“And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He said unto him, Before the cock crow, you will deny me three times. 62. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Luke 22:61-62
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. 4. Saying , I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? You see to it. 5. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and went and hanged himself.” Matthew 27:3-5 In these two brief passages we get a glimpse into the lives of two men and how they reacted to their treatment of Jesus. Immediately after Peter’s last denial of Jesus, Luke records that Jesus looked at him, and Peter remembered what Jesus said about his denying him three times. At that point Peter “went out and wept bitterly.” This means that Peter saw the error of his way and wept in deep sorrow. On the other hand, Judas saw the error of his way and went out and hanged himself. These are two basic ways that people handle their disappointments in themselves. Let’s look at these two reactions. From all that we know about Peter, he did not just go out and cry about what he had done. Evidently, he repented, picked up the pieces and went on about the ministry to which Jesus had called him. The best illustration of this took place a few days after the ascension of Jesus. This man, Peter, who denied knowing Jesus, bravely stood and preached Jesus to the masses that were in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost. Remember, the incident was still fresh in the minds of the people who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter could have been in trouble with them for his brave sermon. A few days after that, because of the healing of the crippled man at the “beautiful gate,” Peter and John were arrested and were told not to preach Jesus anymore. Here was Peter’s reaction to that demand in Acts 4:19-20: “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” There are many more evidences of Peter’s recovery from that bad moment in his life, but what I have shared illustrates the point that Peter was not defeated by his moment of weakness. We need to learn this lesson from Peter that when we fall, the best thing that we can do is get up and go again. Remember that it is Satan, our accuser, who will keep us in the doldrums, and keep us from serving the Lord. Whatever has happened in your life, if you repented and asked forgiveness, you can still make yourself available to serve the Lord in your family, your church, and your community. There is no doubt about what we learn from Judas, for he could not do good or ill, because he took his own life. Not everyone who reacts to their sins like Judas go out and kill themselves, but because they give up they become useless to God, to themselves and to others. We need to remember that our God is a forgiving God. Yes, I am telling you that if Judas had repented and turned from his sin, he could have been forgiven. Before you give up, remember that our God is a forgiving God. It might not be sin that has stalled your growth, but bad things that are happening in your life. If you have overcome these bad things, you have won, and Satan will not have gained a foothold and a victory in your life. Whatever it is that you are dealing with at this time, do not throw up your hands, give up and become useless. Like Peter, you need to turn from dismay and discouragement and turn to the Lord for His forgiveness and encouragement and you will surely find it. This is the kind of God we serve and we need to remember it. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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