This is the concluding passage in the Gospel of John, the Gospel that we've been looking at for weeks and weeks. And there's a couple of statements that might seem out of place or confusing. And I'm going to try to explain them both. The first is what Peter said after he told him, or what he says to Peter after he told him, what kind of death by which he would glorify God. Peter asks, Lord, what about this man? Referring to the disciple John. Jesus responds, if it's my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. What is that to you? It sounds abrupt and offensive. The second thing might seem confusing. It's a concluding statement of the Gospel. Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be written. I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Now, it's possible that John here is speaking in hyperbole. Exaggeration for the purpose of making a point. But I think there's another possible explanation. So let's go back to the beginning of the passage. We see that Jesus is asking Peter for a third time, do you love me? Remember, Peter had denied Jesus three times. He had sit outside where Jesus was being interrogated by the high priest. He'd sit around the fire with some soldiers and others. And a slave girl confronted him and he denied knowing Jesus three times. And now they're sitting around a fire after catching a great cache of fish. And Jesus has some fish and loaves that he is preparing for the disciples to eat. And in fact, he invites them. He says, come and have some breakfast. So then he asked Peter three times, gives him an opportunity to three times, declare his love in place of the three times that he denied him. And finally, after the last time, he says, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep. So Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him three times. But in doing so, he gave Peter the opportunity to openly declare his love. But then he says something that would have been disturbing to Peter. He describes the manner in which Peter will die a martyr's death for the cause of the gospel and thereby bring glory to God. Now tradition tells us that Peter was arrested in Rome under the rule of Nero, sometime between 64 and 68 A.D. See, Nero had attempted to blame Christians for the fires that burned Rome. And many Christians were martyred as a result, Peter being one of them. So after Peter was arrested, he was sentenced to be crucified. Peter asked to be crucified upside down, several historians tell us, because Peter didn't consider himself to be worthy to be crucified in the same way as his Lord Jesus. So when Peter heard how he was to die, he points to John and says, what about this man? OK, Lord, I'm going to be martyred. But what about him? And here we come to the first of the two statements that might seem out of place. They might seem out of place because to us they sound offensive. What is that to you? Now, I don't know if it has throughout history seemed offensive, or is it that our culture is so easily offended? This isn't the only place that our 21st century Western sensibilities cause us to flinch at something that Jesus said. For example, in this same gospel in Chapter two, remember Jesus was attending a wedding at Cana of a young couple. He was there and his mother was there also. And his mother came to him and said, they have no wine. Jesus response to her was woman. What does this have to do with me? Now, some translations have attempted to soften it because they found this coming out of the mouth of our Lord to sound offensive. So they say, dear woman. But that's not what he said. He said, woman. What does this have to do with me? It sounds rude and offensive. This is not the only place in Matthew Chapter twelve. He says you brood of vipers. How can you speak good when you are evil? Or Matthew twenty three. He says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Sounds offensive, doesn't it? For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee first clean the inside of the cup and the plate and the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you have like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all in cleanliness. So you outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. I don't care who you are. If somebody's talking to you like this, you are going to be offended. And it certainly sounds offensive to us. Politicians say things that sound offensive and some of them, I was told by one person that they were going to vote for one person because the other person was offensive. Didn't matter what this person's policies were. That person was offensive. There are many more statements like these that if anyone said them, we would find them very offensive even if they're right. And I'm sure that the Pharisees found them offensive as well. After all, they saw themselves as the elite. And who is this rebel Jesus to say these things to us? So why does Peter say, what is that to you? Because one concern of Peter, his primary concern, Jesus says, is follow me. Doesn't matter, Peter, if I want John to remain until I return, that's no concern of yours. You follow me. You see, Peter was prone to comparison like many of us. Many of us see neighbors or relatives or friends who maybe have a bigger, nicer home and we compare. We know somebody who has a job that we think we're qualified for, that we would really want, and we think, how can they have it? And I don't. Some people have children that seem to be doing very well all the time. And they're always posting on Facebook how amazing their children are. I don't know how many times I've seen somebody say, we have three or four or however many it is, four amazing children. And I want to