John 21:18

Joh_21:18-23

When thou wast young thou girdest thyself

Light on Peters way

I.

PETERS FUTURE DESTINY DISCLOSED (Joh_21:18-19).

1. The manner of the disclosure.

(1) Solemnly--Verily, verily.

(2) Authoritatively. I, who know all things, say unto you.

(3) Feelingly. There can be small question but that Christ was deeply moved.

2. Its form. Not in literal but in veiled speech.

3. Its import.

(1) Indirectly a promise that Peter would attain a ripe old age, fulfilled in his death in A.D. 64.

(2) Directly a prediction that his career would terminate in martyrdom.

4. The reason for it. Perhaps

(1) To indicate the necessity of maintaining the love he had just professed.

(2) To furnish him with an opportunity of wiping out his disgrace by doing as he declared he was willing to do (Joh_13:37).

(3) To set before him the highest honour he could win--fellowship with Christ, not only in publishing, but also in dying for the truth (Mat_5:10-12; Luk_6:22; Act_5:41; Rom_8:17; Php_1:29; 2Ti_2:12; Heb_13:13; 1Pe_3:14).

II. PETERS PRESENT DUTY DECLARED (Joh_21:19).

1. The symbolical action. On saying, Follow Me, Christ probably suited the action to the word, by turning and making as if to depart.

2. The spiritual significance. If this suggestion be correct, it is still true that Christ intended more than to invite Peter aside from the company. His summons was a call to follow Him

(1) In official service.

(2) By personal imitation.

(3) As far as to death.

(4) Through the agonies of martyrdom.

(5) Into the world of glory beyond.

III. PETERS CHARACTERISTIC IMPETUOSITY RESTRAINED (Joh_21:20-23).

1. Peters question, Lord, and this man! What of him?

(1) The occasion of it. Seeing John following, attracted, no doubt, by Christs love for him (the disciple whom Jesus loved), and impelled by his love for Christ (who also leaned, &c.).

(2) The motive of it. Not jealousy, perhaps natural curiosity, most likely friendly interest in John.

(3) The wrong of it. Not irreverent towards Christ (Lord), or unkind towards John, or sinful in itself (Joh_14:13); it was irrelevant, having no bearing on the subject in hand, which was Peters duty, not Johns destiny; and inquisitive, manifesting a concern in the affairs of others not required by brotherly love, if not bordering on the presumptuous, as seeking to be informed of secret things which belong to God.

2. Jesus reply (verse 22).

(1) What it meant to Peter--rebuke. It did not belong to him to arrange, nor ought it to concern him to know (Act_1:7). All this might be left with Christ. His duty was to follow Christ.

(2) What it signified for John. Not that he should not die; merely that it might be Christs will that he should tarry long upon the field of labour till Christ came again, not that it was; and that if it was it was a matter exclusively for John.

Learn

1. To Christ alone pertains the prerogative of appointing to His servants their respective spheres and experiences.

2. The future destinies of Christs servants, as well as their present duties, are arranged by and known to Christ.

3. For the happiness of Christs servants it is enough to apprehend present duty.

4. Secret things belong to God, &c.

5. While Christs servants may be bold in making known their requests, there are limits to their asking.

6. The strongest propelling power is love to Christ.

7. Christs people are not exempt from misinterpreting His words.

8. When Christs words are partly dark it is wise to keep to that in them which is plain, and to wait for further light. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

When thou art old another shall gird thee, and carry thee.--We are none of us to choose how we will serve Christ. We may seem to have the choice, but sooner or later we shall find we cannot go on doing just the work that suits us best. Something will be asked of us we did not expect, something that tries our strength and constancy just where we are weakest.

There are many active, earnest, true-hearted men who are moved with a very real desire to do something to advance their Masters kingdom on earth. They would like perhaps, to preach and teach at home, or to go out as missionaries to foreign lands; and home duties, their way of life, the circumstances in which Gods providence has placed them, puts it out of their power to serve God in the way of their own choice. And they feel as if they could do nothing high or noble, as if Jesus was holding them back, and letting them have no opportunity of serving Him. But if in no other way they may serve Him as Peter had in the end to do, by patient suffering and self-denial for His sake. Then there are many who, from old age or from sickness and infirmity, are cut off from the life of active usefulness they loved. Instead of girding themselves to wait on others, to lead and guide and help them, they must have others to gird them, wait on them, attend to them. To such people it is the most painful thought possible that they are of no use. When they are told that they must never expect again to go forth to labour, when, perhaps from some bodily affliction, they are so helpless as not to be able even to wait on themselves, they feel that it would be better, easier, to die at once. They do not wish to rest till they reach the rest prepared for the people of God, and they have been accustomed to regard all work for the Lord as active stirring work. Let such remember that for His dear servant and friend the Lord appointed a rest-time, a prison rest-time, before the last rest of all, and that he so ready to do had to learn also quietly to suffer. I remember a good old clergyman, who for more than fifty-six years, first as a curate, and afterwards as a vicar, ministered in the Church of God. In all those years, except for a short rest in summer, his life had been one of constant activity. When a young man he had thrown himself earnestly into the effort then being made to extend to the children of the poor the blessings of Christian training. Busy in his own parish, he had still found time to help forward many a good work in other parts of the country, by his counsel and presence. He had written books that have brought comfort to many a weary heart. When near eighty he was still working in his own parish as of old, visiting the sick, comforting the sorrowing, leading back gently those who had gone out of the way, preaching the gospel to the poor. As he began to feel his strength grow less, his one desire was that he might be able to go on being useful in his day and generation till the Masters call should come. One day he met with an accident--serious at his time of life--and which would have proved fatal to one of less temperate habit and brave heart. But though he to a certain extent recovered, and lived for nearly a year after, he was never able again to minister in the church, or visit in his parish. At first when he realized that his active life was ended, his bright and cheerful spirit seemed as if it would fail him. He could not bear the thought of being a burden to others, though even in his then feeble state few men of his age required or would receive less attention and waiting on. But soon he recovered his wonted cheerfulness; He found much that he could still do for Him he had served already with the best years of his life. No sermon he ever preached, no book he ever wrote, so clearly bore witness for his Lord as did that last year of patient waiting for the call. Oh, my friends, blessed is that servant whom his Lord when He comes shall find girding himself to work; but no less blessed is he who, patiently enduring sickness, weakness, forced inactivity, shall be found by his Lord--waiting. (S. Hobson, M. A.)

The leading of Peter

The other, who was to lead Peter against his own will, is God with His powerful hand. This leading we trace in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter is forced to give up his ardent desire to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel into the fold of Christ; Israel becomes not Israel; Peter is obliged to leave the holy city, which has only imprisonment and the sword to give to the servants of their King; to Samaria his sovereign Leader leads him, and into the house of the Gentile Cornelius, and at length to Rome, the new Babylon, from whence he strengthened the elect strangers of the dispersion whom Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, had brought into the fold of Israel, strengthened them in the enduring of persecution, and against the seductions of false prophets. From Jerusalem to Babylon--it went against nature. And this offering up of his own life, this becoming free from all will of his own, was to be crowned and to have its perfecting in the martyrs death, by which he should glorify God: then would he stretch out those hands which had been so active in his youth, to be bound to the cross; instead of the girdle of his youth, an executioners rope would tuck up his garments (cf. Act_21:11)

; instead of walking whither he would from one Pentecostal harvest to another, he should be lead whither he would not, to the painful and ignominious death of the cross. (R. Besser, D. D.)

The true service of Christianity to man

There is no question so generally discussed as this, and three classes give a wrong answer.

1. Those who maintain that Christianity has injured, rather than benefited, the race. They tell us that it has warped mans judgments, nurtured morbid sentimentality, sectionized society, and served the ends of superstition, priestcraft, and tyranny.

2. Those who maintain that it is one of the many elevating forces at work in society. They tell us that it is generally of service to man in a low stage of civilization; that, like the theories and superstitions of old times, it has its mission, which it will fulfil and then become obsolete, to be left behind as the race advances in intelligence and manly virtue.

3. Those who maintain that it does everything for man. They say that there is nothing good in the world but Christianity--none in nature, science, and the feelings of man without it; and that if a man has it, he needs nothing more. These conflicting sentiments raise the question, Of what real use is it? Let us look at this

I. ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE. This incident suggests

1. That Christianity does not counteract the natural changes to which mans physical life is subject. When thou wert young, &c. Peter was a genuine disciple; but, nevertheless, Christ tells him, in effect, that Christianity in his soul would not prevent time wearing out his body, and that age incapacitates a man from executing his volitions. When thou wert young thou couldst ply the oar, roam the fields, scale the hills; there was energy and flexibility in thy frame, by which thou couldst readily execute thy desires. But when thou shelf be old, although thy will shall be vigorous, thy executive power will be gone. Christianity will not prevent the bloom fading from the cheek, the brightness passing from the eye, the strength dying out of the limb. Christianity neither offers resistance to the regular course of nature, nor any atonement for her violations. This fact shows

(1) That physical sufferings are no criterion for individual moral states. Some of the best men are the greatest sufferers, and some of the most useful die in the zenith of life.

(2) That Christianity respects the ordinances of nature. However you drink in the spirit of religion, and however consecrated you may be to its service, if you rebel against nature you must suffer.

(3) That if the disciples of Christ would be physically happy, they must attend, like other men, to physical laws. If you are in want of physical comforts, it is of no use for you to sing, The Lord will provide, and sit down in sloth.

2. That Christianity does not guard a man from the social oppressions of life. It is here foretold that Peter should die of crucifixion. His religion rather exposed him to the malice of men. Christianity teaches that if we will live godly, we must suffer persecution. This fact shows

(1) That Christianity can do without the favour of the world. It does not authorize the compromise of its principles to gain worldly patronage; but requires us to carry them out in their fulness and force, even against a world in arms.

(2) That Christianity can do without the lives of its most devoted followers, rather than without their fidelity.

3. That Christianity does not solve the speculative problems of life. Why am I thus to be dealt with? What is to become of John? Is he to be crucified also? or will he live the natural term of life? To this Jesus replies, What is that to thee? There are many pressing questions to which Christianity offers no response but this, and for good reasons.

(1) The encouragement of the sequestions would strengthen the speculative tendency rather than improve the heart. One answer would lead to another question, and so on interminably.

(2) An answer would create emotions which would paralyze moral action. Supposing we knew what would happen to us and ours!

(3) An answer would multiply the forces that divert us from practical godliness.

4. That Christianity does not invest us with an infallible judgment in this life (verse 23). The disciples fell into a wrong interpretation of the Saviours meaning. Christianity does clear and strengthen and guide the judgment, but does not render it infallible. If these brethren could make this mistake, much more their successors.

II. THE POSITIVE SIDE.

1. The incident suggests that it enlists Christs interest in the history of His disciples. How do the Gospels display this? and it is now displayed in the prophecy of Peters future, and his preparation to meet it. Is it nothing to enlist the interest of the Governor of the universe? Nothing that you have the interest of One

(1) Who knows the whole of the past, present, and future of your inner and outer life?

(2) Who has ample power so to control the events of the outward life, and supply the aspirations of the inward as to crown your existence with perfect blessedness. What thought can be more soul inspiring and uplifting than this?

2. The incident suggests that it brings glory to God in the death of His disciples. It illustrates

(1) The mercy of God. Visit the death-bed of the genuine disciple; mark the calmness, resignation, and sometimes the triumphant rapture amidst physical anguish. It is mercy that sustains the spirit amidst the mysterious sufferings of dissolution.

(2) The fidelity of God, who has promised to be with His people in the last hour. Is this nothing? To glorify God, to illustrate His perfections, is the end of creation, the duty and supreme aim of the holy in all worlds. Is it nothing for Christianity to enable poor, depraved men to do in death that which is the highest aim of the highest seraph.

3. The incident suggests that it gives a definite unity and attraction to all the duties of His disciples. What theories of human duty ethical sages have propounded. How voluminous legal codes! But Christianity reduces all duties to Follow thou Me. Christianity presents duty, not in dry propositions, but in a fascinating life. In Christ we see it in the most perfect, attractive, and practicable forms. Is this nothing? (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The prophecy and its main lesson

In His old age the Apostle was to be crucified--made to stretch forth his hands upon the transverse beams of the cross, and girded (or lashed round the waist) to the instrument of torture by a cord. Tradition says that he was crucified, at his own request, with his head downwards; in that case, the girding, or tying tightly, to the cross would probably be necessary, by way of keeping the body of the sufferer in its right position. This is in all probability the reference of the words, another shall gird thee, though perhaps some will prefer to see in them nothing more than an allusion to the binding of the Apostle previously to his being led away to execution. But putting aside their original and literal meaning, the words lend themselves very well to a secondary application. They may be regarded as a striking parable of human life in its two great periods of youth and old age. Youth is full of enterprize, energy, hope, vigour, prompt in forming schemes, and active in carrying them into execution; when emancipated from the restraints of boyhood, it exults in its independence, and feels that it is the master of its own destiny. When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But old age is the season of helplessness and dependence; another is called in to perform the most necessary offices, and to supply our lack of service towards our own failing frames; the very old have to be led, fed, apparalled by others, and the end is, that they are carried whither (according to the flesh) men cannot but shrink from going. (Dean Goulburn.)

These words spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God

God glorified in the Christians death

I. DEATH IS INEVITABLY CERTAIN. All men must submit to its destroying stroke; for it is appointed unto all men once to die. Christians themselves are not exempted from it. Peter and Paul and John died. Death is certain.

1. In consequence of the original sentence which has been pronounced upon our apostate race.

2. The constant reiteration of this fact demonstrates the certainty of mans mortality.

3. Constituted as human nature now is, it is impossible that we should enter upon the spiritual employments and blessedness of the heavenly world. The mind in its disembodied state is capable of entering upon the enjoyments and employment of heaven; but the body made up of decaying and material particles, requiring the constant refreshment of sleep and food, and occasionally of medicine, would not be a meet companion for the mind in future bliss, unless it should undergo a previous process of dissolution and resurrection, so that it may become fitted to take its part in the worship, and felicities of a spiritual heaven. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Either then there is the necessity of dying, or there is the necessity of undergoing a change, which is fully tantamount to dying.

4. The certainty of death will appear, if you consider the conformity which must be preserved between Christ the Head, and all the members of His mystical body. Jesus has died, and there is something of especial propriety that where the head has laid, there the members should lay.

II. THE SPECIFIC FORM AND MANNER OF OUR DEATH IS WISELY PREDETERMINED AND ARRANGED BY GOD.

1. There is a great variety of forms and modes in which the life of man is terminated. Some quit the world naturally, and others violently; some suddenly, and others by lingering steps. This depends very much on the particular conformation of the frame, on the habits of life,and a variety of incidental circumstances. Some are called to depart by diseases of the lungs, other by affections of the heart. Amidst all this vast variety of liabilities, it is wonderful that our frame exists as we find it, and that we are so long kept from the grasp of death.

2. This is not left to the choice of the subjects of this great change, nor to the volition of others, nor to mere chance and accident. God knows and God predetermines, not only the event of your death and the time, but the exact form and character. My times are in thy hand. He could signify it to you but it is wisely concealed. We know not at what hour the Son of Man cometh. Man may talk of certain constitutional predisposing causes, of primary organization, habits of life, accidents of infancy, &c., as all having a bearing and relation to the manner of our removal out of the world. But these are only so many of the minuter links in the great chain of cause and effect; and the first link of that chain is fastened to the throne of Deity.

III. HOW IT IS THAT THE CHRISTIAN DOES GLORIFY GOD IN HIS DEATH, IN WHATEVER PARTICULAR FORM IT MAY OCCUR.

1. He meets the first intimation of approaching dissolution with tranquility and resignation. There is an hour coming when he will observe no equivocal indications of the decay of the outward man; then does he not glorify God when he can say, I have no will of my own; here I am; let the Lord do with me as seemeth good in His sight.

2. By the avowal of a penitent mind. The sentiment of the publican becomes us in our last hour as well as in our initial moments--God be merciful to me a sinner.

3. When he is enabled to exemplify a firm and unshaken confidence in the Redeemer as the object of his sole and undivided reliance. I know whom I have believed, &c.

4. By their manifest detachment and disengagement of heart from the objects and interests of the present world. Whom have I in heaven but thee? &c.

4. When they are enabled to exemplify unwearied patience and submission amidst the pains and the sorrows of declining years.

5. By the devout spirit which he breathes while he lies upon the bed of death, waiting for his great change: for he who has lived much in the air of devotion while active, will carry the same spirit to the bed of death.

6. By the spirit of sweet and fervent charity which he is enabled to exemplify in his departing hours. In conclusion, permit me to ask you, Are you thus prepared to glorify God? In order to answer this let me propound another--Are you concerned to glorify God while you live?--for this is the best pledge and presage that you will glorify him when you come to die. (G. Clayton.)

Glorifying God in death

When dying of consumption the saintly Samuel Pearce of Birmingham remarked to his friends--It was never till to-day that I got any personal instruction from our Lords telling Peter by what death he should glorify God. Oh l what a satisfying thought it is that God appoints those means of dissolution by which He gets most glory to Himself. It was the very thing I needed; for of all the ways of dying, that which I most dreaded was by a consumption. But oh l my dear Lord, if by this death I can most glorify Thee, I prefer it to all others, and thank Thee that by this means Thou art hastening my fuller enjoyment of Thee in a purer world. (J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.)

Follow Me.

Following Christ

These were Christs first words to Peter Mat_4:19), and His last. They form the beginning and the end of Christian instruction, and on them hang all the law and the prophets. Moreover, the lesson was so continually enforced that when Peter came to write to his brethren he said, Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. Consider

I. SOME OF THE PREREQUISITES to compliance with this precept.

1. The will must be subjected to the will of Jesus. Many do not follow Christ, and the secret is they do not wish: they want to have their own way. A little relative of mine was being taught the Lords prayer, and when he came to Thy will be done, he said, Why cannot I say my will instead, and so do many older children. We have a remarkable illustration of this in the case of Saul of Tarsus. Before the Damascus incident it was ever My will. But the key-note of his whole after-life was struck when he said, What wilt Thou? &c.

2. The eyes must be opened. Blind Bartimaeus could not follow Jesus till He said, Thy faith hath saved thee, &c. But immediately after he did so. So there are multitudes spiritually blind, who cannot tread in Christs footsteps. Christ must open their eyes to see Him and whither He would lead them.

3. The affections must be aroused. Lovest thou Me? Thou knowest that I love Thee.

II. THE FORCE OF THESE WORDS, especially as connected with the case of Peter. They were words of

1. Solemn admonition.

(1) Peter was a restored backslider; and part of the meaning to him would be, All thy mistakes arose from not following Me. So the words have a retrospective use. Who can fail to trace his declensions to the same cause? But Christ would admonish us with regard to the future, As all thy mistakes arose through not following Me, henceforth, therefore, follow in My steps. You know how often we have stood at the cross-road of life. Shall we go to the right or to the left? And what have we done? Trusted to our own judgment? Leant on the council of friends? Or thrown the reins on the neck of the steed of circumstances and let him guide us whithersoever he will? Or have we sought counsel of the Lord?

(2) But, you say, how is a man to know the Lords will? Listen: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. Those who fear Him are those who fear to grieve Him by the slightest deviation from the path He has marked out for them. God does not tell His secrets to everybody, nor do you. But there is such a thing as walking with the Lord so that He may direct our steps. Shall I hide from Abraham, My friend, &c. Still how? In Isa_11:2 it is promised that the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon us and make us of a quick understanding--scent or smell, as it is in the margin, just like that hound who can follow the game past this difficulty and that. So with the believer dwelling in close communion with his Lord. You know how the North American Indian can trace the trail of one who has passed through the forest, To us it would be nothing. There is the print of the mocassin upon the tender herb, or a slight displacement of the brushwood, and to the trained eye there is the path that has been trodden. So there is such a thing as having what Paul calls our senses exercised to discern--quick of sight to see the way, quick of ear to hear this is the way, walk ye in it.

2. Gracious encouragement. They were spoken to a man who had been probed and tested. How many misgivings he must have had till this invitation was given! It was like the father encouraging his child to take the leap having first jumped himself, and then on the hither bank saying, Follow me. Thus Jesus speaks through our doubts and fears. So in regard to work. Never mind what the Mrs. Grundys say, Follow Christ.

3. Faithful warning. One of the most striking evidences of Christianity is its honesty. When the recruiting officer goes into the villages he talks of the glories of a soldiers life, of the prospect of promotion, but never of the work in the trenches, the marches under a burning sun, and the agonies of the battlefield. But here comes a new religion seeking to win men and promising them persecution, trial, conflict--nothing concealed. So the Lord says to Peter, Follow Me, but remember that you will die a martyrs death. The application to us is--Christ does promise us things inestimably dear, but He bids us count the cost. No cross, no crown. If any man will come after Me, &c. (W. P. Lockhart.)

Love the motive f or following Christ

Francis I. of France had not reached his twentieth year when he was present at the celebrated battle of Marignan, which lasted two days. The Marshal de Trivulce, who had been in eighteen pitched battles, said that those were the play of infants; but that this of Marignan was the combat of giants. Francis performed on this occasion prodigies of valour: he fought less as a king than as a soldier. Having perceived his standard-bearer surrounded by the enemy, he precipitated himself to his assistance in the midst of lances and halberts. He was presently surrounded; his horse pierced with several wounds; and his casque despoiled of its plumes. He must have been inevitably overwhelmed, if a body of troops detached from the allies had not hastened to his succour. Francis hazarded this battle against the advice of his general; and cut short all remonstrance by the celebrated expression, which became afterwards proverbial, Let him that loves me follow me. (Percy Anecdotes.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 21:18-19. Verily I say unto thee, When thou wast young, &c. — Peter being thus restored to the apostolical office and dignity, from which he had fallen by openly denying his Master three several times, Jesus proceeded to forewarn him of the persecutions to which he in particular would be exposed in the execution of his office; intending thereby to inspire him with courage and constancy. When thou wast young thou girdedst thyself, &c. — Our Lord seems to speak thus in allusion to the strength and activity which he had now showed in swimming ashore after he had girded his fisher’s coat upon him. But when thou shalt be old — He lived about thirty-six years after this; thou shalt stretch forth thy hands — To be nailed to the cross; and another shall gird thee — Such as were condemned to be crucified, were tied to the cross till the nails were driven in; and shall carry thee — With the cross; whither thou wouldest not — According to nature: to the place where the cross was to be set up. In other words, Instead of that liberty which in thy youth thou enjoyedst, thou shalt in thine old age be bound and carried to prison and to death. Accordingly, the evangelist adds, This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God — Namely, that he should suffer martyrdom, and die with his hands stretched out on a cross. Observe, reader, 1st, It is not only by acting, but also and especially by suffering, that the saints glorify God. 2d, That with regard to death, which we must all suffer, it is the great concern of every good man, whatever death he dies, to glorify God in it. And when we die patiently, submitting to the will of God; die cheerfully, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God; and die usefully, witnessing to the truth and goodness of religion, and encouraging others, we glorify God in dying. 3d, That the death of the martyrs was, in a special manner, for the glorifying of God. The truths of God, which they died in defence of, were hereby confirmed; the grace of God, which carried them with so much constancy through their sufferings, was hereby magnified; and the consolations of God, which abounded toward them in their sufferings, and his promises, the springs of their consolations, have been hereby recommended to the faith and joy of all the saints. When he had spoken this, he saith, Follow me — That is, as I now walk along, and show thereby that thou art willing to conform to my example, and to follow me, even to the death of the cross. Agreeably to this, the unanimous testimony of antiquity assures us that Peter was crucified.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John

YOUTH AND AGE, AND THE COMMAND FOR BOTH

Annual Sermon to the Young

Joh 21:18 - Joh 21:19.

