Jesus Knows How it Ends
take comfort
One of the reasons John wrote and included the 21st chapter in his gospel record is to correct some false ideas about what Jesus said about his and Peter’s death. Some people, having heard about what happened that day, believed that what Jesus said was that John would still be alive for the second coming. John corrects that:
Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remains until I come, what is that to you? (Verse 23)
This misunderstanding came about because Jesus told Peter the nature of his death. The Church Tradition says that Peter died in Rome by being crucified. It is said that he requested that he be crucified upside down, stating he was not worthy to be crucified like his Lord.
There is good reason to believe this tradition is true, but whether it is or isn’t, the fact remains that what Jesus told Peter that morning after breakfast was, “I know exactly how and when you will die.” Why did Jesus say this to Peter? Taking into consideration the context and the conversation and all that preceded it, I believe it is safe to say that Jesus told Peter this because the reason that Peter denied Jesus was he was afraid of being arrested and crucified with Him.
Jesus wasn’t telling Peter that he wouldn’t die. He wasn’t even telling him he wouldn’t die a painful martyr’s death. If tradition is correct, Jesus was saying just the opposite. He was saying that he would die a painful martyr’s death. His point to Peter was that he wouldn’t die until God allowed it and he would only die in the way God determined.
Jesus knows how it ends for us. It is in His hands. It will be according to His will. Don’t fear. Take comfort. Nothing can happen until it is His time, and nothing will happen outside of His purposes.
