The story of Peter’s denial of Christ is a bitter one. He vowed he’d never deny his Lord, but fear dissolved his courage. Just as Jesus said, Peter didn’t just deny Him once, but three times! And the cock crowed...
But Jesus knew his heart. This was the same man that eagerly wanted to walk to Jesus on the water while the others huddled in fear in the boat thinking they’d seen a ghost. This was the same man who wasn’t afraid to take on the Roman army, singlehanded, and cut off the soldier’s ear...his heart was bold and eager, but this time, fear had conquered him. Certainly, his shame was immense! And Jesus knew it...
“As they(the women)entered the tomb they saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side and they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen! See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples, and Peter, too, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” (Mark 16:5-7)
How precious is it that Jesus sends an angel with a message to the ladies, and Jesus reminds him to specifically mention Peter by name. This isn’t mere coincidence, this was a loving act of forgiveness. Judas had betrayed Jesus and hung himself. You can be sure the disciples had heard about that. Peter must’ve wanted to just hide away in shame, but Jesus called him by name!
In John 21:1-14, we read that all the disciples were out fishing through the night. They had caught nothing. Unbeknownst to them, early in the morning Jesus shouted from the shore, “Friends, have you caught anything?” They replied, “Nothing.” Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side, and their nets were instantly filled with 153 large fish. This must’ve triggered their memory, because Jesus had done this for them before. John stated-“It’s Jesus!” At once, Peter jumped out of the boat and waded through the water to get to His Lord. Oh, how that must’ve filled Jesus’ heart with joy and laughter!
Friends, you can be sure there were tears of joy, as well as hugs of deep regret, and sweet forgiveness offered. Jesus had prepared them fish and bread over the open fire. This was the third time He had appeared to them since His resurrection. You can imagine that as Jesus passed the bread and the fish, far in the distance the early morning cocks were crowing, and Peter glanced at Jesus with dread in his heart, only to be met with a smile that said, “All is forgiven, dear one.” Friends, this is what true forgiveness looks like. And to think, Jesus trusted Peter so completely that He made him a pillar of the Church. This same personal forgiveness and love is offered to us, too. What a treasure!
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