Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:69-75

 As we read previously, the religious leaders rejected the Messiah Jesus, but now comes the rejection from his own disciples. Imagine how Jesus felt, his hand picked disciples, who spent the past 3 years with him, ran for the hills once trouble came their way. Even though everyone abandoned Jesus, Christ never abandoned us, he still went to the cross to pay for our sins, because He loves us!

As Jesus prophesied, Peter would eventually deny Christ three times before the Rooster crows, meaning before the morning. Remember Peters first response “Lord I will never fall away” He was confident in his faith, however when persecution came, Peter failed and rejected The Lord three times. I’m sure there are times in our own walk, where we let The Lord down, but remember his response to Peter, after the resurrection Christ came looking for Peter!

Think about this from Peter’s perspective, he denied Jesus and then Christ went to the cross and died. Even though Jesus told his disciples multiple times that He would rise after 3 days, they didn’t seem to comprehend or remember his words. So Peter, feeling ashamed of how he responded to Christ, thought it was all over. Peter was probably unsure of what his next steps were in his life, he left everything behind to follow Jesus and then felt like a failure in the end

But image that glorious day, when Peter heard Jesus calling for him on the shoreline (John 21) Imagine the hope and joy Peter must have felt, to hear and know Jesus never left or forsake him. Jesus asked Peter three times “Do you love me” ? Isn’t it interesting how Peter denied Christ three times , then The Lord asks him if he loves him three times, redemption?

The fact is Jesus always knew Peter loved him, but gave him a chance to redeem himself. Jesus told him to “Feed My Sheep” Christ didn’t reject Peter for his failures, Christ forgave him and used Peter to build the Church (Acts 2, Matthew 16:18) 

Remember in your failures, Jesus is standing on the shore, with open arms never leaving or forsaken you! Amen