The immediate reference of these words is, of course, to the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter. Our Lord contrasts the vigorous and somewhat self-willed youth and the mellowed old age of His servant, and shadows forth his death, in bonds, by violence. And then He bids him, notwithstanding this prospect of the issue of his faithfulness, ‘Follow Me.’

Now I venture, though with some hesitation, to give these words a slightly different application. I see in them two pictures of youth and of old age, and a commandment based upon both. You young people are often exhorted to a Christian life on the ground of the possible approach of death. I would not undervalue that motive, but I seek now to urge the same thing upon you from a directly opposite consideration, the probability that many of you will live to be old. All the chief reasons for our being Christians are of the same force, whether we are to die to-night, or to live for a century. So in my text I wish you to note what you are now; what, if you live, you are sure to become; and what, in the view of both stages, you will be wise to do. ‘When thou wast young thou girdedst thyself, and wentest whither thou wouldest. When thou shalt be old another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.’ Therefore, ‘Follow Me.’

I. So, then, note the picture here of what you are.

Most of you young people are but little accustomed to reflect upon yourselves, or upon the special characteristics and prerogatives of your time of life. But it will do you no harm to think for a minute or two of what these characteristics are, that you may know your blessings, and that you may shun the dangers which attach to them.

‘When thou wast young thou girdedst thyself.’ There is a picture easily translated, and significant of much. The act of girding implies preparation for action, and may be widened out to express that most blessed prerogative of youth, the cherishing of bright imaginations of its future activity and course. The dreams of youth are often laughed at, but if a young man or woman be faithful to them they are the prophecies of the future, and are given in order that at the opening of the flower nature may put forth her power; and so we may be able to live through many a dreary hour in the future. Only, seeing that you do live so much in rich foreshadowings and fair anticipations of the times that are to come, take care that you do not waste that divine faculty, the freshness of which is granted to you as a morning gift, the ‘dew of your youth.’ See that you do not waste it in anticipations which cling like mist to the low levels of life, but that you lift it higher and embrace worthy objects. It is good that you should anticipate, that you should live by hope. It is good that you should be drawn onwards by bright visions, whether they be ever fulfilled or no. But there are dangers in the exercise, and dreaming with some of you takes the place of realising your dreams, and you build for yourselves fair fabrics in imagination which you never take one step to accomplish and make real. Be not the slaves and fools of your imaginations, but cultivate the faculty of hoping largely; for the possibilities of human life are elastic, and no man or woman, in their most sanguine, early anticipations, if only these be directed to the one real good, has ever exhausted or attained the possibilities open to every soul.

Again, girding one’s self implies independent self-reliance, and that is a gift and a stewardship given {as all gifts are stewardships} to the young. We all fancy, in our early days, that we are going to build ‘towers that will reach to heaven.’ Now we have come, and we will show people how to do it! The past generations have failed, but ours is full of brighter promise. There is something very touching, to us older men almost tragical, in the unbounded self-confidence of the young life that we see rushing to the front all round us. We know so well the disillusion that is sure to come, the disappointments that will cloud the morning sky. We would not carry one shadow from the darkened experience of middle life into the roseate tints of the morning. The ‘vision splendid’

Will fade away Into the light of common day,’

soon enough. But for the present this self-reliant confidence is one of the blessings of your early days.

Only remember, it is dangerous, too. It may become want of reverence, which is ruinous, or presumption and rashness. Remember what a cynical head of a college said, ‘None of us is infallible, not even the youngest,’ and blend modesty with confidence, and yet be buoyant and strong, and trust in the power that may make you strong. And then your self-confidence will not be rashness.

‘Thou wentest whither thou wouldest.’ That is another characteristic of youth, after it has got beyond the schoolboy stage. Your own will tends to become your guide. For one thing, at your time of life, most other inward guides are comparatively weak. You have but little experience. Most of you have not cultivated largely the habit of patient reflection, and thinking twice before you act once. That comes: it would not be good that it should be over-predominant in you. ‘Old heads on young shoulders’ are always monstrosities, and it is all right that, in your early days, you should largely live by impulse, if only, as well as a will, there be a conscience at work which will do instead of the bitter experience which comes to guide some of the older of us.

Again, yours is the age when passion is strong. I speak now especially to young men. Restraints are removed for many of you. There are dozens of young men listening to me now, away from their father’s home, separated from the purifying influence of sisters and of family life, living in solitary lodgings, at liberty to spend their evenings where they choose, and nobody be a bit the wiser. Ah, my dear young friend! ‘thou wentest whither thou wouldest’ and thou wouldest whither thou oughtest not to go.

There is nothing more dangerous than getting into the habit of saying, ‘I do as I like,’ however you cover it over. Some of you say, ‘I indulge natural inclinations; I am young; a man must have his fling. Let me sow my wild oats in a quiet corner, where nobody will see the crop coming up; and when I get to be as old as you are, I will do as you do; young men will be young men,’ etc., etc. You know all that sort of talk. Take this for a certain fact: that whoever puts the reins into the charge of his own will when he is young, has put the reins and the whip into hands which will drive over the precipice.

My friend! ‘I will’ is no word for you. There is a far diviner and better one than that-’I ought.’ Have you learnt that? Do you yield to that sovereign imperative, and say, ‘I must, because I ought and, therefore, I will’? Bow passion to reason, reason to conscience, conscience to God-and then, be as strong in the will and as stiff in the neck as ever you choose; but only then. So much, then, for my first picture.

II. Now let me ask you to turn with me for a moment to the second one-What you will certainly become if you live.

I have already explained that putting this meaning on the latter portion of our first verse is somewhat forcing it from its original signification. And yet it is so little of violence that the whole of the language naturally lends itself to make a picture of the difference between the two stages of life.

All the bright visions that dance before your youthful mind will fade away. We begin by thinking that we are going to build temples, or ‘towers that shall reach to heaven,’ and when we get into middle life we have to say to ourselves: ‘Well! I have scarcely material enough to carry out the large design that I had. I think that I will content myself with building a little hovel, that I may live in, and perhaps it will keep the weather off me.’ Hopes diminish; dreams vanish; limited realities take their place, and we are willing to hold out our hands and let some one else take the responsibilities that we were so eager to lay upon ourselves at the first. Strength will fade away. ‘Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail.’ Physical weariness, weakness, the longing for rest, the consciousness of ever-narrowed and narrowing powers, will come to you, and if you grow up to be old men, which it is probable that many of you will do, you will have to sit and watch the tide of your life ebb, ebb, ebbing away moment by moment.

Self-will will be wonderfully broken, for there are far stronger forces that determine a man’s life than his own wishes and will. We are like swimmers in the surf of the Indian Ocean, powerless against the battering of the wave which pitches us, for all our science, and for all our muscle, where it will. Call it environment, call it fate, call it circumstances, call it providence, call it God-there is something outside of us bigger than we are, and the man who begins life, thinking ‘Thus I will, thus I command, let my determination stand instead of all other reason’; has to say at last, ‘I could not do what I wanted. I had to be content to do what I could.’ Thus our self-will gets largely broken down; and patient acceptance of the inevitable comes to be the wisdom and peace of the old man.

And, last of all, the picture shows us an irresistible approximation to an unwelcome goal: ‘Another shall carry thee whither thou wouldest not.’

Life to the old seems to you to be so empty and ashen grey that you wonder they care to live. But life to them, for all its disappointments, its weariness, its foiled efforts, its vanished hopes, its departed companions, is yet life, and most of them cling to it like a miser to his gold. But yet, like a man sucked into Niagara above the falls, they are borne on the irresistible, smooth flood, nearer and nearer to the edge of the rock, and they hear the mighty sound in their ears long before they reach the place where the plunge is to be taken from sunshine into darkness and foam.

So ‘when thou shalt be old’ your fancy will be gone, your physical strength will be gone, your freshness will be gone, your faculty of hoping will work feebly and have little to work on; on earth your sense of power will be humbled, and yet you will not want to be borne to the place whither you must be borne.

Fancy two portraits, one of a little chubby boy in child’s dress, with a round face and clustering curls and smooth cheeks and red lips, and another of an old man, with wearied eyes, and thin locks, and wrinkled cheeks, and a bowed frame. The difference between the two is but the symbol of the profounder differences that separate the two selves, which yet are the one self-the impetuous, self-reliant, self-willed, hopeful, buoyant youth, and the weary, feeble, broken, old man. And that is what you will come to, if you live, as sure as I am speaking to you, and you are listening to me.

III. And now, lastly, what in the view of both these stages it is wise for you to do.

‘When He had spoken thus, He saith unto him, Follow Me.’ What do we mean by following Christ? We mean submission to His authority. ‘Follow Me’ as Captain, Commander, absolute Lawgiver, and Lord. We mean imitation of His example. These two words include all human duty, and promise to every man perfection if he obeys. ‘Follow Me’-it is enough, more than enough, to make a man complete and blessed. We mean choosing and keeping close to Him, as Companion as well as Leader and Lord. No man or woman will ever be solitary, though friends may go, and associates may change, and companions may leave them, and life may become empty and dreary as far as human sympathy is concerned-no man or woman will ever be solitary if stepping in Christ’s footsteps, close at His heels, and realising His presence.

But you cannot follow Him, and He has no right to tell you to follow Him, unless He is something more and other to you than Example, and Commander, and Companion. What business has Jesus Christ to demand that a man should go after Him to the death? Only this business, that He has gone to the death for the man. You must follow Christ first, my friend, by coming to Him as a sinful creature, and finding your whole salvation and all your hope in humble reliance on the merit of His death. Then you may follow Him in obedience, and imitation, and glad communion.

That being understood, I would press upon you this thought, that such a following of Jesus Christ will preserve for you all that is blessed in the characteristics of your youth, and will prevent them from becoming evil. He will give you a basis for your hopes and fulfil your most sanguine dreams, if these are based on His promises, and their realisation sought in the path of His feet. As Isaiah prophesies, ‘the mirage shall become a pool.’ That which else is an illusion, dancing ahead and deceiving thirsty travellers into the belief that sand is water, shall become to you really ‘pools of water,’ if your hopes are fixed on Jesus Christ. If you follow Him, your strength will not ebb away with shrunken sinews and enfeebled muscles. If you trust Christ, your self-will will be elevated by submission, and become strong to control your rebellious nature, because it is humble to submit to His supreme command. And if you trust and follow Jesus Christ, your hope will be buoyant, and bright, and blessed, and prolong its buoyancy, and brightness, and blessedness into ‘old age, when others fade.’ If you will follow Christ your old age will, if you reach it, be saved from the bitterest pangs that afflict the aged, and will be brightened by future possibilities. There will be no need for lingering laments over past blessings, no need for shrinking reluctance to take the inevitable step. An old age of peaceful, serene brightness caught from the nearer gleam of the approaching heaven, and quiet as the evenings in the late autumn, not without a touch of frost, perhaps, but yet kindly and fruitful, may be ours. And instead of shrinking from the end, if we follow Jesus, we shall put our hands quietly and trustfully into His, as a little child does into its mother’s soft, warm palm, and shall not ask whither He leads, assured that since it is He who leads we shall be led aright.

Dear young friends! ‘Follow Me!’ is Christ’s merciful invitation to you. You will never again be so likely to obey it as you are now. Well begun is half ended. ‘I would have you innocent of much transgression.’ You need Him to keep you in the slippery ways of youth. You could not go into some of those haunts, where some of you have been, if you thought to yourselves, ‘Am I following Jesus as I cross this wicked threshold?’ You may never have another message of mercy brought to your ears. If you do become a religious man in later life, you will be laying up for yourselves seeds of remorse and sorrow, and in some cases memories of pollution and filth, that will trouble you all your days. ‘To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21:18 you will stretch out your hands: Jesus was probably predicting crucifixion, which according to tradition is how Peter died. • others will dress you (literally bind you): Jesus alludes to captivity, bondage, and even crucifixion—victims were often tied to the cross.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 21:18. Ἀμὴν, ἀμὴν, verily, verily) Even after the Resurrection the Lord employed this most weighty formula.—νεώτερος, a comparatively young man) The comparative comprises the years of Peter, even as far as to the threshold of old age.—ἐζώννυες σεαυτὸν, thou didst gird thyself) as in Joh 21:7.—περιεπάτεις, and didst walk about) as in Joh 21:3, “I go a fishing.”—ὃπου ἤθελες, whither thou wouldest) So he had done in Joh 21:7.—γηράσῃς, thou shalt be old) Hereby it is indicated, that Peter would reach old age, 1Pe 5:1, “I who am also an elder;” but not a great old age.—ἐκτενεῖς, thou shalt stretch forth) after the manner of those crucified, thine hands, so as that they may be made fast to the transverse beam of the cross.—σὲ ζώσει, shall gird thee) with a cord.—οἴσει, shall carry thee) to the stock of the cross, so as that thou mayest be fastened to it with thy whole body. They used to be bound to the cross, whilst the nails were fastened in. In antithesis to, thou didst walk about.—ὅπου, whither) namely, to the place where the cross is to be fastened into the ground. This passage must be so explained as not to apply to every kind of punishment [but to crucifixion only].—οὐ θέλεις, thou wouldest not) according to the prompting of nature [as contrasted with grace].

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_21:18. With the thrice-uttered βόσκε τὰ προβάτιά μου Peter is again installed in his vocation, and with solemn earnestness (ἀμὴν, ἀμὴν, κ.τ.λ.) Jesus now immediately connects the prediction of what he will one day have to endure in this vocation. The prediction is clothed in a symbolic form. Comp. Act_21:11.

ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος] than now. Peter, who had been already for a considerable time married (Mat_8:14), was at that time of middle age. In the antithesis of past youth and coming old age (γηράσῃς) the present condition certainly remains without being characterized; but this, in the vivid delineation of the prophetic picture, must not be pressed. Every expression of prophetic mould is otherwise subject to its obliquity (against De Wette). But the objection of the want of a simplicity worthy of Jesus (De Wette) is, considering the entire concrete and illustrative form of the prophecy, perfectly unjust. Note, moreover, that ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος … ἤθελες is not designed with the rest for symbolical interpretation (refers perhaps to his self-willedness before his conversion, Euth. Zigabenus, Luthardt, or in the earlier time of youth, Lange; to the autonomic energy in his calling, Hengstenberg), but serves only as a plastic preparation for the prediction beginning with ὅταν δὲ γηράσῃς, as a further background, from which the predictive figure the more vividly stands out in relief.

ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖρ. σου] Feebly stretching them out to the power of strangers, and therewith surrendering thyself to it. Then will another (undefined subject of the hostile power) gird thee, i.e. surround thee with fetters as with a girdle, bind thy body around with bonds, and convey thee away, whither thou wilt not, namely, to the place of execution (comp. Mar_15:22); for with ὅπου οὐ θέλεις: τῆς φύσεως λέγει τὸ συμπαθὲς καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν ἀνάγκην, καὶ ὅτι ἄκουσα ἀποῤῥήγνυται τοῦ σώματος ἡ ψυχή, Chrysostom. Note further, that as with the three clauses of the first half of the verse there is a complete correspondence formed by means of the three clauses of the second, namely (1) by ὅταν δὲ γηρ.; (2) by ἄλλος σε ζώσει; and (3) by οἴσει ὅπου οὐ θέλεις, the words ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου form no independent point, but only serve for the illustration of the second, graphically describing the surrender into the power of the ἄλλος, who will perform the ζώσει (not the joy at being bound with fetters, Weitzel). All the less were the Fathers, and most of the later expositors (including Tholuck, Maier, De Wette, Brückner, Hilgenfeld, Hengstenberg, Baeumlein), justified in making ἐκτεν. τ. χεῖρ. σ. precisely the characteristic point of the prediction, and in interpreting it of the stretching out on the transverse beam of the cross, in which case we must then, if ἄλλος σε ζώσει is not, as designating passivity, to be volatilized into a general expression (Hengstenberg), refer the ζώσει to the binding to the cross before the nailing thereto (so already Tertullian, Scorp. 15), or again, to the girding round with the loin cloth (which, however, can by no means be historically proved by Ev. Nicod. 10, see Thilo, ad Cod. Apocr. I. p. 582 f.), as also Brückner and Ewald have done. It is decisive against the entire explanation, referring it to the crucifixion, that οἴσει ὅπου οὐ θέλεις would be quite incongruous not before but after the stretching out of the hands and girding,[286] and it must in that case be understood of the bearing to the cross by the executioners assistants (Ewald, comp. Bengel), according to which, however, in spite of this very special interpretation, the reference of the stretching out of the hands to the crucifixion must be again given up, and there would remain only the above doubtful binding on of the girdle round the loins as a specific mark of crucifixion. Others (so especially Gurlitt and Paulus) have found nothing more than the prediction of actual weakness of old age, and therewith made of the saying introduced in so weighty a manner something that says nothing. Olshausen refers to youth and old age in the spiritual life;[287] Peter, that is to say, will in his old age be in manifold ways hindered, persecuted, and compelled against his will to be active then and there, of which experiences his cross is the culminating point. In a similar manner Tholuck: the apostle is given to understand how he, who had been still governed in the earlier period of his life more by self-will, will come more and more under a higher power, and will submit himself at last even with resignation to the martyr-death destined by God. Comp. Lange, and even Bleek, p. 235 f., who by the ἄλλος actually understands Jesus; a mistaken view also in Mayerhoff, Petr. Schr. p. 87. All such spiritual allusions fall to the ground in virtue of Joh_21:19, as, moreover, ὅπου οὐ θέλεις also is not appropriate, the supposed representation of complete surrender, and instead of it probably ὅπου ἄρτι οὐ θέλεις must have been expected. Unsuitable also would be ὅταν γηράσῃς, since in truth that spiritual maturity of the apostle could not first be a subject of expectation in his old age. Beza is correct: Christus in genere praedicat Petri mortem violentam fore. Nonnus: Ὀψὲ δὲ γηράσκων τανύσεις σέο χεῖρας ἀνάκγῃ· | καί σε περισφίγξουσιν ἀφειδέες ἀνέρες ἄλλοι, | εἴς τινα χῶρον ἄγοντες, ὃν οὐ σέο θυμὸς ἀνώγει. And beyond that point we cannot go without arbitrariness. Comp. also Luthardt and Godet.

[286] A resource has indeed been sought with Casaubon by referring ἐκτ. τ. χεῖρ. σ. to the circumstance that before the crucifixion took place the cruciarii were carried about collo furcae inserto et manibus dispessis et ad furcae cornua deligatis, Wetstein. But the girding, as it necessarily points to binding round the body, would be an inappropriate figure of the attaching the hands.Logical subtleties cannot succeed in putting right the incongruity above alluded to, although Brückner has made the attempt.

[287] Comp. Euth. Zigabenus: to the life of Peter under the law, in which he has acted with self-will, the full maturity of the ἡλικία πνευματική is opposed, in which he will stretch out his hands for crucifixion, etc.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 21:18 . To this command our Lord unexpectedly adds a reflection and warning emphasised by the usual ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι . It had been with a touch of pity Jesus had seen the impulsive, self-willed Peter gird his coat round him and plunge into the sea. It suggested to Him the severe trials by which this love must be tested, and what it would bring him to: ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος , “when thou wert younger” (the comparative used not in relation to the present, but to the γηράσης following) “thou girdedst thyself and walkedst whither thou wouldest,” i.e. , your own will was your law, and you felt power to carry it out. The “girding,” though suggested by the scene, Joh 21:7 , symbolises all vigorous preparation for arduous work. ὅταν δὲ γηράσης … θέλεις . The interpretation of these words must be governed by the succeeding clause, which informs us that by them Jesus hinted at the nature of Peter’s death. But this does not prevent us from finding in them, primarily, an intimation of the helplessness of age, and its passiveness in the hands of others, in contrast to the self-regulating activity and confidence of youth. The language is dictated by the contrasted clause, and to find in each particular a detail of crucifixion, is to force a meaning into the words. ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖρας σου is not the stretching out of the hands on the cross, but the helpless lifting up of the old man’s hands to let another gird him. δοξάσει τὸν θεόν . “Magnificus martyrii titulus.” Grotius. “Die conventionelle Sprache der Märtyrerkirche klingt an in δοξ . τὸν θεόν ; weil der Zeugentod zu Ehren Gottes erlitten wird.” Holtzmann. The expression has its root in Joh 12:23 ; Joh 12:28 . καὶ τοῦτο … μοι . It is very tempting to refer this to Joh 13:36 , ἀκολουθήσεις δὲ ὕστερον , and probably there is a latent reference to this, but in the first instance it is a summons to Peter to accompany Jesus as He retires from the rest. This is clear from what follows.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18, 19. ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι. When Jesus warned Peter that he would deny Him, he prefaced the warning by the same impressive phrase (13:38; see on 1:51).

There is no explicit reference to Peter’s death in the words which follow. He has been bidden to feed the Lord’s sheep, and he is reminded that, although, when he was young, he was unfettered and able to follow his own wishes, yet when he grew old he would be obliged to yield to the will of others. At this time he was no longer a youth; he had been married for some time (cf. Mat 8:14), and was approaching middle life. The words ἐζώννυες σεαυτὸν … ἄλλος ζώσει σε may point only to the contrast between the alertness of youth and the helplessness of old age, which cannot always do what it would; and ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου may refer merely to the old man stretching out his hands that others may help him in putting on his garments, whereas the young man girds himself unassisted, before he sets out to walk (περιπατεῖν).

Further, ζώννυμι (only again at Act 12:8 in the N.T.) is always used in the LXX, as in Greek generally, of girding on clothes or armour,1 and no instance is forthcoming of its use in the sense of binding a criminal, which must be supposed to be the meaning of ἄλλος ζώσει σε if the Lord’s words are taken as predictive of Peter’s martyrdom. The order of the clauses in v. 18 is also strange if crucifixion was in the mind of the speaker; for we should expect the extension of the hands to be mentioned last.

On the other hand, this feature of death by crucifixion, that the hands were extended upon the cross, is specially mentioned as its characteristic by other writers. Wetstein quotes Artem. Oniv. i. 76, κακοῦργος δὲ ὢν σταυρωθήσεται διὰ τὸ ὕψος καὶ τὴν τῶν χειρῶν ἔκτασιν, and Arrian, Epict. iii. 26, ἐκτείνας σεαυτὸν ὡς οἱ ἐσταυρωμένοι. Field adds a quotation from Dion. Hal. Ant. vii. 69, οἱ δʼ ἄγοντες τὸν θεράποντα ἐπὶ τὴν τιμωρίαν, τὰς

More significant than these parallels, however, is the fact that several early Christian writers treat ἔκτασις τῶν χειρῶν or a like phrase as a sufficient description by itself of crucifixion. Thus Barnabas (§ 12) finds a τύπος σταυροῦ in the extension of Moses’ hands during the battle with Amalek (Exo 17:12). Justin has the same idea: Μωυσῆς .. τὰς χεῖρας ἑκατέρως ἐκπετάσας, and again, διὰ τοῦ τύπου τῆς ἐκτάσεως τῶν χεῖρων (Tryph. 90, 91). Irenæus reports the same exegesis as that of one of his predecessors, ὡς ἔφη τις τῶν προβεβηκότων, διὰ τῆς (θείας) ἐκτάσεως τῶν χειρῶν (Hœr. v. 17. 4; cf. Dem. 46).2 Or, again, the words of Isa 65:2, “I have spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people,” are regarded as a prophecy of the Crucifixion by Barnabas (§ 12), Justin (Apol. i. 35), Irenæus (Dem. 79), and Cyprian (Test. ii. 20). Cyprian in the same passage quotes also Psa 88:9 and Psa 141:2 as predictive of the Cross, although there is nothing in either verse suggestive of it, except that the Psalmist speaks of the “spreading out” or the “lifting up” of his hands in prayer. And, finally, the sign of the Cross in the heavens before the Last Judgment3 is baldly described in the Didache (xvi. 6) as σημεῖον ἐκπετάσεως ἐν οὐρανῷ.

It is, then, intelligible that the writer of the Appendix to Jn. should regard the words ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου in v. 18 as an unmistakable prediction of martyrdom by the cross. But whatever the meaning of v. 18, the text clearly embodies a genuine reminiscence of words spoken by the Lord. If the author of the Appendix is right in his interpretation of them, “this He said, signifying by what death He should glorify God,” he must be taken as relying on memory or tradition for his report of the words used; for, if he desired to place sentences of his own making in the mouth of Jesus, which should contain a prophecy of Peter’s crucifixion, he would have phrased them with less ambiguity.

It is possible (see on 2:21 and the references there given) that the comment of v. 19 is a mistaken one. But even in that case we have a clear indication that the narrator, at the time of writing, believed that Peter was dead, and that he had died a martyr’s death by crucifixion. This became the tradition of the Church. The earliest appearance of it is in Tertullian (Scorp. 15, about 211 a.d.); and it is noteworthy that he makes reference to the words of Joh 21:18: “Tunc Petrus ab alterocingitur, cum cruci adstringatur,” interpreting ἄλλος ζώσει σε of the binding of the martyr to the cross. Origen (ap. Eus. H.E. iii. 1, if indeed the report is Origen’s, which is doubtful) is the first to tell that Peter was crucified with his head downward, ἀνεσκολοπίσθη κατὰ κεφαλῆς, a statement which appears, embellished with legend, in the Acta Petri and in many later writers. The notices of Peter’s death are perplexing,1 and the subject cannot be pursued here; but it is plain that the tradition of his crucifixion goes back to Joh 21:18, Joh 21:19.

With the comment τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν κτλ. should be compared 12:33, τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνήσκειν. For ἤμελλεν ἀποθνήσκειν we have here δοξάσει τὸν θεόν. We should expect ἤμελλεν δοξάζειν …, but δοξάσει places the narrator back in the scene described, when the martyrdom of Peter was still in the future. It is characteristic of the style of Jn. (see on 1:45), that the writer does not stay to tell explicitly that Peter was dead, for this is a fact which the whole Church knew.

The phrase descriptive of a martyr’s death, by which he was said to “glorify God” in his sufferings, occurs again in 1Pe 4:16, where a man who is threatened with suffering ὡς Χριστιανός is exhorted thus: δοξαζέτω δὲ τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ. The phrase is common in the martyrologies. See on 13:31, where it is pointed out that this thought must be distinguished from the thought that in his death a martyr “is glorified” by God.

Ἀκολούθει μοι. See 1:43 for the invitation to Philip expressed thus, and the Synoptic references there given. It would seem from v. 20 that ἀκολούθει μοι here signified a literal following of Jesus as He moved away from the assembled disciples, Peter and John alone going with Him. But the words may well have recalled to Peter the invitation extended to him in early days, “Come, and I will make you a fisher of men” (Mat 4:19, Mar 1:17, Luk 5:10); and he could hardly have failed to remember a recent occasion when his eager offer to follow Jesus was put aside by the Master (Joh 13:36). See p. 529 above.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not that Peter suffered ought for the truth of God against his will: for we read that he came with joy and gladness when he returned from the Council where he was whipped: but because this will cometh not from the flesh, but from the gift of the Spirit which is given us from above, therefore he showeth there should be a certain striving and conflict or repugnancy, which also is in us, in all our sufferances as touching the flesh.

He meant that kind of girding which is used toward captives, when they are bound fast with cords and chains, as who would say, Now thou girdest thyself as thou thinkest best, to go whither thou listest, but the time will be, when thou shall not gird thee with a girdle, but another shall bind thee with chains, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

They that took far journeys, especially in the East country, and in those places [where] the people used long garments, had need to be girded and trussed up.

The violent death of Peter is foretold.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

When thou wast young--embracing the whole period of life to the verge of old age.

thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest--wast thine own master.

when . . . old thou shalt stretch forth thine hands--to be bound for execution, though not necessarily meaning on a cross. There is no reason, however, to doubt the very early tradition that Peter's death was by crucifixion.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands] Wetstein observes that it was a custom at Rome to put the necks of those who were to be crucified into a yoke, and to stretch out their hands and fasten them to the end of it; and having thus led them through the city they were carried out to be crucified. See his note on this place. Thus then Peter was girded, chained, and carried whither he would not - not that he was unwilling to die for Christ; but he was a man - he did not love death; but he loved his life less than he loved his God.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Verily, verily, I tell thee. After having exhorted Peter to feed his sheep, Christ likewise arms him to maintain the warfare which was approaching. Thus he demands from him not only faithfulness and diligence, but invincible courage in the midst of dangers, and firmness in bearing the cross. In short, he bids him be prepared for enduring death whenever it shall be necessary. Now, though the condition of all pastors is not alike, still this admonition applies to all in some degree. The Lord spares many, and abstains from shedding their blood, satisfied with this alone, that they devote themselves to him sincerely and unreservedly as long as they live. But as Satan continually makes new and various attacks, all who undertake the office of feeding must be prepared for death; as they certainly have to do not only with sheep, but also with wolves. So far as relates to Peter, Christ intended to forewarn him of his death, that he might at all times ponder the thought, that the doctrine of which he was a minister must be at length ratified by his own blood. Yet it appears that in these words Christ did not speak with a view to Peter alone, but that he adorned him with the honourable title of Martyr in presence of the others; as if he had said, that Peter would be a very different kind of champion from what he had formerly shown himself to be.

When thou wast younger. Old age appears to be set apart for tranquillity and repose; and, accordingly, old men are usually discharged from public employments, and soldiers are discharged from service. Peter might, therefore, have promised to himself at that age a peaceful life. Christ declares, on the other hand, that the order of nature will be inverted, so that he who had lived at his ease when he was young will be governed by the will of another when he is old, and will even endure violent subjection.

In Peter we have a striking mirror of our ordinary condition. Many have an easy and agreeable life before Christ calls them; but as soon as they have made profession of his name, and have been received as his disciples, or, at least, some time afterwards, they are led to distressing struggles, to a troublesome life, to great dangers, and sometimes to death itself. This condition, though hard, must be patiently endured. Yet the Lord moderates the cross by which he is pleased to try his servants, so that he spares them a little while, until their strength has come to maturity; for he knows well their weakness, and beyond the measure of it he does not press them. Thus he forbore with Peter, so long as he saw him to be as yet tender and weak. Let us therefore learn to devote ourselves to him to the latest breath, provided that he supply us with strength.

In this respect, we behold in many persons base ingratitude; for the more gently the Lord deals with us, the more thoroughly do we habituate ourselves to softness and effeminacy. Thus we scarcely find one person in a hundred who does not murmur if, after having experienced long forbearance, he be treated with some measure of severity. But we ought rather to consider the goodness of God in sparing us for a time. Thus Christ says that, so long as he dwelt on earth, he conversed cheerfully with his disciples, as if he had been present at a marriage, but that fasting and tears afterwards awaited them, (Matthew 9:15.)

Another will gird thee. Many think that this denotes the manner of death which Peter was to die, meaning that he was hanged, with his arms stretched out; but I consider the word gird as simply denoting all the outward actions by which a man regulates himself and his whole life. Thou girdedst thyself; that is, “thou wast accustomed to wear such raiment as thou chosest, but this liberty of choosing thy dress will be taken from thee.” As to the manner in which Peter was put to death, it is better to remain ignorant of it than to place confidence in doubtful fables.

And will lead thee whither thou wouldst not. The meaning is, that Peter did not die a natural death, but by violence and by the sword. It may be thought strange that Christ should say that Peter’s death will not be voluntary; for, when one is hurried unwillingly to death, there is no firmness and none of the praise of martyrdom. But this must be understood as referring to the contest between the flesh and the Spirit, which believers feel within themselves; for we never obey God in a manner so free and unrestrained as not to be drawn, as it were, by ropes, in an opposite direction, by the world and the flesh. Hence that complaint of Paul,

“The good that I would I do not, but the evil that I would not, that I do,” (Romans 7:19.)

Besides, it ought to be observed, that the dread of death is naturally implanted in us, for to wish to be separated from the body is revolting to nature. Accordingly, Christ, though he was prepared to obey God with his whole heart, prays that he may be delivered from death. Moreover, Peter dreaded the cross on account of the cruelty of men; and, therefore, we need not wonder if, in some measure, he recoiled from death. But this showed the more clearly the obedience which he rendered to God, that he would willingly have avoided death on its own account, and yet he endured it voluntarily, because he knew that such was the will of God; for if there had not been a struggle of the mind, there would have been no need of patience.

This doctrine is highly useful to be known; for it urges us to prayer, because we would never be able, without extraordinary assistance from God, to conquer the fear of death; and, therefore, nothing remains for us but to present ourselves humbly to God, and to submit to his government. It serves also to sustain our minds, that they may not altogether faint, if it happen at any time that persecutions make us tremble. They who imagine that the martyrs were not moved by any fear make their own fear to yield them a ground of despair. But there is no reason why our weakness should deter us from following their example, since they experienced a fear similar to ours, so that they could not gain a triumph over the enemies of truth but by contending with themselves.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(18) Verily, verily, I say unto thee.—This phrase is peculiar to St. John. (Comp. Note on Joh_1:51.) The remainder of the verse contains three pairs of sentences answering to each other:—

“Thou wast young,”. . . . “Thou shalt be old;”

“Thou girdedst thyself,”. . . . “Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee;”

“And walkedst whither thou wouldest,” . . . “And carry thee whither thou wouldest not.”

Thou wast young.—Literally, thou wast younger (than thou art now). Peter must have been at this time (comp. Mat_8:14) in middle age.

Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee.—Do these words refer to the crucifixion of Peter? Tradition, from Tertullian downwards (Scorp. xv.; De Praescr. xxxv.), states that he was crucified, and, interpreting this prophecy by the event, asserts that they do. Tertullian himself so understood them, for he says, “Then is Peter girded by another when he is bound to the cross.”

But on the other hand, (1) the girding (with chains) would precede, not follow, the crucifixion; (2) it would be more natural to speak of another stretching forth his hands if the nailing them to the cross is intended; (3) the last clause, “carry thee whither thou wouldest not,” could not follow the stretching of the hands on the transverse beam of the cross.

It seems impossible therefore to adopt the traditional reference to crucifixion, and we must take the words, “stretch forth thy hands,” as expressing symbolically the personal surrender previous to being girded by another. To what exact form of death the context does not specify. We have thus in the second pair of sentences, as in the first and third, a complete parallelism, the stretching forth of the hands being a part of the girding by another, and the whole being in contrast to “Thou girdedst thyself.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. Verily, verily] This peculiarity of S. John’s Gospel (see on Joh_1:51) is preserved in the appendix to it [13].

wast young] Literally, wast younger than thou art now. He was now between youth and age.

stretch forth thy hands] For help.

shall gird thee] As a criminal.

whither thou wouldest not] To death. This does not mean that at the last S. Peter will be unwilling to die for his Lord, but that death, and especially a criminal’s death, is what men naturally shrink from.

The common interpretation that ‘stretch forth thy hands’ refers to the attitude in crucifixion, and ‘gird thee’ to binding to the cross, is precarious, on account of the order of the clauses, the taking to execution being mentioned after the execution. But it is not impossible; for the order of this group of clauses may be determined by the previous group, and the order in the previous group is the natural one. The girding naturally precedes the walking in the first half; therefore ‘gird’ precedes ‘carry’ in the second half, and ‘stretch forth thy hands’ is connected with ‘gird’ rather than ‘carry’ and therefore is coupled with ‘gird.’ Or again ‘carry thee &c.’ may possibly refer to the setting up of the cross after the sufferer was bound to it: in this way all runs smoothly.

18, 19. This high charge will involve suffering and even death. In spite of his boastfulness and consequent fall the honour which he once too rashly claimed (Joh_13:37) will after all be granted to him.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee,.... A way of speaking often used by Christ, when about to deliver anything of considerable moment, partly to raise the attention, and partly for the more strong asseveration of what is spoken; and may have reference both to what went before, confirming Peter's declaration of his love, which would be demonstrated by dying for him, and the testimony of his omniscience, by foretelling his death, and the kind of it; and to what follows after, which contains an account of Peter in his younger years, and a prophecy of what should befall him in old age:

when thou wast young; not that he was old now, and capable he was of doing, and he did do but just now, what our Lord ascribes to his younger years:

thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldst; that is, he could put on his clothes himself, and gird them about him with a girdle, as was the custom of the eastern nations, who usually wore long garments; and as he, a little before, had girt his fisher's coat about him, and walked where he pleased; denoting the liberty of his will in things natural and civil, which every man is possessed of, though not in things spiritual, without the grace of God; and also his power of doing what was most grateful to him, without being hindered by, or obliged to ask the leave of others:

but when thou shalt be old; implying, that he should live to a good old age, and be continued to be useful and serviceable in the cause of Christ, in preaching his Gospel, and feeding his lambs and sheep, as he did; for he lived to the times of Nero (c), under whom he suffered, about forty years after this:

thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee. This refers not so much to an inability through old age to gird himself, and therefore should stretch forth his hands, that another might with more ease do it for him, and which would be the reverse of his former and present case; for the word gird is used in another sense than before, and signifies the binding of him as, a prisoner with cords, or chains; so "girding", with the Jews, is the same as , "tying and binding" (d): but either to the stretching out of his hands upon the cross, when he should be girt and bound to that; for persons were sometimes fastened to the cross with cords, and not always with nails (e): or, as others think, to his carrying of his cross on his shoulders, with his hands stretched out and bound to the piece of wood which went across; though his being girded or bound may as well be thought to follow the former, as this: indeed, what is added best suits with the latter,

and carry thee whither thou wouldst not; to a painful, cruel, shameful, and accursed death, the death of the cross; not that Peter in spirit would be unwilling to die for Christ, nor was he; but it signifies, that he should die a death disagreeable to the flesh.

(c) Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 25. (d) R. David Kimchi, Sepher Shorash. rad. (e) Lipsius de Cruce, l. 2. c. 8. Bartholinus de Cruce, p. 57. 112.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Ver. 18. Another shall gird thee] That is, cord thee, manacle and pinion thee, carry thee prisoner whither thou wouldst not. Peter would, and he would not, suffer. Every new man is two men, hath two contrary principles in him, flesh and spirit. The spirit is willing, the flesh weak and wayward. This made the martyrs many of them chide themselves, and crave prayers of others. Bishop Ridley said to the smith, as he was knocking in the staple, Good fellow, knock it in hard, for the flesh will have its course. So Rawlins White, martyr, going to the stake, and meeting with his wife and children, the sudden sight of them so pierced his heart, that the very tears trickled down his cheeks. But he soon after, as though he had misliked this infirmity of his flesh, began to be as it were angry with himself, insomuch that in striking his breast with his hand, he used these words, Ah flesh, stayest thou me so? wouldst thou fain prevail? well, I tell thee, do what thou canst, thou shalt not, by God’s grace, have the victory. So Latimer in a letter to Bishop Ridley, Pray for me, I say; pray for me, I say; for I am sometimes so fearful that I would creep into a mouse hole; sometimes God doth visit me again with his comforts; so he cometh and goeth, to teach me to feel and know my infirmity.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When thou wast young - When in early life thou didst gird thyself, etc. The Jews, in walking or running, girded their outer garments around them, that they might not be impeded. See the notes at Mat 5:38-41.

Thou girdedst - The expression here denotes freedom. He did as he pleased - he girded himself or not he went or remained, as he chose. Perhaps the expression refers rather to that time than to the previous period of Peter’s life. “Thou being now young or in the vigor of life, hast just girded thyself and come freely to the shore.” In either case the Saviour intimates that at the end of his life he would not be thus free.

When thou shalt be old - Ancient writers say that Peter was put to death about thirty-four years after this. His precise age at that time is not known.

Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands - When Peter was put to death, we are told that he requested that he might be crucified with his head downward, saying that he who had denied his Lord as he had done was not worthy to die as he did. This expression of Christ may intimate the readiness of Peter thus to die. Though he was not at liberty as when he was young, though bound by others, yet he freely stretched out his hands on the cross, and was ready to give up his life.

Another shall gird thee - Another shall bind thee. The limbs of persons crucified were often bound instead of being nailed, and even the body was sometimes girded to the cross. See the notes at Mat 27:35.

Carry thee ... - Shall bear thee, or shall compel thee to go to prison and to death. This is not said to intimate that Peter would be unwilling to suffer martyrdom, but it stands opposed to the freedom of his early life. Though willing when compelled to do it, yet he would not seek it; and though he would not needlessly expose himself to it, yet he would not shrink from it when it was the will of God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands ... signifying by what death he should glorify God; that is, that a cross should be the instrument of his death and martyrdom. --- Whither thou wouldst not: which is no more than to say, that a violent death is against the natural inclination of any man, even though he be ever so willing, and disposed to undergo it. (Witham) --- By this is meant the martyrdom of St. Peter, which took place thirty-four years after this. He was first cast into prison, and then led out to punishment as Christ had foretold him. He stretched out his arms to be chained, and again he stretched them out, when he was crucified; for he died on the cross, as the ancients assure us. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Joh 21:19 gives us the general scope of Joh 21:15, viz. that it was a prediction of that particular death by which Peter should die, which was (if we may believe what the ancients have generally reported, and we can have no other proof) by crucifying; in which kind of death the hands of the person crucified are stretched out and nailed to the cross. But which way he died we cannot certainly affirm. The evangelist assures us, that our Saviour spake these words with reference to that kind of death by which Peter as a martyr was to glorify God; nor is it any objection against his martyrdom, that our Saviour here saith, that he should be carried whither he would not; for he was not better than his Lord, whose spirit was willing, and flesh weak. Whether our Saviour by his command, Follow me, intended the imitation of him, his death, or the particular kind of his death, is uncertain; unless we will allow this text to be interpreted by Joh 13:36; 2Pe 1:14.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18, 19. Jesus has restored him to his office and now he symbolizes his future destiny. He who shrank from an imaginary danger will not shrink from the cross and the crown of martyrdom. Peter is said to have been crucified at Rome more than thirty years after this memorable conversation.

18. Girdedst thyself—The young and athletic man, when about to perform some manly labor, would first tighten the girdle about his waist, so as to fasten his flowing apparel.

Whither thou wouldest—That same young man is able to be his own master, taking what path he pleases.

Stretch forth thy hands—In his second childhood, as in his first, he spreads out his helpless arms, that his girdle may be tightened by other hands round his waist. But this image suggests in the background the spreading of the arms of the apostolic martyr upon the cross; and this secondary, but really final and true meaning, is confirmed by the words that follow.

Another shall gird thee—The girding of the old man by the attendant friend, is still the symbol of the binding with cords by an executioner.

Carry thee—Shall lead thee.

