Moving Past Your Past

Peter heard the rooster, he received the Lord’s loving look, he remembered what Jesus had said would happen, and then he repented with tears. There’s nothing that so brings godly sorrow as a glimpse of Christ’s kindness. I’m reminded of Romans 2:4: “Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

We don’t really know where Peter went for the next several days, but my guess is he chose to isolate in some desolate place. As he thought things over, he thought it was over. In his mind, his deliberate denial meant he had been DQ’d as a disciple. Peter was now a broken man, and that was a good thing because brokenness is the key to usefulness. It was Charles Spurgeon who said, “Whenever God means to make a man great, He always breaks him in pieces first.”

Does that describe anyone here today?

To move past your past, seek the presence of Jesus in the present.

3. Resurrected hope. Let’s fast forward a few days. When the women entered the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, Mark 16:5 says, “…they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.”

After sharing the news that Jesus had risen from the dead, the angel gave the women a commission in verse 7: “But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” The word “go” means, “to depart and go quickly to deliver an urgent message.”

Notice how Peter received a special shout out: “tell His disciples and Peter.” This might suggest that Peter no longer thought of himself as a disciple and had stopped associating with them. As far as Peter was concerned, he had blown it so much, there was no longer any hope for him. Have you ever felt like that?

God wanted Peter to know it wasn’t over. He wanted him to know the resurrection brings hope and healing to the hurting. Because Jesus died and was raised from the dead, He offers forgiveness and freedom to those who have fallen. Peter denied Jesus but he was not disowned by Jesus.

The phrase, “and Peter” contains the gospel in two words. Peter the denier needed the personal assurance of the resurrection gospel. I wonder what the tone was like when the angel told the women the good news. Maybe it was something like this: “Please tell the disciples the good news and seek Peter out because the Lord especially wants him to know that He is alive! Don’t forget Peter because Jesus hasn’t forgotten him.”

This a message for all who have blown it, messed up, compromised, and reneged on promises. The empty tomb is a promise of resurrected hope. You too can have a fresh start, a new beginning, a brand-new life.

I wonder what it was like when the women told Peter they had a special message for him. I imagine Peter sitting in the corner, hiding in the shadows, hoping no one would notice him. When the told him he was called out by name, I wonder if he felt some shame. But, as he realized he was named because he was loved and cared for, it allowed him to come out of hiding. He’s not been forgotten or forsaken! In that very moment, more than anything else in the world, Peter needed to be called by name. He was still the rock.