respond by saying, no, you don't. You probably have four average children. Because if everybody who said they had amazing children really had amazing children, the world wouldn't be as bad off as it is. But they have four amazing children. And it's easy to compare yourself to others, especially regarding your family. Many of you know my good, I've talked about my good friend, Tim. He has three sons. They're all doing very well. His oldest son is a physical therapist. His second son graduated from Harvard Law School. His third son works at a university. He's doing very well as well. And I look at him and I think, okay, Lord, my oldest son is bipolar and is in a psych ward. Why are all his kids doing well and mine isn't? And I think the answer that Jesus would come to me with is the same as Peter. What is that to you? You follow me. Same with health. You know people that can seem like they can eat whatever they want. They don't exercise much. They always look good. They don't have any health issues. They don't take any pills. And then some people it seems like they're always running into some sort of problem health wise. And you might want to say to God, Lord, why do I have all this when they seem to be scot-free? I don't know if scot-free is a saying around here, but anyway. And what does he say? He said the same thing to Peter or say the same thing to us. What is that to you? You follow me. Remember Peter was prone to comparison. Remember he said, even if everyone else falls away, I will not. Jesus said, truly I say to you before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But he said emphatically, if I must die with you, I will not deny you. See, Peter compared himself with the other disciples and found himself elevated. Even if they all fall away, I know I'm better than that. But it's not just Peter. You remember the parable of the vineyard. In Matthew 20 beginning in verse eight. One evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, call the laborers and pay them their wages. Remember he had hired people at daybreak to work in his vineyard. Then he had gone back and he had hired people around noontime. Then he had hired people again near the end of the day around, let's just say 6 p.m. And when those hired about the eleventh hour, each of them received a denarius. So when the first saw that, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house saying, these last only worked an hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he said, friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give you the last worker as I, if I choose to give to the last worker as I gave to you. Am I not allowed to do that? Am I not allowed to choose what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? The original workers begrudge the owner's generosity. They're comparing how they were treated with the late arriving workers. We can fall prey to comparison with others. Ministers and church members can compare themselves to other churches. Sometimes it's the size of the church. We're really prone to that in the West. We think more members indicates God's blessing. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. I've been to a lot of larger churches that really seem to preach the gospel, love the Lord, have wonderful ministries. I've been to other larger churches that I can't tell if they're Christian or not. John Calvin said there are three indicators of a faithful church preaching the word, rightly administering the sacraments, and church discipline. Some larger churches are faithful to God's word and mission and we should be thankful, but others aren't. But people compare themselves to others in all sorts of way. Now, it's not that we need it, but I'm going to quote a psychological article or an article by a psychologist who says, comparison is harmful habit that has a significant emotional drain and compromise your mental well-being. Various research studies have shown a strong correlation between frequent comparison and heightened levels of depression and anxiety. This is especially common among young adults who are still forming identities and are responsive to societal pressures. Constantly measuring yourself against others is a recipe for inaction and procrastination. The mental bandwidth consumed by comparison could be channeled into productive activities that foster growth and personal development. Instead of scrolling through social media feeds filled with other people's accomplishments. Imagine what you could achieve if you focused your effort and your attention to your own goals. Comparison causes strained relationships. The harm caused by comparison isn't restricted to individual well-being. It has potential to strain relationships, friendships, family ties, marriages. Dynamics can become toxic when clouded by jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. Over time, these feelings can build up, creating emotional barriers and fostering resentments which can be destructive to any relationship. I was looking at this one interview and the wife asked the husband, if I say to you, my friend Mary got this beautiful necklace for Mother's Day, what do you hear? He says, what I hear is you never get me anything nice. Why don't you get me something nice? A frequent side effect of chronic comparison is feeling worse about yourself. Finally, social media and depression, there's a link between social media use and increased feelings of inadequacy, especially with young people. Now, all of this is true more or less, but the real danger of comparison is that it's sinful. You say, how is comparing sinful? Because at the root, it's often the sin of coveting. Wanting what others have can lead to breaking many of the other commandments. You want others' good opinion, so you're prone to lie about your accomplishments. You want what somebody has can cause someone to steal. You want another person's spouse, adultery. You want to be in charge of your own time. It's after all, it's my time. I covet my time. So you break the Sabbath. Coveting is essentially saying that you're dissatisfied with the life that God has given you. That's what comparison is. Psalm 73 is about the sin of comparison in coveting. I'll read a portion. They are not in trouble as others are. They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Going down to verse 16. When I came to understand this, it seemed wearisome to me until I went into the sanctuary of God and I discerned their end. Verse 21. