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When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
—John 21:15–22 

Introduction: The Empty Places We Go 

I’ve been hanging out in the book of John for a few months now, especially during the season of Lent when I’m asking God to show me Jesus and help me follow him more quickly and fully. And so this sermon is just an overflow of a couple of powerful themes I’ve been seeing in my time with the Lord in John. 

The Scripture that was just read so clearly shows what is required of a follower of Jesus. And it’s pretty simple: Where Jesus calls you—you follow him, regardless of where it is. It’s simple, but it’s really hard.

I have a longing for us as a blood-bought family to be devoted to following Jesus. That the Spirit would come and cut through the fog of all the sin and suffering and give us clear sight of Jesus so that we’d be set free to follow him and glorify him.

Don’t you sometime feel the slowness and haziness of your heart toward Jesus because of sin and suffering? The other night I was driving somewhere and it was unbelievably foggy. I could only see about 15–20 feet in front of me. So I had to go so slow because I couldn’t see where I was going. And I’m praying that today God might be pleased to cut through the fog and give us clear sight of Jesus so we don’t go slow in following him.

Listen to the reason John wrote this book:

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.—John 20:31

He wants us to believe who Jesus is and what he’s done and then have life in his name. And this life is eternal life that will last forever in eternal joy, but it’s also life that begins now. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.—John 10:10

So, here Jesus is, the king of the universe saying, “I came to give you life abundantly!” And so often we’re saying, “I’ll take your life as long as it doesn’t mess with the life I have planned.” In other words, sometimes we drag in our own fog machines and cloud our own vision by going to empty places instead of going to the abundance that Christ came to purchase for us. Our soul longs for Jesus—it’s what we were made for. Yet, we feel the pull of other places. 

In other words, we feel our souls thirsting for something, but our vision is foggy, and so instead of running after Jesus—a fountain of living water—we run after other things. Instead of sitting down to a steak dinner, we settle for Ramen noodles. So, today, I am praying that we will see all that Jesus is for us and see that to follow him is to find true freedom, wherever he calls us. 

I AM

Let’s start by seeing Jesus. Now, right at the beginning of the gospel of John, in the first verse John claims Jesus is God.

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 was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.—John 1:1–5

The God-man, Jesus, was coming to earth to bring the light of life. And although many would reject him, even his own people, to those who did receive him, he would give the right to become children of God. (See John 1:12.) So, here we have the breathtaking reality that God became man, and he came to die a death to pay for sin that would bring life to sinners who could never pay for it on their own. And not only that, but he would bring rebels into his family—make them children of God.

And as we see Jesus throughout the rest of John he keeps referring to himself as “I AM” to confirm that he is indeed God come to earth to save sinners. Listen to Exodus 3:13–14, where Moses is speaking with God about rescuing Israel from slavery:

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

So, there, in Exodus, I AM—the God who IS and has no beginning and who has created everything, has come to redeem God’s people from slavery to Egypt. And Jesus is saying in John, that’s who I AM. I AM is here to redeem God’s people from slavery to sin.

I want you to see that I AM—Jesus, the Son of God who had lived in perfect joy with his Father from eternity past, came to die a death to pay for our sins and then stands up regularly in the gospel of John and invites us to follow him so that we can enjoy him, be with him, have relationship with him, now and forever. So, if you’re not a Christian in here, I pray you’ll see these “I AM” statements very personally today and want to come to him—that the fog of sin and shame would be cleared for the first time. And if you are a believer in here, I pray that you’d see clearly the abundance offered in Christ and that the Spirit would help you return in fresh ways to your first love. So, let’s look at these amazing statements: 

I AM the bread of life—John 6:35 

Jesus has just fed approximately 12,000 people with five loaves and two fish. And the crowds are following. They want another miracle to prove who he was, as if that wasn’t enough. 

Jesus says, I am the true bread that gives life to the world. If you come to me you’ll have eternal life. If you come to me, if you believe in my death and resurrection and make me your spiritual nourishment I’ll satisfy you and you’ll have life eternally and abundantly now. The true miracle was that I AM had come to offer himself as the bread of life to the world. 

I AM the light of the world—John 8:12 

Jesus promises that whoever follows will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. He’s saying, “Follow me so that you can see reality! Follow me and come out of darkness that enslaves you. Follow me to see what true life is now and forever. I’ll give it to you. This is what you were made for. Abide in my word and have the truth set you free! See me. Have life!”

I AM the door of the sheep—John 10:7

The image of Jesus here is of him as the way into the safety of salvation, of him as the way into the flock of God. Trusting in the person and work of Jesus is the only way in. There is no amount of good works you’ve done to get you in. There is no amount of self-improvement. The way in is through Jesus. Some of us, even those who have already trusted him, need to remember this today. Don’t hope in some future better version of yourself or subtly work for the approval of God. Remember the perfect, finished work of Jesus.

I AM the good Shepherd—John 10:11

A shepherd provides, protects, cares for, and leads the sheep. It’s important here to note the word good … because sometimes, the shepherd might have to lead the sheep through scary places to get them to safety. Jesus promises that all who come in to the fold will be protected by the Good Shepherd who will lay his life down for the sheep to purchase their security. And he promises that no one will ever snatch them out of his hand. They are his. They are safe. He gave his life to make it so. You’re safe in him. In a world where power is abused all the time, we have a good, kind, perfect Shepherd.

I AM the resurrection and the life—John 11:25

Jesus promises that whoever believes in him will never die. Yes, these earthly bodies will pass away—but the moment they do, we are with him. Jesus has conquered death once-for-all and if we believe in him, we will never die. We have life abundantly now in him, and the promise that fullness of that life and pleasures forevermore are coming soon to all who have trusted him. There is nothing ultimately to fear anymore. Every suffering is a whisper of death, and death is conquered for us. Nothing can threaten us.

I AM the way, the truth, and the life—John 14:6

Here, Jesus says that he’s come to bring us to the Father. No one goes to the Father unless he or she sees and believes that Jesus is the only way. All other ways are false and lead to death. They were trying to figure out how to get where Jesus was going. And Jesus says, you get to the place I’m preparing for you—you get to eternal life with my Father—through me. It’s the only way. You want to know the way? It’s me. You want to know the truth? Look at me. You want life? It’s in me!

I AM the true vine—John 15:1

Here, Jesus says that if we abide, if we stay connected to him like a cord that we connect into an outlet to get power. If we stay close to him and his words, we will bear fruit, prove we are his disciples, abide in his love, and have our joy be full.

So, I AM has come on the scene—Jesus—and has offered us abundant life now and eternal life forever as the Bread of Life—that means we never hunger; the light of the world—that means we can see and have life; the door into the fold of the flock of God, the good shepherd who provides for and preserves us; the resurrection and life that guarantees ours; the way, truth, and life to get to the Father; and the true Vine we stay with to bear fruit and have full joy.

There is an abundance of true, unfailing, unchangeable comfort in Christ.

‘Follow Me’

So, the question for us today then, is, will we take him up on all that abundance? We live in a time where following him has kind of been watered down. But, for Jesus, the only right or appropriate response to seeing him was to be “all in” to follow him.

In John 1:38-43, we see Jesus find his first two disciples, and they leave everything to follow him. He finds Andrew and Phillip. They just go. They can’t resist. They see I AM, and they go. As they see the beauty of I AM, they go right away and get others. Andrew gets Peter, and Phillip gets Nathanael. Followers of Jesus are eager to see others follow him too. Do we tell others? 

Then in John 8:12, Jesus says all who follow him will walk in the light. And yet in John 3 we see that many do not come to the light because they like shadows of the darkness of their evil works. Are we slow to follow because of sin in our life we’re not ready to part with? Like, really part with? 

In John 10:27, Jesus simply says, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” It’s just what sheep do. They come in through the door of Jesus and then they listen to the voice of the good shepherd Jesus. Sheep follow. Sheep know they can trust the voice. Sheep go wherever the shepherd calls them to go. Sheep can’t hope in themselves for anything; they are completely dependent on the shepherd and therefore quickly respond to his call. Are we quick to obey and follow his call?

Listen to John 12:25–26:

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

As I read those words and thought of Jesus, the Great I AM standing there, I thought, “Do I love my idea of life or Jesus more? Is my desire in life simply to be wherever Jesus calls me? Or do I want things my way in my timing?”

And then finally, consider the text you heard read at the beginning from John 21:19 where Jesus calls Peter to follow him. Peter lost his life following Jesus. Jesus knew that he would and said, “Follow me.” Do I believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain?

With I AM standing and offering so much abundance to us, he then calls us to follow him. In these verses we see that radical following of Jesus is not radical Christianity—it’s just what happens when sinners are saved by grace and come face-to-face with Jesus.

My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus’ words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to him. (David Platt in Radical)

Application: Where Else Can We Go?

So, as I began to see these themes emerge, I started to ask myself, “Why is my heart so slow sometimes? What’s going on in there?” And the Gospel of Matthew really helped me.

And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”—Matthew 8:19–20

Some of us don’t want to follow because we love our comfort. We don’t see Jesus clear enough to change our routines, our use of money, our time, or the way we like things. We want security and comfort, so we go on trying to get those things rather than trusting that true life comes when we follow Jesus. We already have all the security and comfort we need in him!

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.—Matthew 10:37–39

This is a hard word. Do we love Jesus more than even our families? Some of us struggle to want to follow Jesus when he calls us to suffer. Some of us value our little slice of heaven on earth here—the comforts of family, health, home, and ease—more than Jesus. Now, listen, none of those things is bad. They’re good gifts from God. But, they’re terrible gods. If you begin to live for comfort or live for family or to avoid suffering, it will not end well. We will find our souls sick as we continue to settle for things that can’t satisfy it and our discontent will spill over. 

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.—Matthew 19:21­­–22

Some of us just live for our stuff. We like our vacations. We like our hobbies. We like power and prestige. We are following after all of that. Again, vacations and hobbies are good gifts from God, but they make terrible gods. They don’t satisfy. I often ask myself if people looked at my bank account, would they see a follower of Jesus? 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?—Matthew 16:24–27

So, following Jesus is costly. He may call us to suffering. He may call us away from our comforts. He may call us to spend our money and time differently. He may call us to deny ourselves, to die to ourselves, to give up that sin that we like, in order to truly live. He may call us from our homes to the nations. He may call us out of our comfort to witness to our neighbors.

But, remember, he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. Following Jesus is the abundant life because when we follow him we always get more of him! Following Jesus is where true freedom is because Jesus is the true bread of life; the Light of the World; the Door; the Good Shepherd; the resurrection and the life; the way, truth, and life; and the true Vine. 

Jesus has come to save us from our sins and set us free from lives devoted to things lesser than him. So, the question is: Do we see him? Do we trust him? Will we follow him?

The last few months have been some of the hardest of our lives. And John 6 has been consistently the place where the Lord has brought my heart. Jesus has just said a hard word, and many disciples are leaving because they don’t see him. They just see what they have to give up. And Jesus asks the disciples closest to him if they are going to leave as well. Hard words and hard providences from the Lord can fog up my following him. So, I love Peter’s response. 

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.—John 6:68–69

In other words, “We can’t leave. No matter how hard it gets. We know you are the place of true life. You have the words of eternal life. You are I AM who has come to redeem us, how can we not follow you with all our lives?” 

They kept following, leaving house and home, comfort and ease, power and prestige. They endured through sin and suffering in them and around them. Why? Because the fog had been removed. They had seen Jesus. And therefore, they followed.

Perhaps you’re sitting here and you know of places you need to follow Jesus with more humble obedience. The good news of the gospel is that we simply confess, and he’s eager to help us walk in that more abundant life. No shame for past failures.

PRAY: Where do you need to follow Jesus more closely today? Where do you need to leave comforts and sin behind? If you will follow closely there is more abundant life with Jesus waiting now and forever.