To be a disciple, a follower of Jesus is in the end far more important than to be assigned church authority! Peter's primacy is in the pastoral care of the Church - the group of believing Christians. The Beloved Disciple's primacy is bestowed by Jesus' love. The Beloved Disciple's destiny is less dramatic than that of Peter's but more enduring: "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" The disciple who loves Jesus and keeps His commandments remains till the end of time, in a sense fulfilling the promise that the Word of God will endure forever! St Paul in Rome spends the last days of his life on earth proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and thus preparing a believing community of disciples to remain till Jesus comes, at the end of time. The Beloved Disciple embodies this believing community of disciples. Seemingly he stands behind Peter in v20 but in v7 earlier he is the first to recognize the Lord on the beach, at the water's edge, after the miraculous catch of fish.

Christian disciples need to recognize the signs of God's presence in their lives and those of others. In this way we can realistically proclaim the Lord if only we were not so preoccupied with the daily turmoil we are in always. So we need some fine-tuning to sense and hear the Spirit at work.