“Inquiring minds want to know.” It’s The National Inquirer’s basis for existence. So they say. To a degree there’s truth to it. If not so, it would have folded long ago.
There seems to be an insatiable interest for sordid details into people’s lives. I can’t help but wonder if some aren’t obsessed with such. Look at the kinds of things covered on shows like Entertainment Tonight. Why would ET cover the stories they do if this wasn’t so? Apparently, there’s great desire for the succulent scoop on Hollywood’s elite. There’s a longing to know about the secret weddings and tawdry affairs of the stars. Would it, as a television show, endure if it weren’t the case?
I could be wrong, but I’m inclined to think that not all the stars care for the constant probing into their private lives. Jennifer Lopez’s secretive wedding wouldn’t have been covertly planned had she wanted photos of it to be slapped all over television sets. I think stars deserve some freedom from disturbance and a break from the paparazzi. I don’t think fame warrants the surrendering of all rights of privacy. Quite frankly, I lean towards the thought that overly obsessed people that feed off of this kind of information, themselves, have serious issues.
I appreciate that Jesus didn’t value meddling. At the close of John’s gospel, he tells us how Peter inquired of Jesus as to who would betray him (John 21:20). It’s an interesting question. Peter had already denied Jesus. Judas had already betrayed Jesus into the hands of those who crucified him. Apparently, Peter had conditioned himself to believe that there was more betrayal to come. Given the preceding verses (vv. 18-19), Peter could be thinking just about anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t, itself, just another rumor. We simply don’t know. Anything was possible.
John reveals, from the third person vantage point, how he had been following Jesus and Peter (v. 20). That Peter is thinking suspiciously of John for doing so is evident (v. 21). I suppose the real question is…Was his suspicion warranted? I don’t believe so. Jesus knows what Peter is doing. But it’s not implausible for Peter to be thinking that John would betray the Lord, and as a result give Peter over to die. This is reasonable, especially, if the thoughts of vv. 18-19 are lingering in his mind.
Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (v. 22). One might conclude that Jesus, himself, had an inherent suspicion of another impending betrayal because of his response. After all, he doesn’t explicitly deny the suggestion. Why Jesus answered this way we’ll never know on this side of eternity. Regardless, whether Peter is on to something or not, it was none of his business. The most important thing was for Peter to follow Jesus, and not let himself get swept away into another denial himself. He needed to tend to his own matters. Soon his faith would really be put to the test!
Unfortunately, Peter couldn’t do that just yet, nor could he keep his mouth shut. “So the saying was spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’” (v. 23). Peter didn’t listen very well to Jesus’ advice. He instead gossiped about his inferences from Christ’s words. All he did was increase speculation and make matters worse.
Some things simply aren’t my business. Some things aren’t your business either. Peter shows us that curiosity can get the best of us, leaving us with egg on our faces. I’m inclined to think Peter learned his lesson (1 Peter 4:15).
