John 21:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then the Evangelist, stirring the listener, added, “This He said, signifying by what death he would glorify God.” He did not say “he would die,” but “he would glorify God,” so that you might know that sufferings for Christ are glory and honor for the sufferer. “And when He had said this, He says to him, ‘Follow Me.’” Here Christ again indicates His care for Peter and His great affection for him. If someone asks, “Why, then, did James receive the throne of Jerusalem?” I answer that Christ appointed Peter as teacher not for that throne, but for the whole world.

The Evangelist, according to his custom, adds in explanation of the words: “This He said, signifying by what death Peter would glorify God.” Jesus said to Peter, “You will stretch out your hands,” and so on, signifying that he would suffer martyrdom for Him. He calls Peter’s death the glory of God, because suffering for Him unto death truly is the glory of God. For if the soul is not fully convinced that He is true God, a man will not die for Him. Therefore the death of the saints is a confirmation of the glory of God. “And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” The Lord entrusted to Peter the care of all believers. For although James received the throne in Jerusalem, Peter received the whole world.

“This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.” See the commentary on Jn 21:18. “And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” To these words to Peter, Christ then adds the words, “Follow Me.” In their general meaning they indicate following Christ in discipleship. Yet they seem also to contain this hidden thought: “Go after My dangers. Walk, as it were, the same path. By word and deed help the souls of those called. Do not delay your course even to the very death of the Cross.” This, He says, will happen when you reach old age. Thus He does not subject him to premature fears, but postpones the emergence of fear for many years.

Such an end was reached by the denier and the devotee, lifted up by his self-confidence and cast down by his denial, cleansed by tears, strengthened by confession, and crowned by suffering. Such an end was reached by him who died in perfect love for the sake of Him with whom he had self-confidently promised to die. Strengthened by Christ’s Resurrection, Peter will do what he had rashly promised in his weakness. For Christ first had to accept death for Peter’s salvation, and only afterward could Peter die for the preaching of Christ. It was perverse for human levity to attempt to overturn the order established by the Truth Himself. Peter thought to lay down his soul for Christ, the one needing liberation for the Liberator.

To him also, as one perfect in all things, whose flesh can no longer hold him back from the glory of suffering, the crown is foretold. “When you were young,” says the Lord, “you girded yourself and walked where you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish.” Honorable old age is not that which is weak and helpless from length of years, but that which is ready for martyrdom through maturity of virtue. See Wis 4:8-9. It bridles sensual pleasure, which draws toward bodily enjoyments, and does not indulge the passions. It avoids everything sweet and feels no attraction toward external beauty.

“This He said, signifying by what death he would glorify God.” A martyr’s death is glory not only for the disciple who dies, but also for God. It is glory for the dying one because he dies for God. It is glory for God because He has such a disciple. “And when He had said this, He says to him, ‘Follow Me.’” By this Jesus Christ again shows Peter that He is calling him anew to apostleship. Or, “Follow Me” means, “Be ready to endure the same death on the Cross as I did.”

"Follow Me," our Lord Jesus Christ said to the Apostle Peter (Jn 21:19). This word also applies to every follower of Christ. It is a most weighty and powerful word, if only because it came from the mouth of our Savior Himself.

Saint Tikhon revealed the weight and power of this word in the second part of his Spiritual Treasure Gathered from the World, in article 46, entitled "Follow Me." He says that it sometimes happens, in various circumstances, that one person says to another, "Follow me."

Christian, Christ the Lord speaks in this way to each of us: Follow Me. Read the Holy Gospel, attend to it, and you will hear this sweetest voice of His: Follow Me. I am your Creator, and you are My creature: Follow Me. I am your King, and you are My subject: Follow Me. I am your God, clothed in flesh subject to the same passions as yours: Follow Me.

For your sake I came into the world: Follow Me. I came to you and for your sake. I, the Invisible One, appeared on earth for you and for all: Follow Me. I, inaccessible to Cherubim and Seraphim, became accessible to sinners and to you: Follow Me. I, the heavenly King, lived on earth for your sake: Follow Me.

I, all-powerful and almighty, became weak for your sake: Follow Me. Though I was rich, for your sake I became poor, that you might become rich through My poverty (2 Cor 8:9): Follow Me. I, the Lord of glory, was mocked and dishonored for your sake: Follow Me. I, eternal and ever-existing Life, tasted death for your sake, even the death of the cross: Follow Me.

I, seated on the throne of glory and worshiped, praised, and glorified by Angels, was blasphemed by sinners for your sake: Follow Me. I, Who alone have immortality and dwell in unapproachable light, was numbered among the dead for your sake and laid in a dark tomb: Follow Me. I am your Redeemer, your Deliverer, your Savior. I redeemed you from the devil, death, and Hades, not with silver and gold, but with My own Blood: Follow Me.

You see My love for you. Show your love also for the Lover of mankind, and lovingly follow Me. Your love benefits you, not Me. Your lack of love harms you, not Me: Follow Me.

Lord, what is man, that You have made Yourself known to him? Or the son of man, that You consider him and think upon him? Man is like vanity (Ps 143:3-4). "I sing to You, for by hearing, O Lord, I heard and was afraid. For You came to me, seeking me who had gone astray. Therefore I glorify Your great condescension toward me, O greatly merciful One." My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. "Help me, O Lord my God, and save me according to Your mercy."

Christian, will you wish to deny such a Lord and Benefactor, Who calls you to Himself, and not follow Him? This is fearful and shameless. It is fearful, lest you move Him to righteous wrath, fall under His righteous judgment, and perish in this way. It is shameless, because He is your highest Lover and Benefactor.

Tell me, if an earthly king called you to follow him, would you not hasten after him with joy, leaving everything for a little passing honor and gain? But here the King of kings and Lord of lords, the heavenly King, calls you to follow Him: Follow Me. He calls you not to passing honor, glory, and gain, but to eternal life and the Kingdom, to eternal honor and glory. Follow Me, follow Me, and I will bring you into My eternal Kingdom, to My heavenly and eternal Father. "For no one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn 14:6).

Sinner, will you not even after this cast everything aside and follow Him? Yet He continues to call all sinners. Fornicator, adulterer, and lover of impurity, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me. Malicious avenger and murderer, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me. Thief, plunderer, robber, and extortioner, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me. Insulter, mocker, slanderer, and every evil speaker, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me. Liar, deceiver, seducer, and hypocrite, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me. Every sinner who lives in impenitence, hear the voice of the Lord: Repent, and follow Me.

Hear the voice that calls you. Hear the voice of Him Who so loved you, and showed such merciful, man-befriending, and wondrous providence for you. Hear His voice: Repent, and follow Me.

The Lord calls every man. Man, My beloved creature, I came down from heaven in order to raise you to heaven: Follow Me. I lived on earth in order to make you a citizen of heaven: Follow Me. I had nowhere to lay My head, in order to bring you into the house of My heavenly Father: Follow Me. I labored in order to bring you into eternal rest: Follow Me. I became poor in order to enrich you: Follow Me.

I wept, suffered, grieved, and was sorrowful in order to give you consolation, joy, and gladness: Follow Me. I was blasphemed, mocked, and dishonored, in order to honor and glorify you, My dishonored creature: Follow Me. I was bound in order to loose you from the bonds of sin: Follow Me. I, the Judge of the living and the dead, was judged and condemned, in order to deliver you from eternal judgment: Follow Me. I was numbered with the lawless, in order to justify you: Follow Me.

I tasted death, even the death of the cross, in order to give life to you, My creature, slain by the serpent's venom: Follow Me. I ascended into heaven, that you also might ascend: Follow Me. I sat at the right hand of God the Father, that you might be glorified: Follow Me. I became like you in all things except sin, that you also might become like Me: Follow Me. I took upon Myself your form, that you also might be conformed to Me: Follow Me. I came to you, in order to draw you, My beloved fallen creature, to Myself: Follow Me.

You see, man, My love shown to you. You see My providence for you. For all this I require nothing from you except that you be thankful to Me and follow Me. In this way you will receive salvation with eternal glory. I desire this from you. Let your desire also be for this. Follow Me, Who hunger and thirst for your salvation, and I will give you My salvation.

Love My poverty, and you will be truly rich. Love My humility, and you will be truly glorious and great. Love My meekness and patience, and through them you will be truly calm and at peace. Leave the earth, and you will have heaven. Leave the world, and you will have God within yourself. Deny yourself, and you will truly possess yourself.

Leave the pleasures of the flesh and the world, and you will have true consolation. Leave corruptible wealth, and you will have incorruptible wealth. Leave earthly honor and glory, and you will have heavenly honor and glory. Follow Me, and you will have everything your soul desires, but all of it will be true and incomparably better than what you leave behind.

Therefore, sinful soul, listen and attend to the voice of your Lover and Redeemer, Jesus, and follow Him, that you may attain Him. Hasten, beloved, hasten while He calls and the doors are open. Heaven is open, and publicans, adulterers, and all repentant sinners enter it. Hasten there also, poor sinner, that you too may receive the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Apostles, Martyrs, Hierarchs, Venerable Fathers, and all the saints of God have entered there. They now dwell in the mansions of the heavenly Father. Many go there even now. All who come and all who follow their most sweet Jesus, by His grace, take up their dwelling in eternal rest.

My soul, hear also the voice of the Lord, and cleave to that holy company. Go with them after the faithful Leader, Jesus. Then, at the hour of your departure, you will hear His voice: "All who walked the narrow and sorrowful path, all who in life took up the cross as a yoke and followed Me in faith, come and enjoy the honors and heavenly crowns which I have prepared for you."

"Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him Who judges righteously," says the holy Apostle Peter (1 Pet 2:21-23). And the Lord Himself said, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me, and where I am, there shall My servant be also" (Jn 12:26). "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Mt 10:38). "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).

