Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
After Peter was restored by the threefold test of love and given the work of caring for Christ's flock, and after his own death in old age was foretold, he asked about John's future and was answered with this word. It gives no promise that John would live until the second coming, but declares Christ's supreme power over both lives, that even if He willed John to remain alive until He comes it would not change Peter's own work. The command to follow covers every step of life and not death only, turning Peter away from curious inquiry about another's lot to his own personal discipleship and obedience. What Christ chooses for another disciple, his future and his assigned work, is not one's concern, and no one is to meddle in, direct, judge or define a fellow worker's duties. Following means walking step by step with Christ in constant communion with His mind and will, not running ahead to plan God's work but letting Him go before, obeying His counsel instead of one's own habits and opinions.
Setting and Occasion
The saying was given at Christ's last meeting with the disciples by the sea, by the Sea of Galilee. That gathering was in the region where much of His ministry had been passed, in a place where they were not likely to be disturbed and were surrounded by reminders of Jesus and His mighty works. In sight was the sea where He had walked upon the billows to their rescue when their hearts were filled with terror in the fierce storm hurrying them to destruction, and where the tempest had been hushed by His word. There also was the beach where above ten thousand persons had been fed from a few small loaves and fishes, and Capernaum the scene of so many miracles was not far distant, filling their minds with the words and deeds of their Saviour.
It came after Peter had been tested by the threefold question whether he loved Christ and had been restored to his place among the twelve. After that testing his life work had been appointed to care for the Lord's flock and to feed Christ's flock. The command to follow was Christ's last personal direction to Peter, calling him to personal discipleship and obedience without concern about what might happen to John.
It was spoken right after Jesus had foretold Peter's own death in old age by stretching out his hands on the cross after a life of usefulness, and had renewed the command to follow Him. At that moment Peter saw John following and asked what John would do and what John's future would be.
Meaning of Tarry Till I Come
The words about John tarrying till He comes give no assurance or promise that John would live until the second coming of Christ. They are a declaration of supreme power over both lives, meaning that even if it were His will for John to remain alive until He comes, it would in no way affect or change Peter's own work. The future of both John and Peter rests in the Lord's hands, and Peter should have trusted Him to reveal to him all that was best for him to know.
John lived to old age and witnessed Jerusalem's desolation. His was a long life of following Jesus through labor and persecution. That life was longer than that of his fellow disciples.
Call to Follow Jesus
The command to follow covers every step of Peter's life, not only his death, and it is given to all. When Peter saw John following and asked what John would do and what his future would be, he was turned away from curiosity and concern about another to his own duty. The answer rebukes curious inquiry about another's assigned work, comparison and self-concern, showing that confusion or distress about others' duties should not turn a believer from faithful obedience. Each is required to obey in following Christ without undue anxiety about the duty given to others, trusting Jesus to reveal all that is best to know.
The command corrects the habit of acting independently and trying to plan God's work instead of waiting to carry out God's plan. It means do not run ahead of Jesus but let Him go before, for rushing ahead of the Lord gains nothing. In following, Peter would not have to meet the hosts of Satan alone and would not be overcome by the enemy.
Following means walking step by step with Christ in order to know the Lord and to come into constant communion with His mind and will rather than one's own. It means asking daily what must be done to be saved, hearing His voice, advancing into purifying reforms, and accepting practical duties involving self-denial. It means obeying His decided counsel instead of vindicating and holding one's own position, habits, opinions, appetites, calculations and practices, because His requirements cut directly across human devisings and indulgence. Peter humbly understood the meaning of the call and truly followed the Lord he had denied, finding light and comfort and blessing in the thought that Christ had not denied and rejected him.
Peter's restoration, authority, and responsibility to feed the flock did not make him supreme over the other apostles or head of the church. His influence came through Christ's favor and his faithful following. Though mistakes and defects of character will be seen in others because humanity is encompassed with infirmity, in Christ is perfection, and by beholding Him believers become transformed.
Responsibility for Own Duty
What Christ chooses for another disciple is not one's concern, including what may happen to him and the work assigned to him, and each person must keep attention on Jesus and follow Him without undue anxiety, comparison, or questioning about others. The rebuke turns Peter away from concern over John's assignment and future to his own calling and discipleship, forbidding comparison and self-concern and overanxiety about what another should do. Instead of anxiously investigating another's work or course, each is to focus on faithful service and individual faithfulness to God's glory, with earthly concerns set aside for eternal realities.
Each disciple has a task given by Christ, and each person is responsible to God for the good he can do and must attend faithfully to the responsibility God has placed in his own hands wherever Christ's cause has a claim. Christ oversees the work entrusted to others, so the believer is to follow Him rather than meddle in, arrange, criticize, or try to direct a fellow worker's work. No one is to take upon himself planning duties for others, judging or managing them, complaining or finding fault because another follows a different plan, dwelling on another's mistakes, failings, or motives, questioning them, or defining their duties. Watching others to question their duty is forbidden, and confusion or distress about others' duties must not turn one from faithful obedience.
Believers must look to the Lord and not to one another to know personal duty, each earnestly seeking the Lord to know what he himself must do in service for God. No one can do another person's work for him, and the faithfulness of others can never repair one's own negligence, so personal fidelity and individual responsibility are required in every department of God's work. Holding back and waiting for others to act brings spiritual feebleness and lessens strength, while implicit obedience and willing submission to Jesus without halting or self-indulgence bring change and advance to the cause. Each must listen to what Christ teaches and commands him personally and obey it himself instead of defining the duties of others or asking about their work.
Criticizing or judging others distracts from the more important work of examining one's own heart and being right with God. Each has a work to do for himself: to examine and guard his own spiritual life rather than judge or compare himself with others, to pattern character after Jesus and meet God's standard, to watch and pray against personal temptation, and to remain closely connected with Christ through trials so that faith is not weakened and Satan does not gain victory. Faultfinding and talking about others while neglecting one's own faults are rebuked by the command to attend to one's own duty and follow Christ. A person's duty to follow Christ and receive truth does not depend on whether leaders accept it, and their unbelief does not make the message false or excuse others from responding. Each must seek and recognize truth for himself, allow no one to come between him and God, receive the Spirit's conviction through God's Word, and answer individually for receiving or rejecting truth.
Focused Faithful Living
The question what is that to thee turns the follower away from side issues, controversies and irrelevant disputes that have no bearing on the commission given by Christ. Attention is to remain fixed on that commission, on the message to be proclaimed, on the great testing truths for the time, and on the principles of God's law. For ministers this means giving themselves to the testing truths rather than to theories such as that of a flat world, which do not concern their work. For all believers it means keeping the mind on Christ and on saving souls, without being drawn aside into political questions.
To follow Christ is to keep faith with the truth and to keep one's own soul in the truth, instead of being occupied with what He may require of another. That following is diligent, earnest and untiring labor to lead others to the Saviour and to win souls to Him. The same word rebukes self-sufficiency and self-importance, and calls for meek obedience to Christ with a heart softened to accept instruction and counsel. It requires putting away impatience, quick temper and being easily stirred by what others say or do, and cultivating patience, humility, forbearance and meekness, maintaining at all times the lowly dignity of a follower of Jesus.
When the future of another is uncertain, as whether James would be spared before the time of trouble, the answer is still to follow Jesus and God's leading. What may happen to another is not to distract from personal duty. Trust in His promises is to stand firm, and the walk is to be by faith rather than by sight.
After Peter was restored by the threefold test of love and given the work of caring for Christ's flock, and after his own death in old age was foretold, he asked about John's future and was answered with this word. It gives no promise that John would live until the second coming, but declares Christ's supreme power over both lives, that even if He willed John to remain alive until He comes it would not change Peter's own work. The command to follow covers every step of life and not death only, turning Peter away from curious inquiry about another's lot to his own personal discipleship and obedience. What Christ chooses for another disciple, his future and his assigned work, is not one's concern, and no one is to meddle in, direct, judge or define a fellow worker's duties. Following means walking step by step with Christ in constant communion with His mind and will, not running ahead to plan God's work but letting Him go before, obeying His counsel instead of one's own habits and opinions.
Setting and Occasion
The saying was given at Christ's last meeting with the disciples by the sea, by the Sea of Galilee. That gathering was in the region where much of His ministry had been passed, in a place where they were not likely to be disturbed and were surrounded by reminders of Jesus and His mighty works. In sight was the sea where He had walked upon the billows to their rescue when their hearts were filled with terror in the fierce storm hurrying them to destruction, and where the tempest had been hushed by His word. There also was the beach where above ten thousand persons had been fed from a few small loaves and fishes, and Capernaum the scene of so many miracles was not far distant, filling their minds with the words and deeds of their Saviour.
It came after Peter had been tested by the threefold question whether he loved Christ and had been restored to his place among the twelve. After that testing his life work had been appointed to care for the Lord's flock and to feed Christ's flock. The command to follow was Christ's last personal direction to Peter, calling him to personal discipleship and obedience without concern about what might happen to John.
It was spoken right after Jesus had foretold Peter's own death in old age by stretching out his hands on the cross after a life of usefulness, and had renewed the command to follow Him. At that moment Peter saw John following and asked what John would do and what John's future would be.
Meaning of Tarry Till I Come
The words about John tarrying till He comes give no assurance or promise that John would live until the second coming of Christ. They are a declaration of supreme power over both lives, meaning that even if it were His will for John to remain alive until He comes, it would in no way affect or change Peter's own work. The future of both John and Peter rests in the Lord's hands, and Peter should have trusted Him to reveal to him all that was best for him to know.
John lived to old age and witnessed Jerusalem's desolation. His was a long life of following Jesus through labor and persecution. That life was longer than that of his fellow disciples.
