18 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.”
19 (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.” (Jn. 21:18-19 ESV)

The shame and the glory

At the end of John’s gospel we have this curious account of Peter’s restoration. Before Jesus’ arrest, Peter boldly declared how he would willingly die for his master’s honour. A few hours later he chose to warm himself by the fire instead. And yet, even a reversal of such deep disgrace does not leave Peter out in the cold. The Lord Jesus leads him through a loving process of repentance to full forgiveness and restoration. Only one thing separates Peter’s hollow confession and his true confession: The Cross of Christ. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that gives Peter’s restoration its substance and its life. Apart from the Cross, there is no restoration for the apostle, or anyone else.

Jesus crowns Peter’s restoration with verses 18-19. It’s an invitation to follow Jesus into his glory. Who wouldn’t accept that invitation? The glory of God – isn’t that what we all strive for? But notice how it comes. It comes as Peter in his old age, is dressed and led like an animal to the slaughter, to an ignominious death, to be crucified upside down (as tradition has it). The crucifix was already an instrument of state terror designed to humiliate. Peter’s execution was a mockery, a caricature, of that shameful death. It was shame upon shame. How, we ask, could this barbaric cruelty possibly bring glory to God? The answer is in Jesus’ next words: “Follow me.” Peter would follow Jesus to the cross. In John’s gospel, the cross of Christ is the greatest manifestation of God’s glory. It is the highest display of the excellence of his character.

When we think of bringing glory to God, we are perhaps inclined to think of mentioning God in an acceptance speech, or signing off a best-seller with the words Soli Deo Gloria. There may be something in that, but for the disciple of Jesus, God’s glory can also come, often does come, through our humiliation: through faithfulness in our fear, our suffering, and even in our death. Peter would glorify God in the way he died. We may not die with perfect poise (Peter himself was led where he didn’t want to go), but if there is the struggle for faith in Christ and surrender to the Spirit, we can bring Glory to God, even in death. God works through our weakness. It is when we are emptied of the last traces of our own glory, that he will shine brightest within us.

We do well to reflect on that at a time like this. We may feel hard-pressed on every side, perplexed, abandoned and struck down; but in all these things there is an opportunity to live for God’s glory – and God’s glory is our greatest good. There is no higher calling. There is no better life. There is no safer place.

Prayer points:

• Ask the Lord to have mercy on our world and heal us of the Coronavirus, for his glory.
• Pray that he works in us by his Spirit so that we learn to suffer well, so that even in our struggle and our suffering we put his goodness on display.
• Pray that in these dark days, many will come to know the Lord, as Christians seek to reflect his glory.