Hey Reader,
We are less than two weeks away from the release of Count the Stars, so it is time for some bonus content to whet your appetite (and convince you to pick up the book if you haven't already). In this issue, we look again at how the repetition of numbers in the Bible can show us God's redemptive work throughout Scripture. This time, we see it in the life of Peter.
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Do You Love Me?: Denial and Restoration
The night of Jesus’ arrest is one of the most tragic and disorienting nights in his disciples’ lives. Despite Jesus telling them plainly that he will be betrayed and crucified (and rise again on the third day), they do not see it coming. The Twelve gather together for the Passover meal. Jesus says again that he will be betrayed and that his disciples will all desert him that very night. Jesus says to Peter:
“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your bothers.” And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me” (Luke 22:31-34)
Jesus prophesies that Peter will deny him three times, and three times Peter says that he does not know Jesus. The third time we hear, “But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he is still speaking, the cock crows. The Lord turns and looks at Peter. Then Peter remembers the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “”Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly” (Lk. 22:60-62). It all happens just as Jesus had promised.
Three times is a very specific number. In this instance, it is probably not helpful to try and see how this instance of “three” connects with every other “three” in the Bible, but to ask more specifically, “where else does three appear in the life of Peter?”
The next day after Jesus’ trial and Peter’s denial, Jesus is crucified. Three days later, he rises from the dead. The women find the empty tomb and tell the disciples. Peter races to the tomb and finds it empty. Jesus appears to the disciples over the next days, proving himself to be alive.
However, not long after this, Peter gathers several of the other disciples and they go fishing. Peter had been a fisherman when Jesus told him to leave his nets and follow him (Mt. 4:18-20). Now, having denied Jesus three times, Peter is back to fishing. Some suggest that Peter goes fishing because he wants to be where he first met Jesus, in the hopes of meeting him there again. Yet, I tend to think that Peter has gone back to his old life. He has failed as a disciple. He proclaimed that he would follow Jesus anywhere, even to death, but when the pressure was on, Peter failed.
The whole night, they catch nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stands on the beach and calls for them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Once they do, the net is filled with fish. The disciples realize it is Jesus and head swiftly to shore. Peter doesn’t wait for the boat to get there, for he jumps into the sea in his urgency to see Jesus.
Jesus already has his own breakfast of fish ready and he invites the disciples to join him. During their conversation, the number three repeats. We are told, “This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead” (John 21:14). Most significantly, Jesus asks Peter the same question three times, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15, 16, 17). Why three times? How many times did Peter say that he didn’t know Jesus? How many times does Jesus ask Peter whether he loved him?
I think it is no accident that both events take place three times. This is a story of restoration for Peter. He is still a disciple of Jesus. He may have thought his failure meant that his time as a disciple was done and he should return to his old life and go back to his nets. However, Jesus still has a place for a failed disciple like Peter. Jesus still wants to know if Peter loves him. Jesus still calls Peter. “Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs’” (John 21:15). The presence of the three questions of Jesus connects back to the three denials of Peter. The restoration of Peter is signaled by the same threefold pattern.
Thank You
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From the desk of
Stephen C. Shaffer
Author, Pastor-Theologian
www.penielpress.com
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