John’s Final Words.

The Creator of the universe – here with me in this room. Who came and substituted Himself for me – so that I may ultimately share in His glory. I am filled with wonder and worship.

”It is so right that you are reminded of My awesome greatness – but the one thing that should continue to fill you with wonder is the length I have gone to – to make it possible for you to draw near to Me as a son, a fellow-heir of Jesus. My goal remains to continue building My kingdom one soul at a time, who will seek Me and find Me and appreciate Me as much. I invite you to continue walking with Me so that you can reflect more of Me and be an effective witness. Words are great but actions often count for more, so be overtaken by My Spirit of love towards Me and from that towards everyone you meet”.

Today we come to the end of a few months of being buried in John’s gospel. What a blessing it has been to me. We finish by reading 21: 15 – 25. Most of this section is taken up by Jesus’ interaction with Peter, after Peter’s great fall. The main lesson is clear and important. We can never fall so far that we cannot be restored again. Not only was Peter restored but he became the leading Apostle as the new kingdom unfolded. His first sermon resulting in the conversion of several thousand of people.

But we must look deeper. This is the end of the whole gospel and John is gathering his teaching together to leave the final impression he wants the reader to remember. What do you think that is?

Obviously everyone will have a slightly different take on this. We remember the verse which expressed John’s main purpose 20:30, 31. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that my believing you may have life in his name.

However as I think back in relation to the story of Peter, I remember what He said in 3:16. That it was God’s love for the world that brought Him to send His Son on this difficult mission. So the lasting impression after Ch 21 I have is of God’s love expressed in His generosity towards us all. And that He is commissioning all of us to follow that example, going about our daily lives expressing His love and generosity towards everyone we meet. Remembering that His ultimate aim was and is to reach as many people as possible with this life-changing message.

It is also important to pick up the question that Jesus asked Peter before He reinstated him. “Simon son of John do you truly love me?” He repeated that three times. So our response to this gospel story should not be a sense of compulsion and fear of judgement, but based on the recognition that “God so loved…” and that our response of obedience should rise out of “we so loved God through Jesus, who died for us”. A response of gratitude giving rise to a great love for Him. The beauty is that we don’t do this in our own strength we do it through the love that God provokes in us as we respond to Him.

A true witness is only possible if one’s life has been transformed by the gospel message of a vital rebirth and is continually being transformed by our daily interaction with God. So many people are trying to live the Christian life in their own strength, which is actually idolatry and gives an entirely faulty picture of what Christianity really is.

Having come now to the end of John’s gospel, several people have asked me to tackle Romans next, which we will do. So tighten your seatbelts for some Pauline argument for a few months.