Thou wouldest not—To thy death. The actual order of the transaction thus dimly hinted was to be, however, first, the binding, then the leading, and then the stretching forth of the hands on the cross.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee. This form of address links the pre-resurrection life to that which follows, proclaims the identity of the being and the unity of the Person of the Christ under new conditions. More than that, much solemnity is conferred on this final word of the Master. When thou wast younger than thou art now; i.e. before thou camest under my sway; when thou wert supreme ruler of the fishing-fleet of Capernaum, with wife and family dependent on thee; when Andrew, James, and John (thy partners) were in a measure all doing thy will, following in thy train, submitting to thy behests,thou girdedst thyself for whatever task was set before thee; thou hadst the choice of duties and pleasures; thou hadst time at thy disposal, thy method of service in thine own hands, even as now it was thy will to gird thee for the task of swimming to my feet. (see Isa_45:5 Pro_31:17 1Ki_18:46 Joh_13:4, Joh_13:5, diazwnnumi ; Luk_12:35-37 Luk_17:8 Act_12:8, perizwnnumi ; 1Pe_1:13, anazwnnumi . The simple verb is used here in reference to all kinds of "girding So that the Lord reminds him of his natural self-will, so conspicuous and prominent, the secret of all his weakness and much of his individuality. And thou walkedst whither thou wouldest; or literally, thou wert in the habit of walking whithersoever thou weft willing or desiring to do; i.e. thine outward conduct, and the whole line of thy daily enterprise and duty, was not only an utterance of thine own self-mastery, but even thy wishes, the momentary waywardness of thy purposes, found immediate gratification. But a great change has come over thee; thou hast passed through a new experience. Already thou feelest that thou art not thine own; thy heart and strength, thy hands, thy feet, thy very girdle and sandal, are beginning to seem to thee no longer at thine own disposal. Thy self-will is checked, thy natural audacity and power of initiation are repressed into much narrower limits. Thou-hast found thyself weaker than a little child; thou art in need of this Divine principle of "love," deep and fervent, reverential as well as personal, not only to utter bold expressions of regard, but to form the very focus and new central force of thy whole being; and so it will come to pass that this new force will more than master thee; and when thou shalt be old and gray with years, thy service to that other and higher wilt shall be complete: thou wilt stretch forth thy hands in token of entire submission to the will of another, however it may be revealed to thee whether at the instance of "the angel" or "Herod," of "Cornelius" or Nero"s executioner! This remarkable phrase has often been supposed to mean the "stretching forth of the hands of the crucified" on his being appended to the cross. But such a process would follow rather than precede the "girding," which is, on such an interpretation, taken literally of the girding that preceded the nailing. There can be no doubt, from the language of St. John, that this was the final and forcible illustration of the new principle that would take full possession of Simon Peter. But meanwhile it was a long life of willing surrender to the Supreme Will which gives its highest meaning to these words. And another shall gird thee, and carry thee (or, bring thee) whither thou art not wishing to go. The old self-will, though it be indeed mastered, will not have utterly vanished. If it be not so, where would be the sacrifice? Even the blessed Lord himself said, "Not my will, but thine be done." Verily, even the sanctified nature of the sinless Man, prepared in the spotless womb of the blessed Virgin by the Holy Ghost, anointed by the Spirit, and in living absolute union with the only begotten Son, even he was, in human consciousness, disposed to cry, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me," etc. We need not wonder, then, that to the very last, when the supreme will was manifested to Peter in the approaches of violent death, he should feel the will of the flesh thwarted. The exquisite legend embodied in the "Domiue, quo vadis?" (see Joh_13:33) confirms the entire representation of the character of Peter. So also does the story, preserved by Tertullian ("De Pries.," 35; "Ad Scorp.," 15) and Eusebius, ("Hist. Ec:," 3:1) that the apostle preferred crucifixion with his head downwards, on the plea that to be crucified as his Master was too great an honor for one that had denied his Lord.

Vers. 18, 19. Prediction of Peter"s death.

Our Lord next announces what will be the manner of the end of his disciple"s ministry.

I THE LORD HAS FIXED THE TIME OF PETER"S END.

1. Job speaks of the days of man being determined. "The number of his months are with thee; thou hast appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass.

2. Jesus has a lordship over the life and death of his saints. "If we die, we die unto the Lord;" "He is the Lord both of the living and of the dead". (Rom_14:8, Rom_14:9)

3. The Lord"s disposal of his saints" lives makes them immortal till their work is done.

II THE LORD DETERMINES THE MANNER OF PETER"S DEATH. It was to be a death of violence. He was to become a martyr of the Christian faith. "When thou wast young Peter was now a middle-aged man girdedst thyself possessing full liberty of life walkedst whither thou wouldest with full freedom of movement when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands as helpless and in the power of others another shall gird thee as a condemned criminal carry thee whither thou wouldest not." A violent death, as being unnatural, is shrunk from. But these words are to be regarded solely from the standpoint of natural feeling.

1. The apostle understood the exact nature of this prediction, as we know by his own words, "Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me". (2Pe_1:14)

2. The death of the apostle was to redound to the glory of God. "This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. The martyrs glorify God

(1) by their readiness to sacrifice their lives for the sake of God;

(2) by their patience and resignation in death;

(3) by the evidence afforded in their deaths of the sustaining and comforting presence of the Lord.

3. The martyrdom of Peter took place in the year A.D. 64. It was, therefore, now a past event which the evangelist records.

III PETER"S DUTY HENCEFORTH IN LIFE. "Follow me.

1. It was a solemn thought to the apostle to know the destined end of his apostolic labors.

2. This knowledge would intensify his eager zeal to work without pause during the term of life that remained to him.

3. The command to follow Christ implied

(1) that Peter should cast in his lot with Christ, and make common cause with him;

(2) that he should learn his will and do his commands;

(3) that he should walk in the footsteps of his holy life.

The primacy of Peter.

The career of St. Peter is a striking instance of elevation from obscurity to fame. From a Galilaean fisherman he was promoted to the leadership of the college of apostles, and has for centuries been revered by a great part of the Christian world as the earthly head of the Church. The ardor of his love and the boldness of his confessions endeared him to the Master; yet his self-confidence and his temporary unfaithfulness grieved the Master"s heart. In the singular alternations of feeling and conduct he reminds us of David in the older dispensation. Both have gained a position in human regard which the cold and blameless have failed to reach.

I PETER WAS THE FIRST AMONG THE FAVORED GROUP ADMITTED TO WITNESS CHRIST"S GLORY AND HUMILIATION. Peter, James, and John were the favored three who beheld the glory of the Son of man upon the Mount of Transfiguration, and his woe in the garden of Gethsemane. Not only is his name mentioned first, but precedence in action is on both occasions referred to him. It was he who exclaimed upon the mount, "It is good for us to be here," proposing that tents should be reared for the illustrious visitors and for their Lord. It was he who, when the foes of Jesus would have arrested him, drew the sword in the Master"s defense.

II PETER WAS THE FIRST TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE LORD"S DIVINITY. What the others thought of Jesus at the time when he asked them, "Whom say ye that I am?" we do not know; but it is recorded that Peter promptly and boldly replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." His ready apprehension of his Lord"s nature, dignity, and office gave rise to the cordial acknowledgments of him to whom he testified.

III PETER WAS THE FIRST OF THE APOSTLES TO BEAR WITNESS TO CHRIST"S RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD. When on the evening of the day the disciples met, the subject for wonder and for rejoicing was that the Lord had appeared unto Simon. And Paul tells us that after his resurrection Jesus was seen first of Cephas. It is recorded that, upon receiving tidings from the women, Peter with John hurried to the empty tomb; it must have been soon after this that this apostle was favored with the interview twice referred to in the New Testament.

IV PETER WAS THE FIRST, AFTER THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO HIS FELLOW-MEN. The record in the Book of the Acts is explicit upon this point. Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spake forth to the people, proclaiming the Lordship and Messiahship of the Risen One, and announcing through him remission of sins to the penitent and believing. In this be was the mouthpiece of the Christian community, and the leader of the great company who published the Word of the Lord.

V PETER WAS THE FIRST AMONG CHRISTIAN CONFESSORS TO ENDURE AND DEFY THE RAGE OF THE PERSECUTOR. In the fourth and fifth chapters of the Acts we have the record of this apostle"s boldness when confronted with the enmity of the rulers among the Jews. How dignified was his demeanor, how faithful was his testimony, how patient was his endurance of hostility and of persecution for Christ"s sake, the author of that book makes abundantly apparent to every reader.

VI PETER WAS THE FIRST AMONG THE TWELVE TO WELCOME THE BELIEVING GENTILES INTO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. First in the case of Cornelius, and then upon the occasion of what is called the Council of Jerusalem, Peter proved himself to be possessed with the Spirit of his Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Gentile. It was he, occupying a position of peculiar authority and advantage, who may be said to have thrown open the gates of the Church to those of Gentile descent. Paul was indeed the apostle of the Gentiles; but if we turn aside from the speculations of the "higher criticism," and confine our attention to historical facts, we shall see it was Peter who made it possible to widen the foundations of the Church, and, without endangering unity, to receive the believers in Christ from every race and nation into the enjoyment of equal privileges and hopes.

VII PETER WAS THE FIRST CONCERNING WHOM IT WAS FORETOLD THAT HE SHOULD SUFFER A DEATH OF MARTYRDOM FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST. It is certainly very singular that our Lord should choose the moment when Peter made protestation of his love and devotion, and when he himself formally entrusted Peter with authority to feed the spiritual flock, as the moment for predicting his martyrdom, particularly foretelling by what death he should glorify God. His Epistles assure us that this language was not lost upon the faithful servant, but that he learned to rejoice in the prospect of partaking Christ"s sufferings. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When thou art old - He lived about thirty-six years after this: another shall gird thee - They were tied to the cross till the nails were driven in; and shall carry thee - With the cross: whither thou wouldest not - According to nature; to the place where the cross was set up.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

A prophecy concerning Peter:

v. 18. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

v. 19. This spake He, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He saith unto Him, Follow Me.

The interview with Peter affected also the Lord very deeply, because His love for His disciples was most cordial. Referring probably to the action of Peter in girding his coat about him when the Lord stood on the beach, Jesus tells him that these conditions are still obtaining. He still has his freedom to come and go as he wished. But the time is coming, in his old age, when Peter will be obliged to extend his hands, to be bound and manacled and to be led where he has no natural inclination to go. It was a prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom. According to tradition which seems correct, Peter was put to death under the emperor Nero, by crucifixion, thus giving glory and honor and praise to God, even in his death. Only he must follow Christ, his Lord and Savior, at all times, whithersoever he was led. Note: The steadfast believer, sealing his faith with his life, gives glory to, and causes glory to come upon, the name of God and Jesus. Suffering for the sake of Christ belongs to the experiences of the average Christian, and especially of the servants of the Word.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In these words our Saviour forewarns Peter of his future sufferings, intimating, that he should prove more stout than in his former trial. When he was young and unexperienced, he enjoyed his liberty; but when he was grown older in years and stronger in grace, he should willingly stretch forth his hands, and quietly suffer himself to be bound to the cross; for Peter (say some) was not nailed, but tied and bound to the cross only, and so as a martyr or witness for the truth of Christ glorified God by his death.

Learn hence, 1. The ministers of Jesus Christ, when they undertake the charge of his flock, must prepare for suffering work, and their lot upon it: therefore is this prediction of Peter’s suffering joined with the former injunction, Feed my sheep.

2. That human nature in Christ’s ministers, as well as in any other men, reluctates sufferings, has an antipathy against a violent death: they shall carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

3. From the time of St. Peter’s sufferings, when he is old; learn, that the timing of the saints’ sufferings is in Christ’s hands; he can, and when he pleaseth doth, screen them from suffering till old age; and when their work is almost done for God, they close their days with suffering for him: When thou art old, thou shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall gird thee.

