Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 21. Our text is found in verses 18 through 23, in this last section of John's Gospel. We'll begin reading at verse 15. Just to pick up a little bit of the context, John chapter 21, beginning our reading at verse 15, this is God's inspired and infallible Word. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my lambs. He said to him a second time again, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this, he said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had also leaned back on his breast at the supper and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? Peter, therefore seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what about this man? Jesus said to him, if I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. This therefore went out among the brethren that the disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only if I want him to remain until I come. What is that to you? I doubt if any of you woke up this morning hoping to hear a sermon about death. Death isn't something that we like to talk about. It's unpleasant. It's uncomfortable. It may also seem strange to us to hear death connected with glory. Seems like connecting light and darkness. Remember, Paul said, what fellowship do light and darkness have? We could ask the same, I suppose. What fellowship do death and glory have? I doubt if Peter was expecting the Lord to speak to him either about his death. These words came to him in the context of the Lord's third resurrection appearance to his disciples, this time five of them on an all-night fishing expedition. An expedition that yielded nothing until the Lord showed up at dawn and supernaturally gave them a catch so large that they couldn't haul it into the boat. After breakfast on the beach, Jesus gently restored Peter to communion and reinstated him to apostleship. But then on the heels of restoration and reinstatement comes this declaration of Peter's death. And I wonder if Peter would have been surprised at the time to read what John would later write that by these words, Jesus was signifying by what kind of death He would glorify God. It shouldn't have surprised Peter, and it shouldn't surprise us either. Because after all, our Lord Himself associated death and glory when He spoke of the last hour an expression that he used to refer to his death. In John chapter 12, he was referring to, he made reference, he said, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. As Jesus was contemplating the last hour, as he was contemplating his death, he went on to say, Now my soul has become trouble, a trouble. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose, I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. And what else did Jesus mean when he said, Father, glorify your name. But Father, glorify your name in my death. It stands to reason that if Jesus' death brought glory to God, then the believer's death brings glory to God because the believer follows after Jesus in everything. Everything that God did for Jesus, God does for the believer because the believers united to Jesus. We learn in our text that in order to glorify God in death, the believer must glorify God in his own life. In order to glorify God in death, the believer must glorify God in life. These two points capture the thought of our passage. dying to the glory of God and living to the glory of God. So we think about dying to the glory of God. Our text speaks both to the solemnity and to the glory of death. Jesus alludes to the seriousness, the solemnity of death when he begins what he said to the apostle Peter with these words, truly, truly. These are words that are found recorded, Christ's words recorded only in John, and often some 25 times. It's the word amen, amen, amen, he said. It's an expression that refers to the solemnity, the seriousness of what he's about to say. And so having restored Peter to apostleship, Jesus didn't hold out the prospect of a comfortable life to him. There was no ease, no great earthly estate promised. He rather unreservedly warned Peter what the consequences of his apostleship would be, telling him that by comparison, his earlier years were easier than his later years would be. The expression that Jesus uses here, you girded yourself and walked wherever you wish, is a general reference to the freedom from restraint and independence of movement, perhaps even that Peter enjoyed in his calling as a fisherman. But the allusion to others girding him and taking him where he didn't wish to go is a reference to the restriction of that freedom in his latter years. You will stretch out your hands, Jesus says to Peter. That refers to the manner in which Peter would die. We owe it to John for that understanding. The apostle Peter would live to be persecuted, beaten, and imprisoned. and tradition with which most evangelical scholarship agrees, has it that Peter's hands were stretched out on a cross at Rome where he was crucified upside down. Most of the apostles were martyred. Most of them went to their death in the service of their Lord. James, the brother of John, He was the first of the apostles to die, being put to death by the sword. King Herod, Acts 12, records that for us, A.D. 54. Philip suffered martyrdom in Phrygia, a region of Asia Minor. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in A.D. 54. Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia. In A.D. 60, Matthias, Judas' replacement, was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Andrew was crucified on a cross in the form of an X. The two bottom portions transfixed to the ground. Bartholomew translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, preached it there. and was cruelly beaten and crucified by the idolaters of that land. Thomas also preached the gospel in India, where he stirred up the rage of pagan priests there, who thrust him through with a sword. Simon the Zealot preached the gospel in Africa. He was crucified as well, AD 74. Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria. Martyrdom was a fact of life for many Christians living in the Roman Empire in the first three and the early fourth centuries. And then in the fourth century, Constantine established the peace of the church by the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire so that for a period of about a thousand years, there wasn't large scale persecution against Christians until the time of the Protestant Reformation when hatred for Christians was stirred up because of the reformers tenacity in standing for the truth of the scriptures. In 1520, just a couple of years after Martin Luther nailed his theses, against protesting the abuse of indulgences in the Roman Catholic Church to the door in Wittenberg, a small band of English reformers began to meet on a regular basis to discuss the German reformers writings at a pub in Cambridge, England called the White Horse Inn. The names of those who regularly met there included William Tyndall, Miles Cloverdale, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Bilney. These meetings were not simply informal discussions of theology over ale. The White Horse Inn, by its frequent and regular open discussions of the key issues of Protestant theology, became the kindling fire for the larger Reformation. in England as a whole. And many of those men who met there were martyred under Queen Mary's reign. Death is most assuredly a solemn prospect. And how does God view the death of men like Peter, of men like the Protestant reformers, How does he view the death, the deaths of believers? John writes of the glory associated with Peter's death. Now this is a great paradox, isn't it? Because dying is both unnatural and a part of the curse that God pronounced on man. Man's fall brought death into the world as a curse of sin. Death is the unnatural rending of the soul from the body. It runs contrary to God's creation ordinance and man's natural will to live. Even Christ in his human will balked at the prospect of death at the garden of Gethsemane. When he cried out to the father, if it's possible, take this cup from me. Nevertheless. Not my will be done, but your will. And by the words that he spoke to Peter, it's apparent that death is something that he would shrink away from. And yet. In the very same breath in which John tells us of Jesus' words to Peter, he tells us by the Holy Spirit's inspiration that Peter would glorify God in his death. It's been said that the patient deaths of the English reformers we spoke of earlier, men like Latimer, Ridley, Tyndall, and Bilney, had more effect on the Reformation in England than all the sermons they preached and all the books they wrote and did much more to move the Protestant Reformation forward. Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake side by side. Before their execution, Ridley embraced Latimer fervently and said to him, be of good heart, brother. For God will either assuage the fury of the flame or else strengthen us to abide it, then they knelt by the stake together and earnestly prayed. And as the fire was being stoked beneath them, Latimer said to his good friend, be of good cheer, Ridley. We shall this day, by God's grace, light up such a candle in England, as I trust will never be put out. Now, those these accounts stir the soul. I hope they stir your soul like they stir my soul. And we're ready to concede that Peter's death and the deaths of Protestant reformers and prominent ministers in church history have been a means of glorifying God. But what about the death of the ordinary Christian like you and like me? Does our death bring glory to God? Psalm 116, rather, verse 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. One of the most insignificant men in history and in the history of the Bible, a man named Lazarus, a poor man who was daily laid by a rich man's gate to beg from his table, has had a profound effect upon countless souls in the history of redemption and has brought great glory to God. How can a believer bring glory to God in his or her death? You can glorify God in death by being ready for it, by preparing yourself for it. You can glorify God in death by enduring its pains and not grumbling or complaining, but resting in the peace that God gives to his children in death. You can glorify God in death by testifying to those around you, to the comfort and the support that we find in the grace of Christ. Dear Christians, I've seen this time and time again. The most ordinary of Christians who on their deathbed bring glory to God, Not by profound declarations of Christian doctrine, but by a simple testimony that God was with them, that God was comforting them, that they believed in the promises that God gave them, even as they came to that last hour of their own lives. Glory resounds to God when a man or a woman can say with David, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. The death of any Christian, no matter how insignificant that believer may seem in the grander scheme of things, leaves a mark on the living that isn't soon forgotten. dying to the glory of God. The Puritan William Perkins wrote a treatise, a small piece entitled The Art of Dying Well. But he also wrote a companion piece called The Art of Living Well. If we are to glorify God in death, we must glorify God in the life that we live here and now. Living to God's glory necessarily precedes dying. to God's glory. If you don't live to God's glory, you won't die to God's glory. And living to God's glory necessarily involves a steadfast commitment to the truth of scriptures. Peter, the apostles, as well as men like Tyndale and Latimer and Ridley died because they were committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they stood fast in that gospel until the end. J.C. Ryle, great Anglican minister, argues that the English reformers were burned at the stake, not because they refused to submit to the Pope, and not because they insisted upon the independency of the Church of England, but for one single point of doctrine. And that's that they refused to acknowledge the bodily presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord's Supper. That's how committed they were to the truth of God's Word. Living to the glory of God necessarily involves following Christ, is what Jesus says to Peter, regardless of persecution, regardless of the difficulties that the disciple of Christ must face. Having prophesied Peter's martyrdom, he says to Peter, follow me. Whatever the cost, follow me. Things have been tough these last weeks for Peter. You remember those last weeks when Peter said he would follow Jesus to the end, said he was willing to die with Jesus, but he fled with the rest of the apostles at the Garden of Gethsemane? And then he said that he'd never deny his Lord. But he did, three times, successively. And things were about to get tougher for Peter. But Jesus exhorted him, follow me. Living to God's glory necessarily involves following Jesus regardless of what God's providence holds for other professing believers. What about John? Peter asked Jesus. What will happen to him? Will things be as difficult for John as they're going to be for me? That's not the point, Jesus said. We're not talking about John. We're talking about you. And even if I do determine that John should remain until I come, what's that to you? He's very blunt with the apostle, wasn't he? The meaning of those words, until I come, has been much debated. I think it means until Jesus comes in judgment, AD 70. Interestingly, John was one of the few of the 12 that wasn't dead by then. But that's not the point either. In effect, what Jesus says to Peter is what I do with John is none of your business. You follow me. Peter's curiosity about what things would be like for John must give way to his obedience. Someone once said that a man who's been wounded by a feathered, poisoned arrow should not begin to ask of what kind of wood is the arrow made? Or of what kind of bird were the feathers made? Was the one who shot the arrow of dark complexion or fair complexion? Was he tall or short? But he should begin to address The poison and and seek to save his own life. And what Peter is hearing from his Lord at this point is it's time to move on, Peter. Don't worry about what I'm doing with John, his life. It's time to move forward. There are there's work to be done in my kingdom. There are sheep to be tended. You follow me. You keep my commands. Command is in the present tense, so it has the sense of Keep on following me, Peter. So a very relevant point, wasn't it? Peter had just that Jesus had just pointed that out to Peter by the threefold repetition of that question. Do you love me? It shows us that Peter's it's reminded Peter that his following had been very erratic and it grieved his soul to hear how erratic his following was. We're like Peter in many ways, more than we would like to admit. And we're prone to compare ourselves with others, with their experiences and God's dealings with them. And Jesus says that's none of our business. It's not my business how my brother or my sister in Christ is doing in terms of God's dealings with them, whether God is bringing them through the same trials that he's bringing me through, whether they're experiencing the same hardships that I'm experiencing. What does that matter to us? That's what Jesus is saying to us. And what does it mean to follow Jesus? What is what's Jesus saying to the Apostle Peter? Well, just like the use of the name Simon, son of John, those words, follow me, took Peter back to the time when he was with his with his brothers, he and Andrew were casting their fishing nets and Jesus walked by and he said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And in the course of his experience with Jesus, walking with him, living with him. Peter had heard these words over and over again. In the context of discussion about commitment to Christ, one disciple had said, Lord, let me first go back and bury my father. And Jesus said, follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead. To a wealthy young man. who said he'd kept the commandments from his youth and asked what he lacked to inherit eternal life. Jesus said, if you would be perfect, go sell all that you have, give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven and come follow me. And after Peter rebuked the Lord, when Jesus told him that he was going to the cross, Jesus told Peter he was setting his heart on man's interests and not God's interests. And he uttered these words, these well familiar words to us, if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Those words, follow me, summon us, from all that would distract us, all that would pull us away from following the Lord Jesus Christ. The call to follow Jesus is a call of undistracted discipleship. May I ask you this evening, dear Christian, are you following Jesus? Are you engaging in this undistracted discipleship? Has your following been erratic like Peter's following was? What is it in this life, in this world that distracts you from following Jesus Christ wherever he may lead you? If you're to glorify God in death, you must follow Jesus and therefore glorify God in this life. None of us knows how or when we'll die. We may be killed in an instant. We may suffer long from illness. We may go peacefully in our sleep at a ripe old age. It pleased God to reveal that to Peter. It hasn't pleased God to reveal that to you and to me. But however it may please God to translate your soul from this life to the next, our text brings us face to face with a question of eternal significance. Are you preparing yourself for death? A death that will bring glory to God. What mark will your life leave on the world? What will be said of you when you're in the grave? You need not be an apostle, you need not be a great reformer, even a prominent church leader to bring God glory in death. I have no doubt, there's no doubt in my mind that every believer here, every genuine God-fearing believer longs to bring glory to God in their death. But Jesus makes it clear in this interaction with Peter that the way to bring him glory in death is to bring him glory now by following him. Now that's a consistently difficult process, isn't it? If you've lived any time at all as a Christian, you know how difficult it is to consistently follow Jesus Christ. The crosses of this life aren't easy to bear. Sin, trials, afflictions, discouragements weigh us down in this life. The distractions that we face make us lose sight of our priorities and we wonder from the path. Upon which Christ has called us to walk after him. But that well-known exhortation of our Lord has provided us a corrective. If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. You know, there's that old expression that we hear so often and it seems rather trite sometimes. One day at a time, one step at a time. But you know, I think there's something to that expression. Because what our Lord has clearly communicated to us in this well-known saying is that we are to daily die to ourselves. I think we would do well as we as we awake each morning to awaken the dawn with our praise. Yes. but to say to the Lord in our daily devotion with Him, today, I will deny myself. Today, I will take up my cross and follow Jesus Christ. That's a tremendous corrective. And you see, it's not intimidating because it doesn't entail the weeks or the months or the years ahead. It has to do with this day. On this day, we should say to the Lord, every day we should say to the Lord, today, my dear Savior, I commit myself to bring glory to your name. If you will, by the grace and strength that Christ gives, to daily die to self and live to His glory, He will, by that same grace, enable you to glorify God in your death. Let's pray together. Our Father, You are gracious and kind to us. In the revelation of these things, And even though you have not revealed to us, it's not pleased you to show us how or when we will die. Yet we know that day is coming and we long as your people to be faithful to you and to bring you glory in the death that we die by being ready for it, by being a consistent testimony to those around us of the great comfort that we have and the promises that you've given us. in our Savior Jesus Christ, would you help us by your grace to die daily to ourselves, to die to sin, to die to selfishness, to die to those things that take us away from the priorities that you have given us in your word. We ask, therefore, that you would enable us to bring you glory now and that you would enable us to bring you glory in our death, whenever and however that shall come. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.