This week, we’ve delved deeply into the magnificent glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s been an extraordinary experience—rich in fellowship, conversation, praise, and spiritual instruction. We’ve been uplifted as we’ve encountered His majesty and glory, almost as though we’ve had our own Mount of Transfiguration experience. Like the Apostles, we’ve fallen before Him in humble awe, and like the disciples on the mountain, we wish it could last forever. We long to remain in His presence, as if we could live in a tent of His glory forever.

What I’m trying to express is that we’ve been sanctified this week. Sanctification is a process the Holy Spirit works within us as we gaze upon the glory of Christ. As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, we are moved from one level of glory to the next. This transforming experience of gazing at Christ’s glory is life-changing. I recall recently finishing a 116-week preaching series through the Gospel of John. Every week, I invested countless hours studying and preparing, and though I only shared a small portion of what was in my heart, I lived in the Gospel of John for more than two years, immersed in the glory of Christ.

Someone once asked me, after I finished preaching through John, if I felt relieved that it was over. I replied that, instead, I felt a sense of sadness. Every day, I had seen His glory in a profound way, and it was difficult to let go of that experience. The Gospel of John is filled with His marvelous words and miraculous works, culminating in His death, resurrection, and appearances. John masterfully brings his gospel to a glorious climax.

If you open your Bible to John 20:30-31, John himself summarizes it: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The Gospel of John provides powerful evidence for the divinity and Messiahship of Jesus Christ. This evidence leads to belief and eternal life—the ultimate purpose of John’s gospel.

That verse marks the pinnacle of the Gospel of John, the high point, where we are shown the supreme evidence of Christ’s glory. But, as we turn to chapter 21, we experience a jarring descent, almost as if we’ve fallen off a cliff. The shift is so stark that some have even suggested John didn’t write it. This narrative feels a bit disappointing at first—why do we have to return to Peter after such glorious revelations of the risen Christ? Can’t we just move on to the book of Acts and Pentecost?

The answer is crucial: despite all the glory revealed in the Gospel of John, that glory eventually rests in “clay pots”—our fragile, imperfect selves. This part of the story is essential. In the opening of the book of Acts, Luke writes about what Jesus began to do and teach. As our Lord ascended and the Holy Spirit came, the work of the gospel was handed over to us—imperfect, breakable, and often flawed vessels.

We’ve seen the majestic glory on the mountain. We’ve seen it through God’s more sure Word, as Peter said, inspired by the Holy Spirit. We, too, are eyewitnesses to His glory, and now we are entrusted with the task of carrying His glorious gospel forward, despite our weaknesses and frailties. If Peter had applied to become a minister in a seminary, he might have been rejected—he denied Christ, spoke for the devil, and made many mistakes. Yet God used him mightily. This is the beauty of the gospel: God works through imperfect people, and that’s part of the story of our sanctification.

As John 21 begins, we encounter these words: “After these things, Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.” It’s a reminder that even in our frailty, Christ continues to reveal Himself and use us for His glory.