But it also happens that one person calls a man, saying, "Follow me," and another, drawing him to himself, says the same: "Follow me." Thus Christ says to every Christian, "Follow Me," as was said above. But Satan, the enemy of the human race, calls the man back to himself and whispers in his ears: Follow me.

A man hears his whispering as often as he feels evil and God-opposing thoughts rising in his heart. All this is his vile whispering. O man, whom is it better for you to obey? Christ your Lord, Who showed such wondrous providence for you, and Who wants to save you and bring you into His eternal Kingdom, as you have seen above? Or the evil whisperer, the devil, who wants to lead you away from Christ your Savior and cast you into eternal destruction?

Christ is Light. The devil is darkness. Christ is Life. The devil is death. Christ is Truth. The devil is falsehood and the father of falsehood. Christ is your Lover. The devil is your enemy. Christ is your Benefactor. The devil is your evildoer. Christ is the true and highest good. The devil is utter evil. Christ is your Savior. The devil is your destroyer.

Christ wants to save you, for this is why He came into the world for your sake. The devil wants to destroy you forever. Christ wants to give you eternal life. The devil wants to slay you forever. Christ wants to bring you into His eternal Kingdom. The devil wants to bring you after himself into eternal torment. Christ wants to enrich you forever. The devil wants to make you poor forever. Christ wants to glorify you forever. The devil wants to put you to shame. Christ wants to honor you forever. The devil wants to dishonor you forever.

You see what Christ is and what the devil is. You see why he whispers to you and calls you away from Christ your Lord after himself. He wants to destroy you forever, as he himself is in destruction. This is his cunning. This is his plot against us.

Therefore renounce, renounce, beloved, this evil whisperer, and spit upon him, as you did at holy baptism. Turn away from that deceiver, turn to Christ your Lord, and follow Him in faith and truth, as you promised Him in baptism. He is your God, your Lord, your Lover, your Benefactor, your eternal Life, your ever-existing Light, your true and eternal blessedness. Without Him we cannot be blessed either in this age or in the age to come. Therefore attach yourself and cleave to your Lord, according to the words, "It is good for me to cleave to God."

Yet although the devil is the destroyer, many listen to him and follow him in great crowds. Fornicators, adulterers, and all lovers of impurity go after him. The spiteful, haters of mankind, murderers, and those who shed human blood go after him. Those who oppose their parents, do not honor them, and slander them go after him.

Thieves, plunderers, robbers, judges who take bribes, those who withhold the wages of laborers, and those who seize another's goods by every injustice and deceit go after him. Slanderers, mockers, and all who strike and wound their neighbor with their tongue as with a sword go after him. Drunkards and lovers of pleasure go after him. The crafty, the cunning, deceivers, and all who deceive their neighbor go after him.

Every lawless person, corrupted in life and resisting the word of God, goes after him. Finally, those who have loved this age go after him. They mind earthly things, not heavenly things, and love to live in the pride and splendor of this world. In a word, all who neglect God and the word of God go after him. They cleave in heart to earthly things and are careless about their eternal salvation, purchased by the Blood of Christ. All such follow after Satan.

In transmitting these words, the Evangelist adds from himself that by them Jesus gave Peter to understand by what death he would die. When the Evangelist John wrote his Gospel, Peter had long since died. In the last year of Nero’s reign, in Rome, he was crucified on a cross. By then he had grown old. Another girded him, and they led him where he did not wish. At the crucifixion he stretched out his hands. He did not wish to be crucified as Jesus had been crucified, considering himself unworthy of such likeness. Therefore, at his request, he was crucified head downward. Having thus foretold to Peter by what death he would die, Jesus said to him, “Follow Me,” and probably went along the shore of the lake. Peter followed Him, now understanding that a death on the cross awaited him also. He understood that he had not spoken empty words when he told Jesus he would lay down his soul for Him. This prophecy did not frighten him. On the contrary, it gave him greater courage.

“By what death he would glorify God”: such a martyr’s death for the work of the Gospel is the glorification of God Himself, since the work for which it is received is God’s work (cf. Phil 1:20). John does not speak of the fulfillment of this prophetic word of Christ in Peter. This is, of course, because the whole Church of that time knew of Peter’s martyr’s end, when he was crucified in Rome during Nero’s reign. “Follow Me”: this is a call to apostleship, cf. Mt 4:19 and parallels. Here it is the last, decisive word in the restoration of the fallen Peter to the apostolic rank. Probably, together with this word, after the meal was finished, the Lord went away with His disciples from the place of the meal, as is clear from what follows (v. 20). This bodily following after Christ was an image of spiritual following after Him, as disciples follow the Teacher. It was a following even to the same kind of death which He endured for His work.

Thus Nero, this first among rulers to be a fighter against God, proudly raised his hand against the Apostles. It is said that under him Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and Peter was crucified. This account is confirmed by the names of Peter and Paul, which have survived in the cemeteries of that city. The same is affirmed by a cleric named Gaius, who lived under Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome. Writing against Proclus, the head of the Cataphrygian sect, he spoke thus about the places where the sacred remains of the mentioned Apostles were laid: “I can show you the victorious trophy of the Apostles.