The look of the LordAfter 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.
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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 blessedWe 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.
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