There are many people in Scripture who have failed miserably and been restored and re-commissioned by God. Such people were assigned important tasks in the kingdom of God and achieved great things for God by His grace. It is important to consider the whole notion of ‘faith and failure’ from a Scriptural perspective and meet the people whose lives (including their mistakes and sins) are recorded for our instruction and edification.

On the evening of The Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny Him. Peter, at that point in his experience, could not believe that such a thing would happen and so he argued with the Lord. During times of close fellowship with Jesus it is difficult for us to comprehend that it will not be long before we disappoint the one we profess to love. But inevitably such times come, all too quickly and frequently, until we eventually realise that faith and failure are part of the warp and woof of the fabric of our religious experience.

In response to Peter’s emphatic refutation of Christ’s prediction the Lord repeats his name, ‘Peter, Peter…’ in the same way as he had repeated Martha’s name, ‘Martha, Martha…’ when she too had preferred her own opinion to His. There is a note of tender disapproval in that simple repetition.

The Lord’s prediction of Peter’s denial was not merely a calculated guess based on observation of Peter’s temperamental and inherently flawed character. The Lord knew the events which were about to unfold and spoke of them with a precision that proved His divine foreknowledge.

Failure, foreknown and forgiven

In an extraordinary statement Jesus tells Peter that Satan has desired to have him and that He prayed that Peter’s faith might not fail. It is clear that there was a spiritual struggle for Peter. Satan desires to have his way with all the saints. We wrestle against principalities and powers. What are we to make of Peter’s denial of Jesus? Are we to conclude from this that Satan’s desire was fulfilled when Peter fell? Are we to believe that Christ’s prayer (that Peter’s faith would not fail) was ineffective? Jesus prayed that very night for the disciples (Jn.17). We cannot deny that Peter’s faith did fail, but it was a temporary failure, foreknown and forgiven.

It is clear from Scripture that Satan asks God to allow him to have his way with some people (Job 1:6-12; Zech.3:1-5). Job, Joshua and Peter were sought by Satan. We know why Jesus prayed for Peter and we know what he prayed. Christ continues to make intercession for his disciples because there are times when our faith fails and we fall. In Mark’s account Jesus predicts that all would fall away, which was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah: ‘smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered’ (13:7).

Peter declared that he was willing to follow Christ to prison and to death and ultimately he did, but at this point he was not ready. Simon’s self-confidence prevented him from understanding his frailty. His protestation of fidelity makes sad reading in the light of subsequent events. When we profess fealty we should do so in faith, aware of our feeble power to fulfil such vows. Instead we sing ‘though none go with me, still I will follow’. We do not sing it glibly in the same way as there was no shallowness in Simon’s boast. I have no doubt that he was as sincere then as we are now when we proclaim such loyalty.

Jesus said, ‘…this very night before the cock crows, you will disown me three times (Mt.26:34). This was no speculation which second guessed Peter’s probable cowardice in the face on imminent danger to his liberty and life. Rather Jesus was able to foretell the exact moment when Peter’s denial would occur. It was not a vague prediction whereby the cock crowing was a general term for the dawn of a new day. In other words Jesus was not saying that in roughly twelve hours or so you will have denied me three times. Christ’s reference to the cock crowing is a detail that becomes embedded in Peter’s mind so that when he hears it his memory is triggered and the full realisation of his failure dawns upon him. How often the Word of God comes to mind bringing conviction of sin, sorrow and repentance.

Devastated but not destroyed

Peter is overwhelmed with grief but although he is devastated he is not destroyed. We cannot point the finger at Peter and think that we are without sin. John says, ‘if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves’ (1 Jn.1:8). However, he goes on to say, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’ (1 Jn.1:9).

In verse 58 we read that Peter ‘followed afar off.’ No doubt he wanted to see what the outcome might be, but this was no idle curiosity on his part. It was love that drew him after Jesus. Peter was in a pressurised situation when he denied Jesus. Sadly we do not always do the right thing when we are under pressure.

Peter followed at a distance and in doing this he had become an observer rather than a disciple. There are those who follow Christ at a distance, not wanting to be too closely associated with Him, yet retaining a certain curiosity. Peter was trying to preserve his freedom while at the same time maintain a loose association, by proximity, with Jesus. Peter thought he was an unobserved observer but he was wrong because he was an integral part of the narrative. There are some today who think of themselves in this way and want to be on the periphery of things. They want a loose association because they do not want to endanger their ‘liberty’ or share the stigma of rejection and ridicule of those who condemn the unique and universal claims of Jesus. But in reality we are never on the periphery of things. The question is not whether we would be in the narrative but rather what part we will play.

