Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit with Jesus after everything that you’ve been through and just feel His goodness surround you? In this post, I want to dive deep into a story that shows us just how good, faithful, and full of love Jesus is.
The Goodness of Jesus
The story that I want to dive into today is the story of Peter when he denied Jesus three times.
I’m sure everyone knows this story.
I knew this story, but that’s one of the things I love about the Bible – it’s alive. You can read something so many times and get a fresh revelation from it every time you read it.
One time when I was reading this story, I saw something that I had never seen before. And it all anchors back to Jesus’s goodness, His faithfulness, and His redemption for Peter.
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Peter Didn’t Want to Deny Jesus
I want to start this story back before Jesus died, before Peter denied Him, to the moment where Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny Him.
Matthew 26:33-35
Peter answered Him, “Though they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”
Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
Peter said to Him, “Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You.” And all the disciples said the same.
Let me set the stage for you about this part of the story. I’m sure it was a very heavy moment for Jesus. Judas had already agreed to betray Him. He knew what was coming.
Jesus and His disciples had just had the Last Supper, and then they went up to the Mount of Olives after they ate. That is when Jesus told Peter, “You’re going to deny Me three times.”
Peter said, “If I have to die with You, I am not going to deny You.” And I truly believe that Peter meant that. I don’t think he was just blowing smoke or telling Jesus something He wanted to hear.
I really believe that Peter was speaking the truth, what was in his heart. He said, “I would never deny You. I love You. You are my Lord. If I have to die with You, then I will do it.”
And I really think that was the truth. He really believed that.
But sometimes we mess up. Sometimes situations come up, and what we want to do, we don’t do.
Romans 7:18–20 says “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”
Basically, he’s saying, “I know what I want to do. I know what I need to do. I even want to do those things.” But sometimes our flesh nature, our sin nature, is so strong in a particular moment that the thing we do not want to do, we do it.
I believe that is what happened with Peter. He did not want to deny Jesus. But sometimes, in certain situations, the thing we don’t want to do – we end up doing.
The Moment Peter Denied the One He Loved the Most
Now, back to the story:
Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny Him three times. Peter said, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You.”
Then Jesus left His disciples and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and ask God if it was His will for the cup to pass from Him. In verse 37, it says that Jesus began to be sorrowful and troubled. He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” because He knew what He was about to face.
It was a moment of deep sorrow for Jesus because of what was about to happen. After He prayed, Judas came with the soldiers. They arrested Jesus and took Him before the high priest.
It was a very tense moment for Jesus and for the disciples. I’m sure there was a lot of uncertainty about what was going to happen. Emotions were high.
And that is where we see Peter. Jesus was inside with the high priest, and Peter was outside, sitting in the courtyard.
So, I’m going to start in verse 69 of Matthew 26:
Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
He denied it again with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately, a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.”
And he went outside and wept bitterly.
I wonder what Peter felt in that moment when he heard that rooster crow and he knew that what Jesus said had happened. He had denied the One he loved the most.
The brokenness, the pain, the guilt, and the shame – all of those emotions were probably running through his mind. His heart was so broken.
After that, Jesus died.
Can you imagine what Peter felt?
The last thing he did while Jesus was still alive on this earth was deny Him. He probably thought that was something he would have to carry for the rest of his life.
But Jesus had other plans.
The Moment Peter’s Guilt Met the Goodness of Jesus
Now we’re going to switch over to the Gospel of John 21:15-17.
Jesus had died, was placed in the tomb, and resurrected. He had shown Himself to the disciples a few times, but this particular moment is the one I want to hone in on.
The disciples were out on the water. They had fished all night long and caught nothing. Early that next morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Him.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
They said, “No.”
He said, “Throw your net on the right side, and you will find some.”
When they did that, they caught a lot of fish. Then John said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
They realized it was Jesus. They put all the fish in the boat and went to the shore. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish they had caught, and He was going to cook them breakfast.
Okay, so this is where I want to pick up in the story:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
—
I want to stop right there.
When I read this, it blew my mind what the Holy Spirit showed me. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times. How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times.
Jesus, full of love and full of goodness, gave Peter a chance to redeem his past and the mistake he made by denying Him three times.
In His love and goodness, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” three times. And three times, Peter was able to say, “Yes.”
Each one of those yeses canceled out the no that he said when he denied Him.
Jesus is Ready to Meet You in Your Brokenness
That same Jesus who came to Peter in the middle of his brokenness, in the middle of his regret – full of goodness, full of love, full of redemption – is the same Jesus that will meet you in the middle of your pain, in the middle of your brokenness.
He comes with His arms open, His eyes full of love, grace, mercy, and redemption.
He didn’t come to Peter with anger or trying to make him feel guilty for what he did. He didn’t even bring it up.
He didn’t say, “Peter, I told you. I told you that you were going to deny Me three times, and what did you do? You denied Me three times.”
No, He didn’t bring up what Peter had done wrong. Instead, He came with an opportunity for Peter to make it right.
That was a moment of complete restoration for Peter. Jesus was saying, “I see you, Peter. I know your heart, and I’m here to give you this chance of redemption.”
Jesus’ Redemption in Your Grief
So let’s talk a little bit about redemption.
A lot of times, we think of redemption as in this story with Peter. He messed up. He did something wrong. Jesus gave him a chance to make it right – He gave him that redemption.
But I want to come at Jesus’ redemption from the lens of our grief, our pain, and our brokenness.
When we think about the power of Jesus’s resurrection, when He went and defeated death, hell, and the grave, it is a reminder to us that nothing is beyond His ability to redeem.
No matter how deep our pain is, no matter how overwhelming our grief, Jesus can bring new life, hope, and new beginnings into your story.
It doesn’t mean that our grief disappears or that it suddenly becomes so much easier, because we know that’s not possible. But it does mean that in the middle of our grief, Jesus is working.
He’s working to bring beauty out of ashes, to bring purpose out of pain. And He’s bringing you the greatest gift that we could ever receive as grieving moms: hope.
Hope that we will see our child again. And that’s the hope that keeps us going, day after day.
So, if you’re in a place right now where it’s hard to see past the pain – and I know, because I was there, I remember it. I want you to be encouraged that Jesus is right there with you.
He’s not distant. He’s not far off. He’s close to the brokenhearted.
And He’s continually offering you His redemption every day. The Bible says His mercies are new every morning.
Everything we need to get through this life without our child is found in Him, and He gives it to us every day.
A new dose of His love, a new dose of His goodness, a new dose of His strength. Whatever we need in that moment, He gives us a new dose of it every day.
I know that sometimes it can be hard to see hope when the pain is so deep and the grief is so overwhelming. But sometimes His goodness and His kindness aren’t in the big things. They can be found in the little, small moments where we see His goodness, His faithfulness, His love, and that hope.
It’s the little things that show us His goodness and heal our hearts, piece by piece.
So I want to encourage you to look for those little ways that Jesus shows you that He’s there for you in the middle of your brokenness, your grief, and your pain.
It could be through your time with Him. It could be through prayer, reading His Word, or worshiping Him.
It could also be by reminding yourself of all the times He’s been there for you in the past. Taking those moments to reflect on where you’ve seen Him work in your life.
Because He’s always there. His goodness is there.
He’s so faithful, and I’m so thankful that He doesn’t leave us to figure out this messy life that we’re having to live. Instead, He is ready to get down in the mess and walk with us.
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