Forgiven and Restored
“But go, tell His disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into
One of the most powerful verses in the Bible is Luke 22:61: “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.” Peter had just denied the Lord three times, but Jesus turned and looked at him.
How do you think the Lord looked at Peter? Knowing Jesus, I think it was a look of compassion. A look of love. A look of forgiveness. Jesus knew the denial was coming; He knew Peter was coming back. It was a look that said, “Peter, I still love you.”
Peter went out and wept bitterly. Understand that the disciples did not have this thing all figured out. They didn’t know that Jesus was going to die and rise from the dead.
So then when Jesus was crucified they thought, It is finished. There is no hope. Somehow they had missed the part where Jesus said, “ ‘They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again’ ” (Luke 18:33).
After the crucifixion, Peter was one hurting guy. He was thinking, I have failed. I wish I could undo what I did. But after Jesus rose from the dead, He sent this message: “ ‘Go, tell His disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into
Why do you think the Lord threw in Peter’s name? Because He knew Peter needed that reassurance. Peter was forgiven and restored by the Lord. And you know what? God will forgive you and restore you, too.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
