“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
The Living Hope for Peter
When Peter was with Jesus, he had hope. He had hope for his nation. He had hope for himself. He had hope for a better world. The long-awaited Messiah had come.
Then, Jesus was put on a mock trial, suffered, died, and was buried. During this time, Peter experienced the biggest failure of his life. He turned his back on Jesus. When people asked Peter if he was Jesus’ follower, he said that he didn’t even know him. In the midst of his suffering, Jesus looked right at Peter that night, and Peter knew how much he had hurt Jesus. He went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus was then crucified, died, and was buried. The disciples lost hope. So the hopeless disciples got together, and they waited, for what they knew not.
Then, some of the women came to them. They had gone to the tomb. They had not seen Jesus. They said that a messenger from heaven had told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. They had a hard time believing them.
But Peter and John didn’t hesitate. They ran to the tomb, and it was empty just as the women had told them. But they still could not believe that Jesus had risen.
Finally, Jesus appeared to the disciples, and they knew Jesus was alive.
But what would that mean for Peter? Peter had denied he even knew Jesus. He had failed Jesus in his darkest hour and greatest need. Would their relationship be over? Would that be the end of his work with Jesus?
Jesus met Peter at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where they had spent so much time together before. “Do you love Me?” Jesus asked.
“You know I love you!” Peter said.
“Feed my sheep.” Why didn’t Jesus say, “I love you, too, Peter”? Because Jesus knew how to communicate to Peter. Peter was a man of action. He enjoyed being part of what Jesus was doing. What Jesus was saying to Peter was, “You are still my friend. I still want to work with you. I have a role for you. I’m going to do big things through you.” Peter was accepted, forgiven, respected, and valued by Jesus.
Peter knew the hope of the resurrection in general and he knew it for himself in particular. He never forgot those moments. As often as he thought about them, he msut have said, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
The Living Hope for Us
And that’s what it can be for us, too.
We may think that our failure is too great for Jesus to use us. Then, we remember: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
We may think that we’ve gone back to the same sin one too many times. Then, we remember: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
We may think that we are past our prime and that there’s nothing left to do. Then, we remember: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
We may be ready to give up on our family, our community, or our church. Then, we remember: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
That’s the hope of the resurrection. We don’t have to approach any situation as if it were hopeless. There’s hope. He’s alive. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
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Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash