The modern message often stops at “believe.”

After a year of studying the Gospel of John at our church, this truth became crystal clear: Christianity isn’t just about intellectual agreement with certain facts about Jesus. It’s about following Him—really following Him—wherever that path leads.

The Three-Part Invitation

Throughout John’s Gospel, we discovered a pattern that frames the entire book: Come, Believe, Follow. While the word “believe” appears nearly 100 times in John’s Gospel, we sometimes miss that “follow” appears 19 times. This isn’t coincidental. Jesus consistently calls people not just to believe facts about Him, but to follow Him into a transformed life.

As Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” Notice He doesn’t say “he who believes in me.” The distinction matters.

A Breakfast That Changed Everything

John 21 gives us one of the most intimate post-resurrection scenes in Scripture. Seven disciples have returned to Galilee as Jesus instructed. While waiting for Him, they go fishing—and catch nothing all night. Then at dawn, a figure on the shore suggests they cast their nets on the other side. The miraculous catch of 153 fish reveals it’s Jesus.

What follows isn’t just a casual breakfast. It’s a defining moment, particularly for Peter.

The Question We All Must Answer

Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?”

By the third time, Peter is grieved. “Lord, you know all things,” he responds. “You know that I love you.”

But here’s what makes this exchange so powerful: Jesus isn’t just seeking affirmation. He’s preparing Peter for what following Him will really mean. Jesus tells Peter bluntly that following Him will eventually lead to his execution—tradition tells us Peter was crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die exactly as Jesus did.

The weight of this moment is staggering. Jesus essentially says: “If you really love me, if you’re really going to follow me, this is where the road leads.” A few days before this, Peter denied Christ and fled watching Jesus be led to crucifixion. Now, Jesus is telling Peter that if he loves Him and wants to follow Him, the path leads to his own brutal execution eventually. Will Peter follow under these conditions?

That’s the question.

The Comparison Trap

Peter’s response is so remarkably human. Instead of immediately accepting this calling, he turns and sees John following them. “Lord, what about this man?” he asks.

Haven’t we all been there? We look at other Christians who seem to have easier paths, more successful ministries, or better circumstances. Christians who are more gifted than us, more popular than us, have more resources than we do, or better health. We wonder why our calling seems harder, our road more difficult.

Jesus’s response cuts through all our comparisons with surgical precision: “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.“

What This Means for Us Today

This personal call echoes through the centuries to each of us. Following Jesus isn’t about:

• Comparing our spiritual journey to others
• Negotiating for an easier path
• Stopping at intellectual belief
• Waiting for perfect circumstances

Instead, it’s about saying yes to wherever He leads, however He leads.

Some of us might be called to tasks that seem glamorous. Others to hidden service that few will ever notice. Some paths will be longer, others shorter. Some fraught with difficulty, others seemingly easier. But the question remains the same for each of us individually. Jesus is asking us individually: Will you follow Me?

Beyond Comfortable Christianity

The modern church often presents a “come and believe” message that stops short of the full gospel. We’re comfortable with Jesus as Savior but struggle with Jesus as Lord who actually directs our steps. We want the free bread (as John 6 reminds us) but not the hard teachings. We want resurrection power without crucifixion surrender.

But genuine faith moves. It acts. It follows.

As Jesus told His disciples: those who hear His words and put them into practice are the ones building on a solid foundation. James would later echo this truth: faith without works is dead.

Jesus left no doubt that following is essential: “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me” (John 12:26).

The Individual Call

What strikes me most about John 21 is how personal this call is. Jesus doesn’t address the group. He speaks to Peter individually. He speaks to each of us individually.

Your calling won’t look like mine. My path won’t mirror yours. Some will be called to die for their faith. Others to live long lives of quiet service. Some will pastor megachurches. Others will faithfully teach children in forgotten corners of the world.

The question isn’t whether your calling is as significant as someone else’s. The question is: Are you following?

A Decision Point

As we closed our study of John and prepare to enter the book of Acts, this question lingers: Have we moved beyond mere belief to active following?

Following Jesus means:

• Walking in the light rather than darkness
• Hearing His voice and responding as His sheep
• Serving Him by going where He leads
• Accepting our unique path without comparison
• Continuing to follow even when it’s difficult

The invitation stands before each of us today, just as it stood before Peter on that beach. Not a call to perfect performance, but to persistent following. Not a promise of an easy path, but of His presence on whatever path He chooses.

Peter wasn’t perfect. He had denied Jesus three times just days before this breakfast conversation. Yet Jesus still called him to feed His sheep, to shepherd His people, to follow Him to the end.

The Essential Question

If you’ve been content with “come and believe,” Jesus invites you to something more. Not because belief isn’t important—it’s essential. But because belief is the beginning, not the end. It’s the first step on a journey of following that transforms everything.

The question Jesus asked Peter, He asks us: “Do you love me?”

And if our answer is yes, His response remains the same: “Follow me.”

Even if we don’t know where that path leads. Even if others seem to have easier assignments. Even if the cost seems high.

Because in the end, following Jesus isn’t about the destination or the difficulty. It’s about being with Him, walking in His light, and discovering that life—real life—is found not in comfortable belief but in costly discipleship.

The breakfast is over. The question has been asked.

How will you answer?