As Jesus hung on the cross he was hardly recognizable. He was badly
beaten and bruised. His body was covered in his own blood. You could see
his skeleton through his torn and shattered skin. They had beat him so
bad. One may not have known he was Jesus- but Peter knew. He knew those
eyes. Sure his eyes were swollen, bruised, and discolored, but Peter knew
they belonged to Jesus. How could he ever forget those eyes?
They are the eyes which three years earlier had looked upon him and
called him to be a disciple. They're the eyes which shone with laughter
as he joked with Peter. Those eyes had been filled with pride when Peter
proudly proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God. Those eyes looked
through Simon and his past and renamed him Peter, the rock, the man he
had the potential to be. Many times Jesus' eyes gave a little roll when
Peter made one of his infamously idiotic statements. Those eyes burned
with Holy anger when Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple.
Those eyes shone with the glory of God on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Peter saw love and compassion in Jesus' eyes as he ministered to the sick
and the needy. Those same eyes turned in a stinging rebuke to Peter when
he told Jesus not speak of his death. Just days earlier, the same eyes
filled with tears as Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. Those were
Jesus' eyes... they were the eyes of Peter's best friend.

As Peter looked upon Jesus on the cross, his own eyes filled with tears.
While those eyes have portrayed all those things to Peter, this is not
what Peter was thinking about. He was thinking of how in the past 24
hours, he had betrayed his closest and dearest friend.
" He warned me! Why didn't I listen?"

This was true, for Jesus had warned Peter that he was to undergo a
satanic attack. Jesus knew that an all out affront on the kingdom of God
was about to commence. As the forces of evil prepared destroy Jesus,
Satan also requested to take his best shot at Peter, the man Jesus had
appointed to lead the church after he was gone. Jesus warned Peter of the
coming attack. " Why didn't I listen!" Peter must have thought. " I was
so confident that I could withstand. I would die with my best friend if
need be; but I will never, ever turn my back on him. "

This was the attitude that opened Peter up to the attack. It was the
Simon in him, the old man, which caused his downfall. Little did he know
that this was why God allowed Satan to attack him. Sating needed to kill
Simon so Peter could become all that God wanted him to be. But as Peter
looked at Jesus on the cross, he didn't know this. All he knew was that
he had failed his best friend.

" He warned me to pray for strength," Peter surely thought. And this was
true. In the garden of Gethsemane, a place where Jesus often went, Jesus
warned Peter to pray so he wouldn't give in to temptation. In his cocky
ignorance Peter didn't pray. He slept. Jesus kept waking him, but Peter
kept falling back asleep. That is, until they came.

Peter was awakened by an angry mob of people. They came ready to fight.
They were here to arrest Jesus; how dare they! No one messes with Peter's
best friend. He quickly drew his sword and swung at the man nearest to
him, attempting to cut off his head, but instead the sword severed his
ear. At that point, Jesus' eyes burned as he turned to Peter and told him
to put away his sword. Peter was dumbfounded as Jesus took the severed
ear and restored it to the man. Peter did not realize that this was the
last miracle he would see Jesus perform before his death. He did not
understand that no blood but Jesus' blood could be shed that night. All
he knew was his best friend was in trouble.

As the angry mob led Jesus away, Peter faithfully followed behind them.
At first he had run away, but now he was following secretly behind the
angry crowd. He needed to somehow help his best friend. How he did not
know, but help he must. Little did he know he was not just following
Jesus. The Simon in him was preparing to enter the wheat sift.
The mob led Jesus in the high priest courtyard for his trial, and Peter
followed. At first, Peter couldn't get inside, but John, his good friend
and fellow disciple, had also followed Jesus. Since John had connections
with the high priest, he got someone to let Peter enter. Peter went to a
fire to get warm and see what would become of his friend.
How could Peter stand to be around the very people who were cursing and
reviling his best friend? What business did he have with them? He had
been warned by Jesus that Satan was after him. Did he not realize that
this was not just a fire to warm him? It was the opening satan needed for
the fierce attack about to be leveled against Peter. Now it will begin.
As Peter warned himself, he noticed a girl at the door looking at him.
"This man was with him," she said.
Peter had been discovered. Now what? Maybe he thought what good could he
do for
Jesus if he was captured too? In a panic, he said," Girl, I don't know
him. "
Without realizing what he had done to his best friend, a panicking Simon,
( for this was certainly not the behavior of a Peter, a rock) quickly got
up and made his way to a balcony. Satan had successfully delivered his
first blow to Peter.

Peter moved to the balcony to avoid the notice of the people, but to no
avail. " He was with him," a voice proclaimed.
Peter stopped dead in his tracks. " I am not with him," Peter proclaimed.
Deeper and further into sin and denial went Peter. It was getting easier
to speak the lie. The words were coming out easier than at first.
Peter was knee deep in the wheat sifter. Satan was slowly showing the
world that Peter was no rock. He was an ordinary man. He cared for no one
but his own hide. He wasn't about to pick up a cross and follow Jesus. He
would never surrender himself for the good of the kingdom. Church, world,
behold the man who was picked to lead you after Jesus. If he betrayed his
best friend, what would he do to them. There was no Peter...there was
Simon.

Satan prepared for the final blow. He was about to finish Simon off.
About an hour later, Peter ran into the cousin of the man whose ear he
had cut off. " You were with him," the man proclaimed. Peter has had
enough. " By the name of God, I did not know him!" Peter then proclaimed
a few expletives to prove his point. At that moment, the rooster crowed.
Peter stopped in his tracks and looked at Jesus, only to meet the eyes of
his best friend staring back at him.

One look from Jesus told Peter everything he need to know. Best friends
have a way of doing this. They can look at each other and know what the
other was thinking. Did Jesus' look betray hurt, disgust, and I-told
you-so look? Was it a look of sympathy? Did it say, "I know you have
fallen under Satan's hand?" Was it a look of love and understanding? More
than likely, it was a tender and compassionate look, a look of mingled
affection, pity, and reproof. Whatever the look, it pierced Peter," the
rock" and shattered him into tiny pebbles. He was broken. But much to
Satan's dismay, something remained. . . a small grain of faith, for Peter
immediately repented. Sobbing and beating his chest he begged God for
forgiveness. He knew true conviction, shame, heart sorrow, and he begged
God for a new start. What made Peter feel he had the right to do this to
his best friend. Jesus' look brought all of Jesus' words back to Peter.
Included in those words was " When you have repented. . . " He was going
to do this. He had to make things right, for as he had said months before
to Jesus, "Where else do I have to go?" Peter had sought forgiveness.
Now a few hours later Peter was standing there by the cross. Tears wet
his cheeks again as he stood before his best friend on the cross. Jesus'
eyes now seemed less lifelike. Peter's best friend slowly and painfully
fought to speak. " It. . . Is. . . