Peter was in desperate need of a new start after our key verses. In golf, they call redoing a failed shot a "mulligan." Peter needed a mulligan badly. He wanted a "do-over." And while I am sure it seemed impossible at the time, Peter would get that new start. He served a God of "do-overs." So do we today. But imagine the pain and helplessness Peter must have felt from the moment that rooster crowed confirming his betrayal and denial. He then had to watch them crucify Jesus, which he was also wrong about! Not only the profound disappointment of being wrong so often, having not seen Israel delivered from the hand of Roman oppression but also to have to live with the fact that in the end, he failed his God miserably. Peter must have been as down and out as one can be. No matter where this devotional finds you today, God knows exactly where you are. He knew where Peter was and would begin the process of restoring him. That process is there for us as well. The new start we are seeking is always available to us beloved.
First, immediately upon the resurrection we see that Jesus has not forgotten Peter:
But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of
The angels at the gravesite of Jesus instruct the women to go and tell the disciples AND Peter that Jesus has risen! Why would the angel single out Peter? He was a disciple; wasn't he? You see even when we are not sure where we are, God always knows! He knew Peter was probably feeling as far away from being a disciple as he could have. He knew how traumatic the denials were for him. He wanted to make extra sure that the message got through to him especially. Tell the disciples but don't forget to tell Peter! No matter how far gone you may think you are, God still knows where you are and is calling you by name, as He did with Peter. No matter how down you might be feeling, how backslidden you think your walk has become, or how far away from God you might feel He is still calling you by name today!
Not only does He know exactly where you are and is calling you by name He also is willing to restore you today. When Jesus first appears to Peter after His resurrection, here is where he found him:
Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. John 21: 3 (NLT)
Peter seems to be exactly where Jesus had found him initially.
Fishing, and rather unsuccessfully. Maybe this verse shows that Peter had
returned to his old life. Maybe it reflects a backslidden state. Peter was out
there fishing, desperately needing a do-over and Jesus comes along to provide
the new start for him. After eating breakfast with him, Jesus asks him three
times if he loves Him. Three times to reconcile the three denials Peter had
made. Three times to restore Peter and the calling on his life. Three times to
turn the ordinary fisherman, into the extraordinary fisher of men. Like the
clock hitting 12:00 AM on January 1st, Peter has a new slate. His
old one has been wiped clean by the Master. His inconsistency erased by the God
of another chance. Soon after, Peter would find himself before the men of
"Therefore let all
the house of
Strong words from the man who denied Christ three times. On that night he would not admit to a servant girl even knowing who Jesus was but now he was giving the first sermon of the church age. He was rebuking those who had crucified Christ. He spoke with the boldness of the Holy Spirit and the assuredness that came from knowing he had been given a new start. Peter would go on to begin the church and proclaim the Good News everywhere he went. When he was to be put to death by crucifixion, he requested that it be done upside down as he felt he was not worthy to die in the manner of his Lord and Savior.
