SECOND CHANCES

Peter the disciple had denied Jesus three times. He had done exactly what he said he would never do. When he realised this, he ran out into the darkness and wept bitterly. 

This brash and boastful fisherman had failed Jesus.

In the wake of such failure, was Peter’s sin too terrible for forgiveness to be possible?

Let’s take a look.

LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT PETER

Out of all the disciples, Peter was definitely one of the most confident. He was regularly at the forefront of Jesus’ work and was never afraid to be a role model to the other disciples.

In fact, before Jesus’ arrest, Peter is bragging that he will never leave Jesus’ side, even if every other disciple deserted him.

But just hours later, when Jesus was being tortured and questioned, Peter was denying Jesus to those around him. And as we know, not only once, but three times!

Let’s remind ourselves of this by looking at the following:

Let’s read about Peter’s third denial from the gospel of Mark

70 Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, ‘Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.’ 71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man you’re talking about.’ 72 Immediately the cock crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows twice you will disown me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

Mark 14:70-72 (NIV)

FORGIVEN AND RESTORED

But today we are looking at Jesus’ love for us despite our imperfections. This is something we have looked at a lot recently, and we should never tire of - his grace.

After Jesus had been crucified, then raised to life, he visited the disciples. Let's pick up the story when Peter encounters Jesus.

Peter’s failure is still eating him up on the inside. No matter how hard he tries to convince himself otherwise, he feels that he has failed and thinks he will never bounce back from that failure.

But let's watch this YouTube clip below and see what Jesus had to say to Peter:

In this conversation between Jesus and Peter, grace is illustrated when Jesus forgives the unforgivable.

· Why do you think Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him?

· Who are the sheep Jesus asked Peter to feed?

I believe that just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, the risen Jesus now asked Peter to affirm his love for him also three times. This made Peter sorrowful, but it helped him to move on without the burden of guilt and regret. It helped prepare him for the task ahead.

This task was to feed the sheep. Peter would begin to understand that the “sheep” Jesus referred to were people. Peter was to lead people to the green pasture that gives everlasting life, in other words to point them to Jesus.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

A perfect Christian! Put simply, there is no such thing. If God only used perfect people, then he would never get anything done.

God wants to use you. He knows you are not perfect, he knows there will be times when you will let him down. But he knows his way for you is so much more than you know for yourself.

HERE IS A LIST OF SOME PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE THAT GOD USED:

Jacob was a cheater,

David had an affair,

Noah got drunk,

Jonah ran from God,

Paul was a murderer,

Gideon was insecure,

Miriam was a gossip,

Martha was a worrier,

Thomas was a doubter,

Sara was impatient,

Elijah was moody,

Abraham was old... Lazarus was dead!

Jesus made you as you are. He knows you are a work in progress and will make mistakes, just like Peter.

But he promises to walk beside each and every one of us on our journey through life, even though we mess up.  Oh such grace! 

I hope you enjoy this beautiful song by Matt Redman.