The look of the Lord

After the cock crowed we are told, ‘the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.’ It was a look that penetrated Peter’s heart. Peter must have experienced a range of emotions at this point. He had been afraid and perhaps also confused, disappointed and even disillusioned. Then Jesus established eye-contact and, ‘Peter remembered the word of the Lord...went out, and wept bitterly’ (v. 75). Christ did not just look at him, he looked into him. What a poignant scene. Here is Jesus, betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, deserted by his disciples[1] and despised by his accusers. What was conveyed to Peter in that look? Somehow I do not think it was anger or rejection rather I suspect there was pain and pardon in that look.

It is amazing that Jesus maintained sufficient focus in all this tribulation to deliver a look which pierced Peter’s heart. But the look of Jesus would have been wasted if Peter had not been looking at Jesus. Whatever trouble we find ourselves in let us keep looking to Christ for it is only there that we will come to understand ourselves and find the grace we need so much. It was a moment of intense realisation. I suspect too that these denials from his close disciple hurt Jesus more than the words of mockery and the physical blows from his avowed enemies. Surely this feeling of hurt must have registered on the face of Christ.

Broken to be blessed

We are sometimes broken in order to be blessed and this is what happened to Peter on this occasion. God, through His Word, shows us our true condition and strips us of our pretensions. Verse 75 says, ‘then Peter remembered’ and the same verb is used in John 14:26 where the disciples are assured that the Holy Spirit will remind them of all that Jesus has told them. The Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, brings conviction and repentance. God brings His Word to mind, in the precise circumstances that suit His purposes.

Do we remember that first look from Jesus? If we want to understand our lives in spiritual terms we must look into the face of Jesus. Such moments are painful but profitable. John Dewey[2] said, ‘failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.’ If we are reflective and honest in our spiritual walk then we will grow through failure. Doctrine trains us but it is encounters such as these that transform us. The insights obtained in such moments cannot be easily assimilated in abstract lessons. The words of Samuel Smiles[3] seem rather apt, ‘It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.’

At the moment when Peter’s eyes met the Lord’s eyes there was a dynamic interaction. At the very moment when Christ seemed most vulnerable and all must have seemed hopeless to Peter, that look confirmed that Christ was still in control. He knew this would happen and now Peter knew that Christ knew all this in advance for the words of Jesus were fulfilled with astonishing precision. Not only had Jesus read future events with astounding accuracy but he had also read Peter’s heart with equal exactness. Peter had heard Jesus preach, ‘he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God’ (Lk.12:9). Maybe he recalled those words at that point. But by God’s grace Peter was reinstated and he grew, not through faith but through failure. He had a real encounter with God. Potent and powerful witness is often rooted in the peculiar encounters we have with God.

To the women who were the first witnesses of His resurrection Christ said, ‘tell his disciples, and Peter’ (Mk.16:7). These words, and Peter, are loaded with forgiveness and hope. They tell us much about the gracious and compassionate character of Christ. They are simple and significant words that show consideration for one whose faith failed but who was still forgiven and loved by the Lord. They are words that ensure he is included in God’s plans. He is the God of second chances and new beginnings. In one account of the resurrection (Lk.24) we are told that nobody believed the women who had returned from the place where Christ was buried, ‘because their words seemed to them like nonsense.’ But verse 12 of that chapter says, ‘Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.’

The friend of failures

We could say that Peter was a failure and we would have to say he was not alone in this. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and he commissioned the murder of her husband, Uriah, who was one of his most faithful and skilled warriors. David’s penitential prayer (Ps.51) is one of the most poignant passages of Scripture:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me…Wash me and I will be whiter than snow…Hide your face from my sins…O Lord open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Jonah was God’s prophet and he wilfully disobeyed God but he was graciously re-commissioned. God is the God of second chances! As Christians we may appreciate the truth of Jonah as one might appreciate the aesthetics of a Shakespearean play but we may be very reluctant to apply these truths to real situations. Jonah is all the more mystifying because he is not pleased with the ‘success’ of his mission. In fact at the end of the book there is no evidence to suggest that he was remorseful for his wrong attitudes.

It would be unfair to describe Abraham as a liar and a coward. But there was on occasion in his life when fear caused him to lie. Jacob was a cheat. Noah’s drunkenness contributed to an incestuous incident. Moses was a murderer. Elijah became delusional to the point where he thought he was the only faithful servant of God, when in fact there were seven-thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal and he became despairing to the point where he wanted to die! This is not an apologia for apostasy but a reflection on the rehabilitative grace of God!

