Jesus Deconstructed Denial

What Did Jesus Do?

“Do you love me?” and he (Peter) said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
John 21.17

I have trouble imagining anything to match the strength of Peter’s declaration that, “Even if I must die with you, I will not DENY you” (Matthew 26.35)—other than the vehemence of his thrice repeated denial! (Matthew 26.69-74) Little wonder at the bitterness that swept over the apostle when the realization of what he had done broke upon him with the crowing of the rooster (Matthew 26.75). How could Peter ever shake the stark and convicting reality that, when it mattered most, he was no disciple at all, much less the sure and sturdy rock upon whom Christ would build his Church, but rather a flat-out denier of the Lord?

I’m not sure, but, broken and bitter, filled with self-recrimination as he was, Peter may have been considering simply returning to his old life as a fisherman of Galilee. If he had had such a thought in mind, a night of fruitless fishing might well have caused him to see himself as a failure in his former vocation, as well as in the one Jesus had called him to. To tell you the truth, I feel sorry for the Peter of John 18.27-21.7. But then, on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus deconstructed Peter’s denial, by giving his disciple three opportunities to affirm his love for the Lord.

The truth is, Jesus is not about to let any of his followers who stumble and fall, or who even desert and deny, to abide forever in bitterness, regret, and sorrow. While the Devil loves to tell Christians that we are no better than our latest moral or spiritual failure, Jesus ever and again comes to his own to both reassure us, and give us opportunities to demonstrate, that we are who he calls us to be, who the Holy Spirit empowers us to be, and who the Father has ordained us to be. This is grace, sweet and powerful enough to deconstruct our most bitter falling and failing, and to build us up anew in faith, hope, and love.

And this is not restricted to individual disciples. The same process of renewal and revitalization can and does restore broken families, foundering congregations and fellowships of faith, and even the Church Catholic (see the Reformation and the Great Awakening for vast restorative and re-constructing movements of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ).

There are at least two lessons I believe we need to take from this passage: 1) When we come up short, when we stumble, when we fall away (And we all sin and fall short; see Romans 3.23)), we need to recall the deconstruction of Peter’s denial and his restoration, and be assured that Jesus is not going to reject us or cut us lose. Rather, the Lord has promised to abide with us, and abide with us on our worst days as disciples as well as our best, and to again and again renew, revive, and restore us. 2) Christ expects, actually commands, that we are to love one another, and extend such grace and mercy to each other that, when a brother or sister pulls a “Peter” and denies, defames, or disappoints, we refuse to focus on their fallings, or to allow them to define themselves by their failing, and instead affirm that they remain precious in the Father’s eyes, highly valued by the Son, favored by the Holy Spirit, and that we cherish them as an important and beloved member of the Body of Christ. That’s what Jesus did when he deconstructed Peter’s denial, and directed him to feed and care for the Lord’s flock.


S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4