From the moment he heard the invitation, “Follow Me,” Peter had been all in. Watching him dash out across the water toward Jesus only to realize what he was doing and falter in the middle of the sea, the other disciples would shake their heads and call him unpredictable. Eavesdropping as Peter reprimanded Jesus for attempting to prepare them for His coming death and resurrection, the listening disciples would hear the stinging return rebuke and call him impulsive. Holding his severed ear in the palm of his hand, sputtering in pain and disbelief, Malchus would deem Peter rash. But, no one, not one single person, would say that Peter wasn’t all in when he dropped his nets and raced across the sand to follow Jesus. (Matthew 4:19-20; 14:22-32; 16:21-23)
As quickly as he answered the call, the actual leaving must have taken an enormous amount of courage. It wasn’t difficult to leave the boat and nets for a few minutes and follow Jesus into town. But the call wasn’t about minutes. It was about a lifetime. It meant leaving everything behind. Friends, family, home, responsibilities. Trusting someone else with the family business. Enduring long separations from his wife with no regularly scheduled visits. No promise of tomorrow’s health, luxurious retirement, excessive hedge funds. It made for a hazy outlook over an uncertain future.
There were a thousand things calling him to stay. The tears pooling in his wife’s eyes even as she nodded her supportive assent. The sad resignation in the eyes of his family as he hung up his fishing net, possibly for the last time. The pull of responsibility. The judgmental side-eye from neighbors. The jarring, grating voices in his own mind chanting that his decision was delusional. The uncomfortable ball in the pit of his stomach caused by the complete inability to know how this endeavor would end, if it would all be for nothing. Yet still, Peter chose to follow.
It wouldn’t be the last time Peter heard those words or answered the call to follow Jesus. At the very end of John’s account, Jesus once again stood on the shore watching Peter surrounded by a boat and fishing nets. Emotions still in roller-coaster upheaval from recent events. Peter had gone back to his roots, his place of safety, his thinking spot. Peter went fishing.
Deeming it a proper place to quietly reflect, several other disciples went along. They all had thinking to do, were all attempting to process the barrage of scenes and emotions parading around their minds. The gut-wrenching scene of Jesus, beaten, bruised, bloody, hanging like a common thief on a cross still plagued them. The amazement of gazing into the empty tomb should have eclipsed it, but they couldn’t forget. And although no words could express their exhilaration at His upper room visit, it hadn’t really given them clarity concerning themselves, their future. Who were they now? Where did they go from there? What was their mission? And who was leading the charge?
All through the night hours Peter and his friends silently let down their nets and waited. Unfocused on their task. Minds reeling. Each lost in his own thoughts, beleaguered by his own questions. It was not a productive night. As the first streaks of dawn began to creep up over the hills, not one fish graced their net. Not one answer illuminated their minds. Discouraged with life in general and their lack of fish in particular, they gloomily rowed toward shore.
Having done the task a hundred times, they didn’t bother to look onshore first. There was no need to line up with a dock. No one cared to quicken their pace. They didn’t even notice the stranger standing on the beach until He called out to them, inquiring if they had caught any fish. At their negative response, the man issued a peculiar command. “Throw the net over the right side of the boat and you will catch fish.”
The oddness of the request notwithstanding, they saw no reason to deny the stranger attempting to help. Gathering the net up, they moved to the right side of the boat and threw it in the water. Expecting nothing, one can only imagine their surprise when fish filled the net with lightning speed. Hustling to get either the fish in the boat or drag the ridiculously full net to the shore, one enlightened man’s awestruck whisper resounded through their ranks, “It is the Lord.”
As soon as the words landed on his ears, Peter did what he’d done from the beginning. He followed Jesus. Leaving the nets to his friends, he grabbed up his outer cloak, slung it on, jumped into the water, and headed for shore. It didn’t matter that the boat was going in the same direction. It was of no consequence to him that he was about 100 yards away. None of it mattered. Jesus had called. Peter was answering. Again. (John 21)
He would do it every time. Over and over again Peter would respond to the call to follow with barely a backward glance. He would leave everything, every time, for the privilege of following Jesus. It had nothing to do with a promised earthly reward–there wasn’t one. The only thing promised was their walk on earth would be rife with trials and tribulations. People would come against them, seek their demise. Following Jesus was never presented as a possible cakewalk, a bed of thornless roses, or an ant-less picnic. Yet Peter would never once change his answer when Jesus called. (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; John 15:19-21; Romans 8:36)
In a conversation whose difficulty I find it impossible to imagine, Jesus details to Peter how he will die. Not when. Not where. Just how. It is not pleasant. It is for the glory of God. Nowhere in this somewhat awkward conversation does Jesus promise Peter eternal glory for himself. He doesn’t offer any type of solace. No reparations for Peter’s family. He simply speaks the words and follows them up with the same invitational command He gave when He originally called him. “Follow me!” (John 21)
And Peter does. He follows Jesus. Doggedly. Wholeheartedly. Peter embodies the words of the Psalmist, “My soul follows hard after thee!” Read the book of Acts. In that beautifully inspirational Book, we catch just a glimpse into Peter’s tenacity in following Jesus. Preaching at Pentecost. Healing the lame man. Threats. Arrests. Horrific imprisonment. Miraculous release. The list goes on and on. Yet never once, no matter what atrocity he was facing, did Peter ever stop following Jesus. He had been called to fish for men, he would sacrifice everything to do so. He would deny himself everything, take up his cross daily (no matter what that entailed), and follow Jesus. Even when it meant his life. (Psalm 63:8; Luke 9:23)
At a time when so many of us are negligent followers, it would behoove us to take an act from Peter’s life. He wasn’t perfect. He was flawed. He was faulty and fallible and finite. He was just like you and me. Yet, in spite of all the times he should have held his tongue–or his sword–Peter’s face was set like a flint, his eyes focused on His Lord, his mission to follow Jesus. Completely. Relentlessly. Intentionally. Sacrificing every want, wish, and whim on the altar of self-denial, Peter courageously chose to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Every time. For all time.
Perhaps Jesus has come to where you are and is calling you to follow Him. Maybe He is calling you to step into repentance and acceptance of the saving grace of Calvary. Maybe He is calling you to go to the boundaries of your social circle and reach out to those relegated to its fringes. Maybe He’s calling you to a career change, a mission field, a different neighborhood. Maybe He’s calling you to leave some things, places, people behind. Maybe He’s calling you from the relative safety of your well-ordered life to the absolute safety of His will. Maybe He’s calling you to get out of the boat and follow Him on the adventure of a lifetime.
The truth is, I have no idea what Jesus is calling you to do after the fact, but I know with absolute certainty, Jesus is calling you to get out of the boat. He’s calling you to leave it behind and follow Him. Leave everything behind, actually. Once you step out of that boat, He’s got your back. In Him, your victorious Leader who never loses a battle, you will find everything you ever need. Your identity. Your direction. Your mission. Your home. You won’t find it in your creature comforts and cautiously cultivated friend circles. It will be conspicuously missing in your carefully curated houses and lifestyles. You’ll come up empty if you look for it in hobbies, workouts, relaxation techniques, or travel plans. You’ll have to get out of the boat, leave your safety nets behind, and follow Jesus!
Thank you for the word!!