Pinedale Student Ministries

Today’s passage
John 21:15-17

Experience
On the night before His death, Jesus predicted He’d be crucified and that all of His disciples would forsake Him. But Peter arrogantly announced he’d never deny Jesus. Jesus replied that Peter would actually deny Him three times before the sun came up. And it happened just as Jesus said. Peter was devastated by his failure.

Shortly after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and the other disciples. A beautiful act of restoration occurred as Jesus re-commissioned Peter to God’s service. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him in both agape (commitment) and phileo (friendship) love. As Peter responded “yes,” Jesus told Peter to feed (give spiritual nourishment to) and tend (love, be patient with, train), His sheep (other believers). The Jesus said, “Follow Me!”

How many times have we failed Jesus? How many times have we turned our backs on Him to go after the things we wanted? Could you even count them?? But we also know how we feel after we’ve repented: broken, ashamed, and longing for forgiveness. After Peter failed Jesus at the most critical time in Jesus’ life, Jesus didn’t just forgive Peter; He restored him. He gave back to Peter his ministry of serving and strengthening other believers. And Jesus promises the same thing to us. Nothing we could have ever done could separate us from Christ’s saving love.

And likewise, nothing we can do ever after we believe in Christ can take us too far away from Jesus. He longs to restore us, and He also desires to send us back out on our mission fields so we can show others His amazing restoration.