Thrice Denied, Thrice Restored (DD - 22 Apr 25)

“Christ, by his word, healed the wound that Peter's conscience had received by his sin. And what he said to Peter was designed for our instruction and comfort when we fall." - Matthew Henry

This scene in Forrest Gump has always reminded me of Simon Peter jumping out of the boat after realizing it’s Jesus on the shore.

Confess The Faith:

Q. How does Christ execute the office of a king?

A. Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

Today’s Reading: John 21:15-19

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Despite insisting that He would never deny Christ, Simon Peter does so three times in the narrative captured in John 18:

First denial: “The servant girl at the door said to Peter, ‘You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?’ He said, “I am not.”

Second denial: “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You also are not one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’

Third denial: “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.”

Yesterday, we discussed the immeasurable love of the risen Christ who immediately seeks out His friends with a message of great peace. Christ will certainly bring swift justice upon His enemies, and yet He lives to bring comfort, reconciliation, and peace to His friends.

Nowhere is this more evident than in His post-resurrection interaction with Peter.

After fishing all night, day breaks, and the disciples from their boat see a man standing on the shore. This man asks them if they’ve caught any fish; they have not. The man tells them to let down their nets on the right side of the boat, and the nets immediately teem with fish, too many to haul back into the boat. John realizes the identity of this man, and tells Peter, “It is the Lord!”

Think back to the first time he encounters the Lord in Matthew 4:18-20:

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Just as Peter left his nets to follow Christ the first time, He now sees the resurrected Lord and, again, leaves his nets, “throwing himself into the sea.”

I can only imagine what was going through Peter’s head in that moment when he realized that man on the shore was Jesus Christ. Fear; shame; guilt; relief; joy; hope; sorrow. His Master is alive, and yet Peter had denied Him three times, just as He foretold.