John 21:20-25 | Keep Focus
This sermon from John 21:20-25 calls believers to an unwavering focus on Jesus, rather than being distracted by the lives or callings of others. It highlights Peter's tendency to look away from Christ's personal command, contrasting it with Jesus' clear instruction: "As for you, follow me." The message culminates by celebrating John, the beloved disciple, and the immeasurable depth of Christ's love and inexhaustible works.
Good morning, First Church of Artesia. It's a joy to be with you this morning. My name is Bien. I'm a member here, and it's a joy to bring you the Word of God on this Father's Day. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to John 21. We'll be finishing off the rest of the chapter that we started last week. If this is your first time here or you're visiting us today and you don't have a Bible, please grab a Pew Bible that's right in front of you. It's our church's gift to you. I'd love to have all of those who are here to be able to have a copy of God's Word in their home.
As you find your way to John chapter 21, I'll read for us verses 20 to 25. The big number is the chapter number and the small numbers are the verse numbers. John 21:20 reads:
So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. — John 21:20-25 (CSB)
Pray with me. Father, once more as we come to your word, help us understand it. Give us understanding that it might be true for our lives, that we would be found among those who trust and follow you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
The Practice of Focus
It's a joy to be back in John 21. But before we get there, I want to start with a hobby I picked up in high school: rock climbing. I had a few friends who enjoyed indoor rock climbing, and if you've ever been to a rock climbing gym, one of the first things you immediately experience when you get on the mat, put on the climbing shoes, is that it's terrifying to go into a place where everybody can be watching you once you get onto the wall.
It's not like a gym where some areas are kind of partitioned off, you can do your own workout, you can be in your own place. Typically, in a rock climbing gym, when you get onto the mat and you see all of the other