Matthew 27:3-5 & John 21:15-17 "Who do you turn to?"

When things go wrong, how do you fix it? Who do you take your troubles to?
Today I want to look at two famous figures in Jesus life; Peter and Judas.

First, Judas. After his betrayal of the man he saw as a teacher, Judas tries to make things right by going back to the Pharisees.

Matthew 27:3-5
When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”
“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”
Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

An ignominious end for Judas. His appeal to the earthly powers that be fell of deaf, uncaring ears.

Now Peter. Peter has denied Jesus and feels ashamed of his actions. And yet, when Jesus returns, Peter goes to Him.

John 21:15-17
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Peter finds his reconciliation in Jesus, the very one he denied. And I don't think it's a coincidence that Jesus asks him three times. Each time redeems Peter for a denial. I don't think it needed to be three times for him to be forgiven, but it links these two events together.

When times get tough and we stumble, which we all do from time to time, to whom should we go to seek forgiveness? To the One who died for us to give us salvation and life everlasting. To Jesus.

It can be hard to do at times because we feel ashamed, but these are the times we need Him most.

Do you have a story you'd like to share about going to Jesus? Leave a comment below and share it with us all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mark 4:3-20 (The Sower...)

Image
Fear of the unknown; Of discomfort; Of having to give up the things I enjoy. I know I'll be better off if I truly surrender to Him, but I'm a stubborn young man. I want what I have that keeps me comfortable. And I want what God has for me too! Mark 4:3-9 With last week's post , I looked at the parable of the sower, but only the last line. The focus being on hearing and listening. This week I'm going to focus on the parable itself and the explanation that followed. “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they...
Read more

Genesis 37:5-8 "I had a dream..."

Image
Long before Martin Luther King Jr had his dream, there was someone who had dreams that foretold great things. However, Joseph's dreams weren't very popular with his family and friends. Check out Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the brothers reactions:  Joseph's Dreams Genesis 37:5-7 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. Joseph is a really important person in the early bible. His story connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. His story is found in Genes...
Read more

Anger: Did Jesus sin?

Image
Sometimes I get angry. Something happens, and the red fog descends. I’ve been known to get very angry, very quickly, and often with little or no reason for it. I even get angry at people for doing something to me, that I do to them. Ahh the joy of double standards... And so this has raised a question in my mind; If anger is a sin, how come God and Jesus got angry? Saint Augustine said: “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they don’t remain the way they are.” To be honest, I’ve never considered anger to be a thing of beauty. When I think of anger, I think of myself not being rational, being violent, shouting, and saying or doing things I’d never normally do. And all too often I do these things to the ones I love. So what’s different about how I get angry, and how Jesus got angry? Let’s take a look at Matthew 21:12-13: Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying...
Read more