Call to Follow Jesus
The command to follow covers every step of Peter's life, not only his death, and it is given to all. When Peter saw John following and asked what John would do and what his future would be, he was turned away from curiosity and concern about another to his own duty. The answer rebukes curious inquiry about another's assigned work, comparison and self-concern, showing that confusion or distress about others' duties should not turn a believer from faithful obedience. Each is required to obey in following Christ without undue anxiety about the duty given to others, trusting Jesus to reveal all that is best to know.
The command corrects the habit of acting independently and trying to plan God's work instead of waiting to carry out God's plan. It means do not run ahead of Jesus but let Him go before, for rushing ahead of the Lord gains nothing. In following, Peter would not have to meet the hosts of Satan alone and would not be overcome by the enemy.
Following means walking step by step with Christ in order to know the Lord and to come into constant communion with His mind and will rather than one's own. It means asking daily what must be done to be saved, hearing His voice, advancing into purifying reforms, and accepting practical duties involving self-denial. It means obeying His decided counsel instead of vindicating and holding one's own position, habits, opinions, appetites, calculations and practices, because His requirements cut directly across human devisings and indulgence. Peter humbly understood the meaning of the call and truly followed the Lord he had denied, finding light and comfort and blessing in the thought that Christ had not denied and rejected him.
Peter's restoration, authority, and responsibility to feed the flock did not make him supreme over the other apostles or head of the church. His influence came through Christ's favor and his faithful following. Though mistakes and defects of character will be seen in others because humanity is encompassed with infirmity, in Christ is perfection, and by beholding Him believers become transformed.
Responsibility for Own Duty
What Christ chooses for another disciple is not one's concern, including what may happen to him and the work assigned to him, and each person must keep attention on Jesus and follow Him without undue anxiety, comparison, or questioning about others. The rebuke turns Peter away from concern over John's assignment and future to his own calling and discipleship, forbidding comparison and self-concern and overanxiety about what another should do. Instead of anxiously investigating another's work or course, each is to focus on faithful service and individual faithfulness to God's glory, with earthly concerns set aside for eternal realities.
Each disciple has a task given by Christ, and each person is responsible to God for the good he can do and must attend faithfully to the responsibility God has placed in his own hands wherever Christ's cause has a claim. Christ oversees the work entrusted to others, so the believer is to follow Him rather than meddle in, arrange, criticize, or try to direct a fellow worker's work. No one is to take upon himself planning duties for others, judging or managing them, complaining or finding fault because another follows a different plan, dwelling on another's mistakes, failings, or motives, questioning them, or defining their duties. Watching others to question their duty is forbidden, and confusion or distress about others' duties must not turn one from faithful obedience.
Believers must look to the Lord and not to one another to know personal duty, each earnestly seeking the Lord to know what he himself must do in service for God. No one can do another person's work for him, and the faithfulness of others can never repair one's own negligence, so personal fidelity and individual responsibility are required in every department of God's work. Holding back and waiting for others to act brings spiritual feebleness and lessens strength, while implicit obedience and willing submission to Jesus without halting or self-indulgence bring change and advance to the cause. Each must listen to what Christ teaches and commands him personally and obey it himself instead of defining the duties of others or asking about their work.
Criticizing or judging others distracts from the more important work of examining one's own heart and being right with God. Each has a work to do for himself: to examine and guard his own spiritual life rather than judge or compare himself with others, to pattern character after Jesus and meet God's standard, to watch and pray against personal temptation, and to remain closely connected with Christ through trials so that faith is not weakened and Satan does not gain victory. Faultfinding and talking about others while neglecting one's own faults are rebuked by the command to attend to one's own duty and follow Christ. A person's duty to follow Christ and receive truth does not depend on whether leaders accept it, and their unbelief does not make the message false or excuse others from responding. Each must seek and recognize truth for himself, allow no one to come between him and God, receive the Spirit's conviction through God's Word, and answer individually for receiving or rejecting truth.
Focused Faithful Living
The question what is that to thee turns the follower away from side issues, controversies and irrelevant disputes that have no bearing on the commission given by Christ. Attention is to remain fixed on that commission, on the message to be proclaimed, on the great testing truths for the time, and on the principles of God's law. For ministers this means giving themselves to the testing truths rather than to theories such as that of a flat world, which do not concern their work. For all believers it means keeping the mind on Christ and on saving souls, without being drawn aside into political questions.
To follow Christ is to keep faith with the truth and to keep one's own soul in the truth, instead of being occupied with what He may require of another. That following is diligent, earnest and untiring labor to lead others to the Saviour and to win souls to Him. The same word rebukes self-sufficiency and self-importance, and calls for meek obedience to Christ with a heart softened to accept instruction and counsel. It requires putting away impatience, quick temper and being easily stirred by what others say or do, and cultivating patience, humility, forbearance and meekness, maintaining at all times the lowly dignity of a follower of Jesus.
When the future of another is uncertain, as whether James would be spared before the time of trouble, the answer is still to follow Jesus and God's leading. What may happen to another is not to distract from personal duty. Trust in His promises is to stand firm, and the walk is to be by faith rather than by sight.