would die while imprisoned. As tradition tells us Peter was crucified upside-down in prison by Nero. Peter truly did love Jesus for he was willing to follow Jesus unto death.

Then Peter, looking back at John, asks Jesus what would happen to him (John 21:20). Jesus basically tells Peter that it should not concern him even if Jesus allows John to remain until He comes again (John 21:22). Jesus had previously told the disciples that there were some among them that would not see death until they witnessed the second coming of Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:27). It appears that Jesus was encouraging Peter not to be jealous of John because he had an important job to do. John was given the opportunity on the isle of Patmos to witness all of the revealed details involving the Lord’s second coming.