Learn lastly, that the suffering of the saints in general, and of the ministers of Christ in particular, do redound much to the glory of God; which is a consideration that ought to reconcile them to the cross of Christ, and support them under it: This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself. Peter had denied his Master to save his own life. Now that he is reinstated in the old confidence and charged with the Master's work, he is told that he will be called on to die for it. He will be girded, not with a girdle, but with bonds, and he shall be led where he would not, unto death.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

18, 19. This high charge will involve suffering and even death. In spite of his boastfulness and consequent fall the honour which he once too rashly claimed (Joh 13:37) will after all be granted to him.

18. ἀμὴν ἀμήν. This peculiarity of S. John’s Gospel (see on Joh 1:51) is preserved in the appendix to it [21]. Νεώτερος, younger than thou art now. The middle instead of ἐζώννυες σεαυτόν would have been correct, as in Act 12:8; but then the contrast between σεαυτόν and ἄλλος would have been lost: ἐζώννυσο is ‘thou didst gird (thyself);’ ἐζώννυες σεαυτόν is ‘thou didst gird thyself.’

ἐκτενεῖς τ. χ. Either for help, or in submission to the enforced girding to which the condemned are subjected. Ὅπου οὐ θ. means to death: not that S. Peter will be unwilling to die for his Lord, but that death, and especially a criminal’s death, is what men naturally shrink from. The expression would be a strange one if ἄλλος means God, and the reference is to His equipping the Apostle for an unwelcome (!) career. And what in that case can ὄταν γηράσῃς mean?

The common interpretation that ‘stretch forth thy hands’ refers to the attitude in crucifixion, and ‘gird thee’ to binding to the cross, is precarious, on account of the order of the clauses, the taking to execution being mentioned after the execution. But it is not impossible; for the order of this group of clauses may be determined by the previous group, and the order there is the natural one. The girding naturally precedes the walking in the first half; therefore ‘gird’ precedes ‘carry’ in the second half, and ‘stretch forth thy hands’ is connected with ‘gird’ rather than ‘carry’ and therefore is coupled with ‘gird.’ Or again ‘carry thee &c.’ may possibly refer to the setting up of the cross after the sufferer was bound to it: in this way all runs smoothly.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18.] The end of his pastoral office is announced to him:—a proof of the πάντα οἶδας which he had just confessed;—a contrast to the denial of which he had just been reminded;—a proof to be hereafter given of the here recognized genuineness of that love which he had been professing. There is no implied question, as Lücke thinks:—the futures are prophetic.

ἀμὴν ἀμήν] John’s manner again.

ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος—[may be merely] in contrast to ὅταν δὲ γηρ. [Or] it perhaps includes his life up to the time prophesied of.

ἐζώνν. σ.,—as in ver. 7, he had girt his fisher’s coat to him: but not confined in its reference to that girding alone—‘thou girdedst thyself up for My work, and wentest hither and thither—but hereafter there shall be a service for thee “paullo constrictior”—ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χ. σου, but not as just now, in swimming; in a more painful manner, on the transverse beam of the cross; and another—the executioner—shall gird thee,—with the cords binding to the cross’—(“tunc Petrus ab altero vincitur, cum cruci adstringitur,” Tertull. Scorp. 15, vol. ii. p. 151). Such is the traditionary account of the death of Peter, Euseb. ii. 25; iii. 1, where see notes in Heinichen’s edn. Cf. also Prolegg. to 1 Pet. § ii. 9 ff.

οἴσει, viz. in the lifting up after the fastening to the cross—or perhaps, by a ὕστερον πρότερον, in making thee go the way to death, bearing thy cross.

ὅπου οὐ θέλ.] “Quis enim vult mori? Prorsus nemo: et ita nemo ut B. Petro diceretur, Alter te cinget, et feret quo tu non vis.” Serm. clxxiii. 2.

Prof. Bleek (Beiträge zur Evangelien-kritik, p. 235, note) suggests an interpretation of this prophecy which is surely contrary to ver. 19:—that the former part, ὅτε ἦς ν.… applies to the life of Peter before his calling,—the latter ἐκτενεῖς … to his life in the service of the Lord, who is the ἄλλος—who was to strengthen him for his work (ζώσει),—that he was to stretch out his hands in the sense of his own weakness, not merely in the feebleness of old age (in prayer?), and finally this ἄλλος, the Lord whom he served, would carry him whither he would not, i.e. to a death of martyrdom. But this says nothing of ποίῳ θανάτῳ, on which the stress evidently is, and which Bleek, while he recognizes, endeavours to get rid of by strangely supposing the idea to have arisen after the death of Peter.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Young [νεωτερος] . Literally, younger. Peter was apparently of middle age. See Mt 8:14.

Thou girdedst thyself [εζωννυες σεαυτον] . The word may have been suggested by Peter's girding his fisher's coat round him. The imperfect tense signifies something habitual. Thou wast wont to clothe thyself and to come and go at will.

Walkedst [περιεπατεις] . Literally, walkedst about. Peculiarly appropriate to describe the free activity of vigorous manhood.

Stretch forth thy hands. The allusion to the extending of the hands on the cross, which some interpreters have found here, is fanciful. It is merely an expression for the helplessness of age.

Whither thou wouldest not. According to tradition Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome, and was crucified with his head downward.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 18, 19a. “Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wert younger, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but, when thou shalt have become old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and lead thee whither thou wouldest not. 19a. In speaking thus, he signified by what death he should glorify God.”

The form ἀμὴν, ἀμήν, verily, verily, belongs exclusively to John. It is necessary indeed to notice, in the following verse, the correspondence between the three members of the two propositions. To the: thou wert younger, answers the: when thou shalt have become old. Peter must, therefore, have been at that time in the intermediate period between youth and old age. This accords with the fact that he was already married some time before this (Luk 4:38). He is placed between the spontaneous movements of the young man (thou wert) and the grave passivity of the old man (thou shalt be). Only the latter will receive from the circumstances a still more serious character than is ordinarily the case.

To the words: thou girdedst thyself, the words: thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee, correspond. It is impossible to apply these words, as so many interpreters (several Fathers, Tholuck, de Wette, Baumlein, etc.) have done, to the act of extending the arms upon the cross for crucifixion. How should this point precede the following ones, which represent the apostle as led to the place of punishment? It is rather, as Reuss says, the gesture of passivity face to face with violence. This girding will be the chain of the malefactor; comp. Act 21:11. In this word the annihilation of self-will, the dominant trait in the natural character of Peter, has been found. But the divesting of self began for him long before the period of old age.

Finally, to the words: And thou walkedst whither thou wouldest, the last point is set in opposition: “And he shall lead thee whither thou wouldest not.” This term would refers here to the repugnance of the natural heart to suffering. According to Bleek, the word another designates Jesus Himself. But this explanation is connected with the purely moral sense, falsely ascribed to the preceding words: φέρειν, to carry, more emphatic than ἄγειν, to lead (Mar 15:22).

The term: by what death, refers to death by martyrdom in general, and not specially, as Reuss thinks, to the punishment of crucifixion; it excludes the idea of a natural death. The author speaks of the death of Peter as of a fact known by the readers. This had taken place, according to most authorities, in July, 64; according to others, one or two years later. The expression to glorify God, used to designate martyrdom, entered into the later ecclesiastical terminology; we find it here in its original freshness. The phraseτοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν σημαίνων is especially Johannean, as well as the ποίῳ θανάτῳ which follows; comp. Joh 12:33.

Vv. 19 b-21. This conversation relates to the future of John, as the preceding to the future of Peter.

Vv. 19b-21. “When he had spoken thus, he says to him, Follow me. 20. And Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following (he who leaned on Jesus’ breast at the supper and said, Lord, who is he that betrays thee?). 21. Peter, seeing him, says to Jesus, Lord, and this man, what shall befall him?”—Very diverse meanings have been given to the command: Follow me. Paulus understood it in the most literal sense: “Follow me to the place whither I am going to lead thee, that I may converse with thee alone.” And this is indeed also the most natural sense, as Tholuck, Weiss (up to a certain point) and Westcott acknowledge. Chrysostom and Baumleinunderstand: “Follow me in the active work of the apostolic ministry.” Meyer: “Follow me in the way of martyrdom, where my example leads thee.” Luthardt: “Follow me into that invisible world into which I have already entered, and to which martyrdom will lead thee.” But the following words: “Peter, turning about,” prove that the question is really of a departure of Peter with Jesus—a departure which has begun to take place—and they consequently speak in favor of the literal sense of the word follow. This sense is, moreover, that of this same word (ἀκολουθοῦντα) in the following verse. After having announced to Peter his martyrdom, Jesus begins to walk away, bidding Peter follow Him. John, seeing this, follows them, without having been expressly invited; he feels himself authorized to do so by his intimate relations with Jesus. Keil objects that Jesus disappears miraculously, and does not go away thus on His feet. But if He had a conversation to carry on privately with Peter, why could He not have withdrawn for a moment with him? It does not follow from this, however, that the meaning of the command: Follow me, is purely outward. It is clear that, by this first step, Peter enters on that path of obedience to Jesus which will lead him to the tragic end of his apostleship. It is thus that the higher sense naturally connects itself with the lower, as in Joh 1:44. This symbolism forms the basis of the entire Gospel of John.

What could be the object of the private conversation which Jesus desired to have with Peter? It is possible that He proposed to give him the instructions necessary for the convoking of those few hundreds of Galilean believers to whom He wished to manifest Himself personally before entirely withdrawing His visible presence from the earth (1Co 15:6). Matthew expresses himself thus, Mat 28:16, in speaking of this so considerable assemblage: “on the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.” There was, then, a definite command, a meeting-place assigned with a designated hour. All this implies a communication; and if Peter received it at this moment, this was his re- installation de facto in that function of leader of the flock which had just been restored to him de jure. The word turning about reminds us of Joh 20:14; Joh 20:16; it is a form altogether Johannean.

John followed Jesus and Peter; by what right? This is doubtless what the two descriptive phrases by which he is characterized are intended to explain: The one whom Jesus loved, and: The one who reclined on the breast of Jesus and said to Him ....He who had enjoyed such a degree of intimacy with the Master well knew that nothing could occur between Jesus and Peter which must remain a secret to him. This phrase is not, therefore, an unfounded panegyric of John, which contradicts the Johannean origin of the narrative. The καί after ὅς, “who also,” brings out the relation between this exceptional intimacy and his character of beloved disciple.

The motive of Peter’s question, Joh 21:21, was, not only according to the Tubingen school, but also according to men like Olshausen, Lucke, Meyer, Baumlein, a feeling of jealousy with respect to John. Is it possible to ascribe to a man to whom Jesus has just confided His sheep a character having so little nobility? “If I am to undergo martyrdom, I hope that he also will not escape it!” Peter and John were, on the contrary, closely united, and truly loved each other (Joh 21:7). The first, with his manly nature, felt for the second, who was more timid and sensitive, what an elder brother feels for his tender and delicate younger brother. It is sympathy which inspires the question:And this one, what shall befall him? It is natural that the emotion awakened in the soul of Peter by the announcement of his own tragic end should express itself in his heart in this thought: “This one—must he, then, also pass through this experience?”

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.