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in my heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. All of this, the psalmist was comparing himself and his lot and the troubles that he was having with the wicked and how they seemed to have a life of ease with no problems of any kind. And the answer to the comparison of the coveting is to believe that God is good and the life he has given you is not unfair or an accident. Some of you have dealt with great difficulty in your life. Lost spouses, lost children, failed endeavors, trouble at work, unable to find a job. And the temptation is to say, why me? Why me? Maybe you recall Paul's troubles, shipwrecks, imprisonments, beatings, constant pressure from all the churches. And what did he call it? He called it temporary light affliction when compared with the glory that is to come. What Jesus is telling Peter and through him us, don't concern yourself with how others are faring. You follow me. You follow me. I told you there were two perplexing statements. The second one is now where there are also many other things Jesus did. Where every one of them to be written, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Some commentators think this is hyperbole, exaggeration. John's way of saying, you wouldn't believe everything Jesus did. I have a different interpretation. And I'm not saying 100 percent is the right one, but I believe it's worth considering. See, John opens his gospel with these words. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him. Not anything was made that was made. Paul says something very similar in Colossians 1, 15. He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, or the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him. All things hold together. So God, the son, the second person of the Trinity, the word who became flesh is the one through whom everything was created and the one through whom everything is created. Everything is held together. The psalmist says he determines the number of stars he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant and power is understanding is beyond measure. I have a slide. I want you to see now this is supposedly our galaxy. And that little red line is the spaceship Voyager and that line tells you how far Voyager would travel in one million years. Who knows how many trillions and trillions and trillions and I don't even know the number of stars and it says he determines the number of stars he gives names to all of them. Paul says in Romans one is invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. That is called a rainbow cloud. Incredible, isn't it? This is God painting the sky. There's another one. You can look him up. Rainbow clouds are gorgeous. See, God has been evident in his creation. He goes on to say are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Now one of them is forgotten by God. Why even the hairs of your head are all number. Fear not. You are more valuable than many sparrows. I know that's not a sparrow, but scarlet tanagers are prettier. Just think of how many millions and millions and millions of birds die every year fall to the ground. There are millions of birds that die by hitting people's windows every year and not one of them fell to the ground apart from the notice of our God. The psalmist says you were formed in my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance in your book. They in your body. Your eyes saw my unformed substance in your book. They in your book were written every one of them. The days that were formed for me. And yet when yet there was not one. We know her. That's Chloe. Isn't she beautiful. Beautiful. You see in God has created all these things and what does it say? All things were made through him who God the Son Jesus Christ and without him not anything that was made that was made. And so all the time that Jesus is on the earth he's still God the Son. He's still creating. He still notices every bird that falls. He still knows the names of all the stars. He still is creating life. And overseeing death. So yes. If everything was written that Jesus had done even just the three years he was alive on earth. John is right. All the books in the world couldn't contain it. Couldn't even write the names of the of the stars. So while some people think it's hyperbole I think no this is who our savior is. He is God become one of us. You see he had the right to tell us to follow him before because of who he is. Now that he's become a man and lived the life that we should have lived in our place and died the death we deserve to die in our place. He has earned the right to tell us to follow him. That's why he says to Peter what is that to you. You follow me. Whatever you think your shortcomings are how that you could have possibly been cheated whatever. You follow me. You follow Jesus. Father in heaven thank you for your word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.