BACK STORY
In our children’s story we heard about Peter denying Jesus. Peter failed. But Peter shouldn’t have been the one to fail. He was Peter the rock. He was supposed to be the strong one, the solid one.
But Peter had brought it on himself.
Jesus told his disciples what would happen to him. He would die – and his disciples would desert him. ‘Not me,’ said Peter. ‘I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’ That was his first mistake. Peter was blind to his own weaknesses. A preacher called Jonathan Edwards wrote that the spiritually proud person is suspicious of others. The humble person is suspicious of himself. Peter could have done with some of that.
But Peter’s problems didn’t end there. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told his disciples – and particularly Peter, ‘Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ Prayer is how we prepare for the battle ahead. But prayer requires discipline. Someone said, ‘If I only pray when I feel like praying, I never pray’. But Peter didn’t pray. That was a second mistake.
And then Peter made what looks like a third mistake. Jesus was led to the home of the high priest. Peter followed, at a distance. He was on his own. If Peter had had another Christian beside him, I wonder what would have happened?
What actually happened was that Peter denied Jesus, three times. Was that now the end for Peter? Or was there a way forward?
JESUS RESTORES PETER
I expect most of us know what happens after this. Jesus was crucified but God raised him from the dead. He told his disciples to go ahead of him to Galilee, the place where he had called most of them to follow him.
Peter announces that he’s going fishing. The other disciples join him. At dawn, Jesus stands on the shore of the lake and calls out to them. They come quickly. There’s a charcoal fire. I wonder what that reminds Peter of. Perhaps a fire in a high priest's courtyard? They have breakfast and then Jesus asks Peter to go for a walk with him. As they walk along, Jesus asks Peter, ‘Do you truly love me MORE THAN THESE?’ Has Simon learned his mistake? Has he realized that he isn’t better than the other disciples? Simon wisely says, ‘Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.’ Now, he doesn’t claim to love Jesus MORE THAN THE OTHERS. Jesus asks twice more if Peter loves him. I’m sure Peter got the significance of that. He’d denied Jesus three times. Each time, Peter tells Jesus that he loves him. Each time that Peter answers, Jesus gives him a charge: ‘Feed my lambs’, ‘Tend my sheep’, ‘Feed my sheep’. Jesus recommissions Peter. He gives him a second chance.
I’d like to draw four lessons from this.
GOD GIVES SECOND CHANCES
Peter had failed. But he was deeply sorry for what he had done and Jesus gave him a second chance. This is a huge thing we should know about God and Jesus. God is in the business of giving second chances.
In the Bible there are lots of stories of people who messed up and God gave them a second chance.
Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. God gave him a second chance.
David had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and then arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle. God gave him a second chance too.
I could give lots more examples. In fact, most of the people in the Bible who we think of as heroes of faith messed up at some point. But God didn’t give up on them.
It’s true today too. Most of us also mess up at some point. When we do, it’s really, really important to remember that God gives second chances. We shouldn’t give up! Go back to God and tell him you’re sorry.
But also, keep in mind that what you’ve done may have consequences. God doesn’t run the video back to before you messed up. Messing up will often leave a mess.
But still, the big point is that after Peter messed up, Jesus gave him a second chance. What Jesus did for Peter he’s willing to do for us.
I said a moment ago, if you mess up, don’t give up. Go to Jesus, say sorry and mean it. Jesus is a gracious lord. He gives second chances.
WE SHOULD GIVE OTHER PEOPLE A SECOND CHANCE
The second point I want to make is that if God gives us second chances, we should give other people second chances. It happens regularly in churches that someone says or does something that offends someone else. They go off in a huff and perhaps even leave the church.
When I was young, my mother went to church. Then someone offended her and she stopped going. After that she didn’t go back to that church. It was probably only thirty years later that she went back to church – a different church, this time.
What should you do if someone offends you? If it isn’t too serious, you can simply overlook it. There’s a Proverb which says, ‘A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense’ [Proverbs 19:11].
But you can’t overlook every offence. Jesus didn’t overlook it when Peter denied him three times.
If someone steps on your foot in the bus, you CAN overlook it.
If your husband goes off with another woman, you CAN’T overlook it. It’s serious. At this point, a line has been crossed.
If your son lies to you, you CAN’T overlook it. You have to do something about it. That’s part of your job as a parent. Don’t think, ‘It’s only words; it doesn’t matter.’ Words are really important. Peter’s offence was a matter of a few words but Jesus took them really seriously. Jesus didn’t go easy on words and neither should we.
God wants us to be conformed to the image of his Son. He wants us to think, speak and act like Jesus.
Jesus gave Peter a second chance. If we are going to be like Jesus then we should give other people a second chance too, if they offend us.
Many people think to themselves: ‘HE offended me! HE must apologize! It isn’t MY job to go to HIM’. But that wasn’t Jesus’ approach with Peter. Jesus took the initiative and so should we.
My first point was that GOD gives US second chances. My second point is that God wants US to give OTHER PEOPLE second chances. People WILL mess up. They WILL let us down. Remember what Jesus did for Peter. Give them another chance.
LOVE IS CENTRAL
My third point is that love is central.
Jesus asked Peter three questions. He asked him three times, with almost identical words, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ On the basis of Peter's answer, Jesus restored him fully. He gave him the task of caring for his sheep.
One commentator suggested that this is perhaps the most famous set of questions and answers in the entire Bible. It isn’t only famous, it’s important. Jesus wouldn’t repeat himself three times if it wasn’t important. It’s the only time we know of when he did that.
Jesus was giving Peter a task, to feed and care for his sheep.
The basis for Peter to do that wasn’t that he had a degree or qualifications. It wasn’t that he had been to theological college. It wasn’t that he loved sheep and lambs.
The entire basis for Peter to care for and feed Jesus' sheep was that Peter loved him.
The Reformer John Calvin wrote, ‘The office of feeding is very laborious and troublesome … No man therefore will steadily persevere in this office unless the love of God reign in his heart’.
The flock of God is not always very lovable. It’s love for Jesus, not love for the flock, which will motivate a person to keep on at the job.
If we’re in Christian service we need to keep asking why we’re serving. We should be serving because we love Jesus. And we should love him because he first loved us.
That’s my third point. We must keep love for Jesus as the driving force in our lives.
RESTORING THE OFFENDER
We're on to the final point. That is, that our goal should be to restore the offender.
Paul wrote, ‘Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness’ [Galatians 6:1].
There’s a distinction between restoring a relationship and restoring a person.
Let’s imagine that Priscilla (my wife) and I have an argument. It happens! I say something silly and she takes offence. I say sorry and sound like I mean it and we’re back to normal. Priscilla’s sense of offence has been fixed and she talks to me again.
But what about this situation? Peter has denied Jesus. Is the main problem that Jesus is offended, that Peter needs to say sorry, and then Jesus will be mollified and all will be well? I don’t get the sense that Jesus is deeply offended. He calls out to his disciples on the boat ‘little children.’ It’s a very tender word. He helps them to get a record catch of fish. He isn’t giving the impression of being deeply offended. I don’t think the key issue was that Jesus needed Peter to say sorry to him.
I read a sermon on this passage by someone called Jerry Watts. He’s the pastor of a church in Mississippi. He described Peter as ‘a broken man, a basket case’. I think there’s a lot in that. Peter knew what he’d done. He’d denied Jesus. I'm sure he was ashamed. He was hurting. He would have imagined that there was no way back from that. His career in Jesus’ service was over.
I don’t think the key issue was that Jesus wanted Peter to say sorry to him. I think it was that Peter needed to be restored.
A doctor attending a casualty might check for vital signs: pulse, breathing, blood pressure. Jesus checks Peter’s vital signs. Actually, there’s only one sign he needs to check. Does Peter love him? Yes, Peter says, he does. He’s sure he does. ‘You know I do’, he tells Jesus.
In October 1963, a month before he died, C S Lewis wrote a letter to a little girl. ‘If you continue to love Jesus, nothing much can go wrong with you.’ Wise words.
Peter’s one vital sign was in order. The key thing Jesus wanted to see was there. And on that basis, Jesus tells Peter to ‘feed his sheep.’ He reinstated Peter to the team. He gently restored him.
The issue wasn’t first and foremost that Jesus wanted Peter to say sorry to him. The issue was that Peter needed to be picked up, restored.
CONCLUSION
Let me conclude by summarising some of the main things we’ve looked at.
The main point I wanted to make was that Jesus gives us second chances. He doesn’t just forgive; he puts us back on the team. If you are conscious of failure, if you are on the brink of despair, if God is humbling you through your experience of failure, know that he wants to lift you up.
The second point was that WE should follow Jesus’ example and give OTHERS second chances.
The third point was that love is central to service. We need to keep Jesus’ love for us in mind, and see our service as our response of love for him.
The final point was that where offence has happened, our goal isn’t to have someone say sorry. Our goal is to help someone up.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you that one mistake doesn’t mean the end. Thank you that you’re in the business of restoring people who’ve messed up.
Help us please to give other people a second chance when they offend us or let us down.
Thank you for reminding us that the basis for serving you is that we love you.
Finally, help us, if we have been offended, to remember that it may be the person who caused the offence who most needs the help.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK, 6 November, 2022
