Discipleship & Radical ForgivenessSample

Jesus is sitting on the beach with his disciples. As it is so often, they are enjoying a BBQ together - some bread, fish, of course, fire. Yet this time it is a little different. Everyone is a little quieter. The disciples have seen Jesus suffer. Die. They have been to His grave.

Certainly, they also know that He has risen; it is now the third time they have met. The last time they ate together before all this happened to Jesus, they still had big mouths. They would fight. They would go to the death with Him. They would protect Him. They wanted to reign with Him. The picture of the Kingdom of God had looked so beautiful to them, and to be honest, it had been dirt-cheap in their eyes.

So now, on the beach, and after a few fish, Jesus turns to Peter. Peter, tough, big mouth, always in front. He had shouted the loudest that he would stand for Jesus. If everyone left, he would stay. And yes, that all went a little differently. Whereas at first, he had gone after Jesus, right into the lion's den: the house of the high priest—there he had betrayed Jesus. Not once, not twice, but three times. Hard as nails. And Jesus had looked at him.

Again, Jesus looks at Peter and then asks him three times, "Peter, do you love Me?" In English, all these questions look the same, but in the original text, Jesus uses different forms of "love" in his questions. That makes the first question very penetrating, but Peter doesn't dare to speak out so firmly any more. He answers Jesus with a weaker word each time. Just look up the difference between Jesus' questioning and Peter's answers, and then you see that Jesus comes to Peter, takes his words, and is gracious.

Now, where is the swipe at the word? Where is the executing? Where are the clear words? Where is the justice?

Justice is met on the cross. Between the moment Peter denied Jesus and the moment here on the beach. That terrible event on the cross, righteousness is fulfilled, and now there is forgiveness for Peter. That's radical. Jesus had every right to condemn Peter, break off the relationship, and be angry—you name it, but Jesus showed the way of restoration, gave Peter confidence, and lets him draw close.

If I had been in Jesus' shoes, I would have given Peter at least one year of probation and reassigned him to a place where he wouldn't do much harm. Everyone would have known for a while that Peter had committed a major transgression, and he would have felt it himself for a while. In John 21, among Jesus' questions, there is always the beautiful phrase, "Pasture my lambs." Seriously Jesus? Are You giving Peter a place with the lambs? Aren't You making a big mistake here? Is this even justified?

Jesus restores Peter to his rightful place and gives him back his ministry. Shame makes room for honor. Where Peter was vulnerable, he may now take care of what is vulnerable. What a beautiful example Jesus gives here.

Take the following questions to think about:

• Have you experienced the radical forgiveness of Jesus in your life?
• What impact has that had on relationships with people around you?

Prayer:

• Thank the Father for his forgiveness.
• Thank the Son for his amazing work on the cross.
• Thank the Holy Spirit for his work in and through you.