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.
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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 failuresWe 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.