Unashamed

Peter is one of my favorite characters in the Bible because he is so relatable in his flaws. He gives believers hope that God can change hearts and use sinners for His glory. His is a life of great highs and low lows. Besides Jesus nobody is mentioned more in the Gospels. He also had a more intimate relationship with Jesus. He was the leader of the twelve disciples, and he was given special revelations (Matt 16:16, John 6:68-69). We know many of his failures: he sinks when Jesus calls him onto the water, he argues with the other disciples, claiming to be the greatest, and he falls asleep as Jesus prays in Gethsemane.

In Luke 22:54-62 we see Peter’s biggest failure. Jesus was facing trial. Peter followed Him to the courtyard of the high priest’s residence. While there, a woman accused him of being a disciple of Christ. He denies this saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” He is spotted again, and he again denies any involvement with Jesus. He is recognized a third time as a Galilean and one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter begins to curse and swear and for a third time vehemently denies Christ, going so far as saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” The disciple that Jesus named “the rock” became so ashamed of Christ that he lied to protect himself. At that moment, a rooster crowed. And Peter looked over and saw Jesus, and their eyes met. Jesus was looking straight into Peter’s heart, seeing all the sin and shame there. All Peter could do was weep bitterly at that moment.

But praise God the story doesn’t end there! Even in all of Peters failures, Jesus never dismisses him; instead, He prepares him for ministry. Imagine that for a second — Jesus the Creator of all things could have destroyed Peter in an instant for his sins, but instead, He was patient with him and promised him that he would be the foundation of the church!

In John 21:15-25,Peter and some of the other disciples went back to their old job of fishing after Jesus’ death. Peter was lost; he thought that he couldn’t cut it as a disciple. So, he went back to his old life. And there, on the lakeshore, Jesus asks him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter answers “Yes Lord , You know that I love you”. He asks him again, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”, to which Peter answers again with the same response. Jesus asks Peter a third time “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” At this point Peter is grieved by Christ’s persistence, and he says, “You know all things, You know that I love you.” After denying Jesus three times, he is asked by the Lord three times to confirm his love for Him publicly. Jesus is saying, “Peter are you willing to give up your job, income, and possessions? Do you love me enough that you would give up all these things? Do you love me so much that you would be willing to die for my name?” Jesus was reinstating Peter into the ministry. He would be, as his name implied, the foundational rock of the church. He would become an apostle who was unashamed of the gospel.

Peter is so relatable in his failures because we just as easily fall into the same sins and temptations. We may come to church and know the gospel, but be ashamed of Christ in the workplace or with friends. We may also think that our failures have destroyed our future and that God could never use such a sinner. But what great hope we have in Jesus! He did not come to save the righteous but sinners like us. Just as Jesus looked at Peter, He looks into our hearts. He knows the deepest, darkest places in our souls. The Bible tells us that even when we are in those dark places Jesus sympathizes with us. The God of the universe sympathizes with you and me. His death has paid the penalty for our sins because He was sinless and blameless. And if we believe in Him, we are seen as righteous because the blood of Christ covers our sin.

So, I want you to take a moment and ponder: Do you hear the Savior asking you, “_________, do you love me? Do you love me more than ___________?”