December 23, 2023
The Course Of Life
“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.” John 21:18 (NASB)
It seems over the last few years as I age that my body just doesn’t heal or hold up. When I go to train at the gym or walk, it seems I tire more easily. It takes longer to recover too. With the advent of COVID (whatever your feelings might be either way), it seems as though there are more and more respiratory illnesses in our society in just a few short years. It also seems each time you watch the news there is a new warning of another respiratory outbreak in which we need to either get another vaccination or begin to start thinking about re-masking all over again. This is a polarizing topic with both Christians and non-Christians alike. One thing is true though; we all are aging and what we once did when we were young, we can’t do quite as efficiently as we used to. One day we are all going to die. The statistics are 10 out of 10. But how?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished;” When Jesus used these words with Peter, He was talking about the aging process. “… when you were younger…” This embraces the whole period of life to the verge of old age. When we were young, we did whatever we wanted without any restrictions. Peter would continue to serve Jesus for about 30 years in total. During this time Jesus spoke to Peter, he would have been middle-aged (see Matt. 8:14). He could still, “gird yourself and walk wherever you wished;” indicating he could place his fishing gear and go on without the help of anyone; to come and go at will. But Peter’s death was also foretold. “A prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom. Jesus’ call of devotion to Him would also mean that Peter’s devotion would entail his own death (Matt. 10:37-39). Whenever any Christian follows Christ, he must be prepared to suffer and die (Matt. 16:24-26).”[1] This truth was made evident to Peter, knowing what was ahead in his life. “… 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.” Hughes agrees with MacArthur as well: “The sense of Christ’s prophecy is: ‘When you were young, you had your own way. You girded yourself and went forth with conscious independence. But a future time is coming when you will be infirm, and someone else will gird you and bind you and even crucify you.’ Christ was telling Peter very explicitly that his subsequent life of service would be extremely difficult, with the humiliation of his activist ego and even infirmity, and it would culminate in the ignominy of his own personal crucifixion.”[2] So was the calling that all the disciples faced in their lives as well.
While reading through the introduction to the Book of Hebrews this morning, during this period the letter was written, intensified persecution was growing toward the Hebrew Christians. The Hebrews were tempted to cast aside any identification with Christ. They may have even considered demoting Christ from God’s Son to a mere angel. Such a precedent began in the Qumran community already. They essentially were caving into the pressure around them. Peter would not cave though. His time was coming when he would stand for the cause of Christ, and it would cost him his life. They would “gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” This meant his death. I am not sure every Christian thinks of this today. Would you or could you?
[1] (MacArthur, John, 1997). 1629.
[2] Hughes, R. K. (1999). (p. 478). Crossway Books.