Easter: Prophecy, Denial and Restoration
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter…Luke 22:61 ESV
Impulsive Peter had been with Jesus for three years. He had seen Jesus feed thousands with a few loaves and fish, heal people, and other miracles. In Matthew 16:17-19 Jesus brings a prophetic word for Peter:
‘Blessed are you, Simon-bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound on heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’
Peter must have felt almost invincible after such a prophetic encouragement! However, Peter loses the plot BIG TIME when Jesus is taken into custody and questioned by Pilate and the chief priest. Peter waits around in the courtyard amongst others. Twice, Peter is asked was he with Jesus. A third time someone insisted that Peter was with him.
Peter’s reply was emphatic:
‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter and Peter remembered Jesus saying, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ He went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus had invested three years of his time on earth in Peter and here Peter was publicly denying that he knew him. Jesus turned, looked, and didn’t say a word. As I read the verse above again, I felt a tug, a whisper, ‘I’ve invested in you too.’
Memories surfaced, joyful times, prophetic words, but also, just like Peter, times when I lost the plot. The glorious truth of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is that for Peter and us, our failures are not the end. After his resurrection Jesus asks Peter three times ‘Do you love me more than these?’ Peter answers three times, ‘Yes Lord! You know that I love you.’ Jesus asks Peter to,’ Feed and tend his sheep.’ Peter, who denied Jesus publicly, is re-instated.
Do you sometimes feel like you’ve lost the plot?
Psalm 34:15 says, ‘The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.’
Jesus is always watching over us and listening. If we’ve done something wrong or have given up, we can call out to Jesus, listen to him and be restored. In 1 John 1:9 it says: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’. Peter didn’t always get it right, but Jesus never gave up on him. The risen Lord Jesus will never give up on you.
A Prayer
Jesus, thank you for investing in us. Thank you that you still love us even when we get things wrong, when we don’t speak out or just give up. Re-kindle our fire and let dormant bible verses/ prophetic words live again within us. Thank you for not giving up on Peter and for never giving up on us. Amen.