What Is That to Thee
John 21:15-22
The scene is Jesus having breakfast with His disciples after His resurrection on the shore of Galilee. Jesus asks Peter three times, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” (John 21:15-17). Each time Peter affirms he loves the Lord. Jesus follows up Peter’s answer with instructions to care for His sheep and lambs.
Peter was very impetuous. One thing that often got Peter in trouble was his mouth—He would blurt out the wrong thing without thinking.
On the Mt. of Transfiguration (Mt. 17:4).
He rebuked Jesus when Jesus said He was going to be crucified.
At first he refused to let the Lord wash his feet, then asked Jesus to wash his entire body.
He boosted he would never deny the Lord and would die with the Lord. Yet later he cursed and swore he did not know the Lord.
Here in our text, Peter is at it once again. In verses 18-19, Jesus informs Peter would live to be an old man and then die as a martyr. Then Jesus says, “Follow me.”
Instead of following the Lord, Peter turns and sees John. He immediately sticks his nose in someone else’s business and asks, “Lord, and what shall this man do?” — “Jesus, You told me I’m going to be martyred, but what about John? What’s going to happen to him?”
Peter was like a lot of Baptists—Curious about God’s will for others, instead of following God’s will for themselves.
Jesus rebukes Peter’s nosiness, “What is that to thee? follow thou me.” In other words, “Peter, you are going to die for me. Don’t worry about John. My plan for John is none of your business. Even if he lives until I return, that does not affect what I want you to do. You follow Me!”
Notice this three-fold application of Jesus’ question to Peter:
I. It EXHORTS us.
A. Exhorts us to focus on Jesus. Problems start when you take your eyes off of the Lord to look at what others are doing.
1. You cannot “follow Jesus” while you are looking at someone else. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).
2. God is not going to judge my service by what others do, or don’t do. What others do or don’t do does not excuse me from doing what God wants me to do. Romans 14:10-13— “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… everyone of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another [or compare one another] any more.”
B. Exhorts us against comparisons (2 Cor. 10:12–“But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”).
1. Beware of developing a jaundiced eye by comparing your service to another’s service and surmise you are more spiritual than they are.
Illustrated in the parable of the pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee compared his outward behavior to the sinful acts of the publican—“God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” While congratulating himself, he was oblivious to his own sins.
2. It works the other way also. We want to make sure others are just as busy as we are serving the Lord. Martha was guilty of this when she criticized her sister Mary for not working as hard in kitchen as she was. This happens all too often among church members.
Why aren’t they serving the Lord? “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Where was so-and-so on Sunday night? “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Why don’t they come to G.R.O.W.? “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Why are they playing with their cell phone and not paying attention to the sermon? “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
Why doesn’t God chasten him/her for what they are doing? “What is that to thee? follow thou me.”
II. It ENLIGHTENS us.
Partial Sermon: FULL PDF HERE
