When you fail or mess up, you may wonder if Christ will give up on you. But the life of the apostle Peter can give you hope when you fall flat.
Peter’s life with Jesus wasn’t a long string of successes. The bold, impulsive disciple got himself into a load of trouble. And often his failures began with stupendous success before he fell flat.
Peter’s Big Failure
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter began with swagger but experienced failure. On the way to Jesus’ favorite prayer spot, Jesus had warned the disciples that all of them would desert Him. He specifically told Peter, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34). Plucky Peter couldn’t even imagine this scenario. He boasted, “Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35).
After that bit of bravado, Peter was probably as surprised as anyone at the events that happened only a few hours later. When Judas came with a crowd of men with clubs and swords, Peter must have watched in confusion as Jesus allowed them to tie His hands and lead Him away.
Peter used the last bit of his courage to follow Jesus at a distance as the guards led Him to the home of the high priest. Perhaps everything would have been fine if one sassy little servant girl hadn’t stared at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean” (Matthew 26:69). Peter tried to evade her accusation by saying, “I do not know what you mean” (Matthew 26:70).
Peter then stepped away from the fire and stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Did his conscience bother him a bit? Did he feel he was in danger staying so close to Jesus? Did he hope to avoid any more questions? Unfortunately, stepping away didn’t stop the accusations. Another servant girl saw Peter in the doorway and announced to everyone nearby, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matthew 26:71). Peter’s denial then escalated. He replied with an oath, “I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:72).
An hour passed. What went through Peter’s mind during those sixty minutes? Did he want to run away, yet couldn’t bear to leave Jesus? Did he realize what he had done? Or was he too worried about Jesus and his own safety for the words that he had spoken to register? At any rate, another person came up to Peter and said, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you” (Matthew 26:73). Once more Peter’s failure progressed, “He began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man’” (Matthew 26:74). In other words, he said, “May a curse come on me if I’m lying. I promise I don’t know the man.” Before Peter’s sentence ended, a rooster crowed.
This account shows us how God included stories of human failure in His Word to comfort us. Although Jesus saw Peter at his worst and sees us when we fail, He still marched to the cross to take the punishment we all deserved.
When We Have Failed, We Can Still Run To Jesus.
Notice I didn’t write if we have failed but when we have failed. Because of our humanness, we will often trip up in following God’s commands. We will say the wrong thing or neglect to do the right thing. Maybe our collapse won’t match the magnitude of Judas’s or Peter’s, but we will experience significant failure. And when fall flat, we need to realize we have a choice. We can wallow in guilt like Judas did. Or we can discover forgiveness like Peter found.
In studying the life of Peter, I recently noticed an important detail in the Gospel of Luke. When the two men on the road to Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about seeing the resurrected Savior, Jesus’ disciples told the men from Emmaus, “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:34). That little sentence tells us Jesus met Peter privately before He appeared to the whole group of disciples.
Scripture doesn’t give us any details of the meeting, yet we can imagine what that meeting might have been like. Peter a mess of joy at seeing Jesus and grief at knowing he had disappointed His Friend. Jesus holding out His nail-scarred hands to Peter, letting him know his failure did not mean an end to their relationship. I find it so touching that Jesus took time for a personal and private meeting to reassure the repentant disciple of His love.
At times we all need this reassurance. We may consider our failures too big for forgiveness and we begin to sink in shame. One woman I know constantly struggles with guilt even though all her friends would describe her as a wonderful person. Intellectually, she knows Jesus’ death has paid for all her wrongs, yet she can’t seem to accept that reality in a way that frees her from the burden of self-reproach. When I told her about Jesus’ private meeting with Peter to reassure him of complete forgiveness, she said, “Jesus needs to do that for me, too.” And I replied, “Oh, but He has! Jesus has given reminders of His forgiveness throughout His Word!” Here are a few:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
When you feel weighed down by your guilt, confess your sin and accept the pardon Jesus offers. Let Him remove the sin from your heart and the burden of shame from your shoulders. Then run to Him with the joy of forgiveness.
God’s Measure of Success
God doesn’t measure our success by our perfection. He instead invites us to a successful life of living joyfully forgiven. I love the story in John 21 where Jesus met the disciples at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. When the disciples lowered their nets on the right side of the boat at the suggestion of the stranger on the beach and pulled up so many fish they couldn’t haul in the net, John recognized the stranger as Jesus. But it was Peter—too impatient to wait for the boat to reach the shore—who jumped in and swam to Jesus. He no longer shrank back in fear, wondering what Jesus might think of him. He was joyfully forgiven!
Aren’t you thankful that Jesus chose bumbling Peter as a disciple? Because of Peter’s story, we find confidence in the truth that when we have failed, we can still run (or walk or crawl or even swim) to Jesus, the source of mercy and grace.
This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!
This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!
You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.