If Peter Could Be Forgiven, Then So Can We

I would guess that many Bible students would think of Peter as a great example of faithfulness and service.  However, it is good to be reminded that that great man was just that, a man.  That means at times, Peter sinned.  That also means that he needed forgiveness.  When we accept that he could be forgiven, then maybe we will accept that we can be forgiven too.  Let us examine some of Peter’s life.

            First of all, Peter was a man that was a close friend and disciple of Jesus.  His closeness to the Lord was such that Peter was one of the privileged few who witnessed the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-8).  At times, this man did exceptionally well.  At other times, Peter failed miserably.

            There was a time when Jesus “…asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am” (Matt. 16:13)?  “And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist:  some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matt. 16:14).  Jesus then changed the question.  Instead of the disciples accepting the thoughts of others, Jesus wanted them to acknowledge “But whom say ye that I am” (Matt. 16:15).  It was then that “…Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).  He, when others claimed differently, was willing to state that Jesus is the Christ.  Peter is a great example of a man giving “a good confession” (Rom. 10:9-10).

            Unfortunately, Peter’s conviction was not enough to keep him from sin.  After the institution of The Lord’s Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night:  for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matt. 26:31).  At first, Peter was defiant.  He “…said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt. 26:33).  Then Jesus plainly told Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice” (Matt. 26:34).  Once more, Peter was defiant in saying “Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.  Likewise also said all the disciples (Matt. 26:35).

            I do not doubt Peter’s statements at this point.  After all, Peter was willing to fight physically when our Lord was taken (Matt. 26:51).  However, Peter’s strength began to weaken.  At first, Peter, like the other disciples, “…forsook him, and fled” (Matt. 26:56).  When Jesus was to appear before Caiaphas, “…Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end” (Matt. 26:58).  After hearing the pronouncement, “He is guilty of death”, and witnessing the mockery and abuse of Jesus, Peter’s confidence and conviction wavered (Matt. 26:66-68).

            “Now Peter sat without in the palace:  and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.  But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.  And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.  And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.  And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.  And immediately the cock crew.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.  And he went out, and wept bitterly” (Matt. 26:69-75).

            Peter had fallen so far from that confident man that confessed “…Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).  How many of us have verbally denied the Lord?  How many of us have cursed and sworn that we “…know not the man”?  It might not be that we have erred in those specific ways, but we have committed our own sins.

            Thankfully, Peter was penitent and forgiven  (Matt. 26:75; 2 Cor. 7:10; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).  This should help us to accept that we can be forgiven as well.  If we are penitent, believers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then we need to confess Jesus as Christ and be baptized so that our sins [whatever they may be] will be washed by the blood of Jesus (John 8:24; Acts 17:30-31; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 22:16).  If after baptism, we turn away from the Lord, then we need to repent, confess and pray to the Father (1 John 1:6-10; Acts 8:22; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).  Let us remember that if Peter could be forgiven, then so can we.
~ Corey Barnette