Betrayal & Grace

Luke 22:54-62 & John 21:1-19 Eric Brei, DCE Don’t you hate it when you do that thing you said you’d never do? That is how Peter must have felt after betraying Jesus three times. Jesus told Peter he would betray him in a conversation they had before Jesus was arrested. Peter strongly denied these words and told Jesus he could never do such a thing. Then just after Jesus was arrested, in three different scenes, Peter does the very thing he swore he’d never do. In each scene someone recognized Peter as a close friend of Jesus. Then just after Peter denied Jesus the third time, the rooster crowed in the background. Immediately Peter realized he did that which he swore he would never do. He was overcome with shame, guilt, and sadness. But then in John 21:1-19, we find Peter having fish by the Sea of Galilee and a risen Jesus. Peter is shown forgiveness and love. Faithfulness is restored. There is grace beyond grace given. This is what we experience after we too have done what we said we would never do. Take some time today and read the story and think about the limitless grace of God.