The Daily Devotional Podcast

Risen - 14 | John 21:18–23

• Waypoint Church

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0:00 | 4:19

This reflection reveals that following Jesus is deeply personal, and our calling is not defined by comparison but by His direct invitation to us. It invites us to focus on faithfully taking the next step He gives rather than measuring our path against others.

The Daily Devotional Podcast

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“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”


SPEAKER_00

Today I'll be reading John twenty one verses eighteen through twenty three. I tell you the truth. When you were young you were able to do as you liked, you dressed yourself, and you went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will dress you, and take you where you don't want to go. Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, Follow me. Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved, the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, Lord, who will betray you? Peter asked Jesus, What about him, Lord? Jesus replied, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me. So the rumor spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn't die. But that isn't what Jesus said at all.

SPEAKER_01

He only said, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is it to you?

SPEAKER_00

Humanity tends to be a creature of comparison. It's so easy for us to look at someone else's path and wonder why it looks so different. Why their calling seems clearer, their direction more defined, or their future less complicated. This story paints that picture clearly. After restoring Peter, Jesus begins to speak about his future. There's honesty in his words. Following Jesus will not be easy for Peter. It'll lead him down a path he would not naturally choose. Then Jesus simply says, Follow me.

SPEAKER_01

It is direct, personal, and enough. But Peter turns and notices John.

SPEAKER_00

Lord, what about him? Even as Jesus is meeting Peter in a moment of restoration and calling, comparison rears its head. Jesus responds with clarity, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. In other words, Peter's calling is not defined by John's story. It's defined by Jesus. We still commonly fall to the same act of comparison. We look around and measure our lives against others, their opportunities, their pace, their clarity, their outcomes. It can shift our focus away from what Jesus is actually asking of us. But following Jesus has always been personal. The disciples were called individually, sent individually, and known individually. The same is true now. In Matthew 28, Jesus gives a broad commission to his followers. Go, make disciples, carry the message forward. But even within the shared mission, the path each person walks is shaped by their relationship with him. Peter's next step was not to understand John's future, it was to follow. That's often where the clarity begins, not in having every detail mapped out, but in taking the next step Jesus has placed in front of us.

SPEAKER_01

Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.

SPEAKER_00

Give me clarity for what you're asking of me, and the courage to walk it faithfully.