Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!”Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
3 sermons cite this verse
I love that humble editorial we as an editor. 20 years ago, what I needed as an apprentice and seminary student, and what I still often need to hear today, and what you may need as a Bethlehem College and seminary student here, is to hear Jesus say, what's that to you? how I mean to use your peers. You follow me. You follow me. Don't swell with conceit because you perceive your abilities to be better than your peers. Don't melt in discouragement over those abilities you perceive to be less than those peers. What's that to you? Jesus says. You follow me. How I'd like to proceed through this last section of the Gospel of John is to enjoy three aspects here of the greatness of Jesus. So John has seen the glory. Chapter 1 verse 14. He's seen the glory, full of grace and truth. And he's filled 21 chapters with the glory of Christ. And now we come to this final chapel of the semester and the final section of the Gospel of John. …
When Jesus gives no explanation, just an invitation, follow me. It's after the resurrection, Jesus is meeting with three of his disciples on this appearance, as he often did with these three, Peter, James, and John. And John being the disciple whom Jesus loved, I don't understand, I don't know, Well, you can say what you want to say. The scripture is very clear. He often pulled these three aside from the other disciples. He often shared things and insights and teachings with them that he did not share with the others. And he asked Simon, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? He said, yes, I do. Then he said, then feed my sheep. Do what I put you on this earth to do. Take the word and feed the sheep. And he said, but when you grow old, they're going to tie your hands and they're going to lead you where you don't want to go down a path that you would never choose to go down. …
Jacob endured, Moses meditated--and David wrought. Jacob endured the frost, and heat, and sleepless nights, and paid the price of the lost sheep; Moses was taken up into the mount for forty days; David fought with the foe, and recovered the prey--he rescued it from the mouth of the lion, and the paw of the bear, and killed the ravenous beasts. Christ, too, not only suffered with Jacob, and was in contemplation with Moses, but fought and conquered with David. David defended his father's sheep at Bethlehem; Christ, born and heralded to the shepherds at Bethlehem, suffered on the Cross in order to conquer. He came "from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah;" but He was "glorious in His apparel," for He trod the people "in His anger, and trampled them in His fury, and their blood was sprinkled upon His garments, and He stained all His raiment." Jacob was not as David, nor David as Jacob, nor either of them as Moses; but Christ was all three, as fulfilling all types, the lowly Jacob, the wise Moses, the heroic David, all in one--Priest, Prophet, and King. My brethren, we say daily, "We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Again, we say, "We have erred and strayed from Thy ways, like lost sheep:" let us never forget these truths; let us never forget, on the one hand, that we are sinners; let us never forget, on the other hand, that Christ is our Guide and Guardian. He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." He is a light unto our ways, and a lanthorn unto our paths. He is our Shepherd, and the sheep know His voice. If we are His sheep, we shall hear it, recognize it, and obey it. Let us beware of not following when He goes before: "He goes before, and His sheep follow Him, for they know His voice." Let us beware of receiving His grace in vain. When God called Samuel, he answered, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." When Christ called St. Paul, he "was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." Let us desire to know His voice; let us pray for the gift of watchful ears and a willing heart. He does not call all men in one way, He calls us each in His own way. To St. Peter He said, "Follow thou Me;" of St. John, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Nor is it always easy to know His voice. St. John knew it, and said, "It is the Lord," before St. Peter. Samuel did not know it till Eli told him. St. Paul asked, "Who art Thou, Lord?" We are bid, "try the spirits, whether they be of God." But whatever difficulty there be in knowing when Christ calls, and whither, yet at least let us look out for His call. Let us not be content with ourselves; let us not make our own hearts our home, or this world our home, or our friends our home; let us look out for a better country, that is, a heavenly. Let us look out for Him who alone can guide us to that better country; let us call heaven our home, and this life a pilgrimage; let us view ourselves, as sheep in the trackless desert, who, unless they follow the shepherd, will be sure to lose themselves, sure to fall in with the wolf. We are safe while we keep close to Him, and under His eye; but if we suffer Satan to gain an advantage over us, woe to us! …