Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/141

 at last the reproachful meaning of the inquiry. Three times had this same apostle, by his false-hearted denial, renounced all love and interest in his Master, and three times did that injured and forgiving Master call upon him to pledge again his forfeited faith and affection. He thus pointed out the past weakness of Peter, and showed the means of maintaining and insuring future fidelity. Peter again still more movingly avowed his honest attachment, half remonstrating at this repetition of the question by one who must already know the heart of the answerer too fully for words to inform him anew.—"Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." He now passed on to a new prediction of his future fortunes, in the service to which he had in these words devoted him, making known to him the earthly reward which his services would at last receive. "I solemnly say to thee, when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." This he said, to signify to him by what sort of death he should glorify God. That is, he in these words plainly foretold to him that he should, through all his toils and dangers in his Master's service, survive to old age; and he also alludes to the loss of free agency in his own movements; but the circumstances are so darkly alluded to, that the particular mode of his death could never be made to appear clearly from the prediction. The particular meaning of the expressions of this prophecy, can of course be best shown in connection with the circumstances of his death, as far as they are known; and to that part of his history the explanations are deferred.

After this solemn prediction, he said to him, "Follow me." This command seems not to have any connection, as some have supposed, with the preceding words of Jesus referring to his future destiny, but to be a mere direction to follow him on his return from the lake, either back to Capernaum, or to the mountain appointed for his meeting with the great body of his disciples. From what comes after this in the context, indeed, this would seem to be a fair construction; for it is perfectly plain that as Christ said these words, he turned and walked away; and that not only Peter followed at the direction of Christ, but also John of his own accord,—and it is perfectly natural to suppose that the greater part of the disciples would choose to walk after Jesus, when they had