Even If

Matthew 26:33 “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

Jesus’ disciples risked everything to follow Him, so their world must have been rocked when Jesus revealed they all would desert him.  Another hard blow soon followed when Jesus singled out Peter as one who would deny him, not once, but three times.   Peter’s pain at this revelation was evident, and he immediately denied, saying, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”  What an endearing, yet often overlooked, denial.  Yes, Peter denied he would deny Jesus and he proved his loyalty a few verses later by drawing his sword to protect Jesus from the Roman soldiers.  Surely Peter must have felt a sense of exoneration from Jesus’ prophecy, because he had lived up to his nickname, The Rock.

Unfortunately, before the adrenaline of Peter’s heroic sword-fight wore off, all, including Peter, deserted Jesus.  Oh, how Peter’s heart must have longed to once again be the brave sword-slinger who had singularly defended his Lord.  But now, Peter barely scraped up the courage to follow Jesus at a distance, hiding in the shadows.  Soon, he was recognized as a follower of Jesus, and as prophesied, Peter did indeed deny Jesus three times.  It was in this very moment the rooster crowed and Peter, who just a few chapters earlier had been christened by Jesus as The Rock, melted into bitter sobbing.  Peter, the man to whom Jesus had promised to hand over the keys of the kingdom of heaven in this moment of weakness seemed unworthy of receiving the keys to the toolshed.

Jesus could have harbored resentment, or written Peter off, or deemed him useless to his eternal purpose.   But instead, shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, we witness one of the most powerful examples of redemptive love ever recorded in the Bible.   With loving mercy, a resurrected Christ instructed Mary Magdalene to go tell of His resurrection, and specifically, to tell Peter.  Did you catch that?  Tell Peter.  Christ forgave and redeemed Peter.  It was a loving and gracious Christ who refused to see Peter as a traitor but chose instead to restore Peter to Him.  And so, on the day of Pentecost, we witness a mighty Peter standing in front of the masses and boldly proclaiming Christ.  No longer afraid.  No longer in the shadows. No longer a denier.  A Rock!

I am confident it was excruciating for Peter to reflect upon his unspeakable actions and to deal with his guilt, shame, and regret.  Perhaps he agonized when he looked down at his feet and realized these were the very feet that had been washed by Jesus yet had fled from Jesus.  Perhaps he wept thinking that his mouth had both declared his allegiance to his Lord and almost immediately denied ever knowing his Lord.  But God’s grace restored Peter to the one who had declared, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

I see my life written all into this story.  So often in moments of weakness, the intentions of my heart do not match the actions of my life.  My heart may be totally dedicated to Christ, but like Peter, in times of weakness my actions may deny Him.  This is why we must never miss the most beautiful part of this story: the redeeming love of a Father who wants to restore us to Him even if our actions have failed Him.

Father God, we ask for strength to remain faithful even if all others forsake you.  Forgive us for the many times we fail.  We are grateful beyond human words for the mercy shown us as you restore us to You.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane