Restoration & Power
When You've Blown It: How Jesus Restores Broken People
Have you ever felt like you've gone too far? Like you've messed up so badly that there's no coming back? Maybe you've drifted so far from where you once were spiritually that you wonder if you'll ever find your way back. If that's you, I want to tell you about one of the most powerful restoration stories in all of Scripture — and why I believe it has everything to do with where you are right now.
We're starting a new series called Encounters, and over the next several weeks, we're going to be looking at people's encounters with Jesus in the Bible — how those encounters affected them, changed their lives, and what effect it had when they came face to face with the living King of Kings. Today, we're starting with Peter.
Why Peter?
I love Peter. He was always ready to jump in, do whatever — a lot of times he didn't think about what he was doing, but he just went and did it. And I believe Peter probably had one of the most recorded encounters with Jesus in the entire Bible.
Peter had a front row seat to the life of Christ. He was there for the large catch of fish — so many fish they almost sank the boat. He was there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11), when Jesus fed the 5,000 (John 6), when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain and Peter saw Moses and Elijah standing there. He saw Jesus give sight to the blind, make the deaf hear, and the lame walk. He saw Jesus calm a storm with just his words — "Peace, be still" — and the winds and waves obeyed. He even got out of the boat and walked on water himself.
And yet — Peter denied Christ. Three times.
If anyone should have had the faith to hold on, it was Peter. But he didn't. And maybe that's exactly why his story matters so much to us.
We've All Been There
Some of us might say, "Well, I've never denied Christ." But the truth is, in some way or another, we've all denied Christ when we sin. Because when we sin, what we're doing is saying, I trust more in what I believe or what I think or what I feel in this moment than what the Word of God says. In some way or another, we've all been there.
Peter's failure came from a combination of things we can all recognize — pride, fear of what people thought, doubt, and insecurity. He had even boldly declared, "I will never deny you. If I have to die for you, I will do that." And yet, Proverbs 16:18 warns us, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall." We are all vulnerable. Every single one of us.
But here's the thing — the story isn't really about Peter denying Jesus. The story is about how Jesus restored him.
Jesus Pursued Peter
After the resurrection, Peter had gone back to his old life. Back to fishing. Back to what was comfortable, what he knew. And that's what we do, isn't it? When something's going on in our life, we drift back to the old things.
But Jesus showed up on the shore. He went out of his way to find Peter. And that's what I want you to understand — Jesus is pursuing you. Psalm 23:6 tells us that his goodness and mercy are pursuing you all the days of your life. Revelation 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If you will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in as friends and have a meal with you." And in Luke 15:4-7, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd who will leave the 99 to go after the one.
Jesus is more concerned with your heart than he is with the sin. Think about that. Because Jesus knows that if you get the heart right, the sin will cease.
Jesus Was Already Praying for Peter
Before Peter even knew what was about to happen, Jesus had already been interceding for him. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers."
He was already praying. Already interceding. Romans 8:34 tells us that Jesus "is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us." And 1 John 2:1 says, "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous."
You have a Savior who is praying for you right now.
Jesus Set the Table
When Peter arrived at the shore in John 21, he found Jesus had already prepared breakfast — fish cooking over a charcoal fire and some bread. Now here's something that stopped me in my tracks. That charcoal fire is only mentioned in one other place in all of Scripture. In John 18:17-18, when Peter denied Jesus — there was a charcoal fire burning there too.
I believe Jesus was intentional about that. You know how a campfire gets into your clothes, your senses — the smell, the warmth, the sound of the crackling? All five senses are involved. I believe Jesus wanted Peter, the next time he was near a charcoal fire, to remember not his denial, but his restoration. That's how much Jesus loves us. He was willing to recreate that environment so that Peter's senses would now be tied to healing, not shame.
Psalm 23 tells us he sets a table in the presence of our enemies. And Romans 2:4 tells us it's his kindness that leads us to repentance.
"Do You Love Me?"
After breakfast, Jesus asked Peter a question — not once, but three times (John 21:15-17): "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Notice what Jesus didn't ask. He didn't say, "Peter, why did you deny me? After everything you saw? After everything I did?" He could have. But he didn't. He just asked, "Do you love me?"
I believe Jesus was asking, Do you love me more than fishing? More than the money from those 153 fish? More than your reputation? More than anything else in the world? Because when we love Jesus with all of our heart, our actions follow. Matthew 10:37-39 puts it plainly: "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine... If you cling to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it."
That's the call on each of our lives. He wants our devotion. He wants everything.
He Restored Peter to His Calling
Three times Jesus asked the question. Three times Peter answered. And three times Jesus responded with purpose: "Feed my lambs... Take care of my sheep... Feed my sheep." Three — the number of completion. Jesus wanted Peter to be completely restored, completely turned from his failure, and sent forward in power.
And here's what I want you to hear: God has a calling on your life too. It's really simple — love God and love people. That calling is right where you are. Students, he wants to use you in your school. Those of you in the workforce, he wants to use you in your workplace. Ephesians 2:10 says, "You are God's masterpiece. You are created to do good works, which God has planned in advance for you to do."
He sees you not for what you are, but for what you can become.
Putting It Into Practice
So what do we do with all of this? Here are the steps I see Jesus walking Peter through — and the steps I believe he's walking you through today:
1. Know that Jesus is pursuing you. You don't have to find your way back alone. He's already at the shore, calling your name.
2. Ask what you need to sacrifice. That charcoal fire and those fish — I believe it symbolized Peter's old life being laid down. What is your "fishing" — the old thing you keep going back to? Matthew 10:39 says, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it, but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."
3. Repent and reaffirm your love for him. Repentance isn't just saying sorry — it's turning from the things pulling you away from him and turning your life back over to him. Like Peter, sometimes the most powerful thing we can say is simply, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you."
4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. After Peter was restored, he received the power of the Holy Spirit — and preached his first message, and 3,000 people were saved that day. That was the beginning of the church. We need his power, not our own strength.
5. Pursue your calling. Get back to what God has asked you to do. Right where you are.
Maybe you're saying, I'm too far gone. I've lost that fire. I don't know how to get back. I want to close with these words from 1 Peter 5:10-11, written by Peter himself — the man who denied Jesus and was fully restored: "In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you. And he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever."
Jesus is at the shore. He's already got the fire going. And he's calling you back.