Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He followed Jesus everywhere and was always eager to learn more from him. But even Peter made mistakes sometimes. Three times, Peter denied knowing Jesus when the authorities came looking for him. This blog post tells the story of those three denials, and what happened afterward. This is the story of Peter.
The Denial of Peter
The first time Peter denied Jesus was when the authorities came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter was with Jesus at the time, and he drew his sword and tried to fight off the soldiers. But Jesus told him to put away his sword, and then he was arrested. When the authorities asked Peter if he knew Jesus, Peter denied knowing him.
The second time Peter denied Jesus was after Jesus had been crucified. The authorities were looking for anyone who might have helped Jesus escape, and they asked Peter if he knew where Jesus was. Peter again denied knowing him.
The third time Peter denied Jesus was when the disciples gathered together to mourn Jesus’ death. A woman came up to Peter and asked if he was one of Jesus’ disciples. When Peter denied it, she began to cry.
After the third denial, Peter realized what he had done. He had denied knowing the man who had taught him so much and had helped him so much. He wept bitterly for his mistakes.
What Did Jesus Do?
But Jesus forgave Peter, and after Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to Peter and asked him to spread the Good News.
Peter went out and did as Jesus asked, and he became one of the most important figures in the early Church. He preached boldly about Jesus, even though he had denied knowing him just a few weeks earlier.
Peter learned that it’s never too late to come back to Jesus. No matter how many times we make mistakes, Jesus is always willing to forgive us and help us start over. We just need to be humble enough to admit our mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
Jesus was denied three times, but he still loved Peter and forgave him. Just as Jesus forgives us, we should also forgive others who have wronged us. Let’s remember the story of Peter when we feel like we’ve messed up too badly to be forgiven. We can always start over again, just like Peter did.
