This scene in John 21 is when the risen Lord met with His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.  Verse 14 tells us, “This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.”  The first two times the Lord had appeared to His disciples after being raised from the dead were in John 20:19 and 26. 

As I’m sure most will remember, Peter had denied the Lord three times before His crucifixion.  You can read about that in Luke 22:54-60.  The Lord Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to Peter privately as we read in Luke 24:33-34, “And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.” (Peter and Simon are the same person).  This meeting with Peter was to restore him to the Lord privately.  During this meeting with His disciples in John 21, the Lord Jesus graciously restores Peter publicly.  In John 21:15-17, the Lord allowed Peter three different times to acknowledge his love for His savior.  This parallels the three times Peter had denied knowing the Lord.

It is so encouraging to see that although Peter had failed the Lord miserably, the Lord restored him and put him back into the ministry.  In verses 15-17, we see the Lord saying to Peter, “Feed my lambs.”  “Feed my sheep.”  “Feed my sheep.”  Look at what the Lord Jesus told Peter prior to his denying the Lord.  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32 – NASB).  The Lord Jesus prayed for Peter’s restoration and gave him an assignment to do after he was restored.  How gracious is the Lord that He did not give up on Peter, or take away Peter’s servanthood.  Instead, the Lord used Peter greatly, including writing two books…1 and 2 Peter.

Now, let’s look at what the Lord said to Peter in John 21:18-19, “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. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” 

The Lord began by reminding Peter of the freedom he had enjoyed when he was young.  He could gird himself, which was a method of binding his outer clothes around his mid-section so that he could walk unimpaired by his long, flowing robes.  He could also go where he wanted to go.  Yet, there would be a time when he would stretch out his hands and someone else would gird him, or bind him, and make him go somewhere he did not want to go.  The Lord bluntly told Peter that this was how he would die. He would be executed.  Here are a few things we learn from the words of the Lord to Peter.

  • Peter would lose his freedom and would be detained and then compelled to go where he did not want to go.
  • This would happen when Peter was old, so Peter would not die as a young man, but as an old man.
  • Peter’s death would GLORIFY GOD. 

How could this possibly be?  How could Peter’s execution glorify God?  Peter would glorify the Lord by dying a martyr’s death.  The one who was so afraid of death that he denied knowing the Lord would one day be given the courage to lay down his life for Him.  This shows us that we can glorify the Lord in our death as well as in our life.

It is estimated by some writers that Peter was executed about 36-40 years after these words of the Lord.  Job spoke of the appointed time of our death in Job 14:5, “Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass.”  The Lord could speak accurately about Peter’s death because he “determined the number of his months…”  There was an assurance that Peter would live to be an old man, but it was also determined that he would die a martyr’s death.  The Bible doesn’t tell us how Peter died, but historical writers describe his death as having occurred in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero in 64 AD.  It’s said that Peter was crucified upside down because he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord Jesus.  (CC)  (573.6)