Scripture is full of examples of failures and the church is not a club for perfect people. Peter was passionate for God and Jesus wanted to reap what he had invested in this man’s training. The presence of such people in Scripture is not meant to justify complacency about human frailty or indifference to wrongdoing but rather to keep us from conceit and self-righteousness. We should rejoice that Jesus is a friend of failures. The process of progressive regeneration is often experienced in the intense heat of the crucible because it is there that the dross is burnt away and our refinement is perfected. There is no recorded objection to Peter’s reinstatement because who could conscientiously object? Who could say that they had not forsaken Christ? Condemnation is most likely to come from those with self-righteous attitudes who feel morally superior. Before we judge Peter or anybody else let us look into the face of the Master and learn of our need for mercy and grace. Let us be thankful that Jesus is the minder of mercy and guardian of grace for we are poor custodians of such perfect compassion.

I am inclined to think that Peter has got a bad press because in truth all the disciples had failed and deserted Jesus at this point and Peter alone tried to stay in touch. He followed physically but his faith failed and he ceased to follow as a disciple. This does not mean that he ceased to be a disciple; rather that he failed to follow spiritually at that point. In some ways Peter was a better disciple because he followed farther than most of the others (John was also present in the courtyard when Peter denied Jesus) at that point. Perhaps John’s presence emphasises the tragedy of the failure because Peter, despite having another disciple so close, still failed in such a dramatic way. We tend to remember that Christ rescued him from drowning but forget that his faith enabled him to walk on water. I doubt any of us would have behaved differently under the circumstances on the night Jesus was arrested. I think Peter is a hero of history from whom we can derive lessons in leadership. This is not to excuse his failure but to realise that heroes have faults and sometimes fail. Peter fell but he got up again. He lost a round in the great fight but he did not give up. He was knocked down but he was not knocked out.

Theodore Roosevelt once said: "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."[4]

The best was yet to come

When we look at the first-century church and consider the people involved in the mission of taking the gospel to the world it is amazing that God chose such people at all. How do we personally handle the tension between loving Jesus and failing him? What is God’s attitude to disciples who fail? Peter ultimately had the courage to continue his walk with Christ but in John 21 we encounter him once again as a fisherman on the Sea of Tiberias. He had returned to his occupational role after his sinful and shameful failure. But Jesus had other plans and did not allow him to remain in that secular and settled position. Peter was reinstated within six weeks. This is both comforting and challenging. Winston Churchill said, ‘courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm’. How true this was in the life of Peter.

In Acts 2 we encounter Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost and note that on that occasion three-thousand souls were saved! Peter was a passionate man of faith. He was driven by love and devotion to the Saviour. He left a settled business as a fisherman for an itinerant lifestyle as a disciple of Christ. There can be no doubting that his faith and love were genuine. There was, as is well documented in Scripture, a very dark period in this man’s life when he fell into terrible sin. Jesus warned of an impending trial and predicted that Peter would deny Him. But Peter was self-assured and defensive. He was distressed that Jesus doubted his love and loyalty. He probably felt that he was being misunderstood and misjudged. He felt he knew himself better than Jesus knew him. Scripture traces the terrible detail of his denial and its devastating effect on Peter. We read of how he wept bitterly when he realised the awfulness of what he had done. Peter’s fear was a flaw in his character and a chink in his spiritual armour exploited by Satan. He lied and cursed and denied ever knowing Jesus. What a terrible slide into utter failure!

Fear and failure

Fear is part of human experience: fear of rejection, fear of unrequited hope and love. There are phobias about almost anything. In one of Charlie Brown’s cartoons, Lucy, the so-called psychiatrist is trying to diagnose Charlie’s emotional problems. Assuming that his problem is ‘fear’ she lists several phobias in an effort to determine which one he has. Finally she says, “maybe you have a pan-a-phobia; the fear of everything! Not many of us have pan-a-phobia but most of us do fear something: it might be spiders, thunder and lightening, the dark enclosed spaces etc.

A common biblical exhortation is to ‘fear not’. Some people face many fears in this world; real or imagined. Some people live with the ‘what-ifs’ of life. What if that happens? What if it doesn’t work out? What if I am left all alone? Others are afraid of failing. Fear of failure makes some people work hard whereas it makes others afraid to try because if they do not succeed they will be labelled a ‘failure’. But failure is part of life and features in biblical history and narratives. The real question is not will we fail but what will we do when we fail? The failure rate for human beings is 100%. Nobody does what is right all the time. Paul puts it succinctly, ‘all have sinned and fallen short of God’s mark of perfection’ (Rom. 3:23). We all miss the mark at times. We can be well off target.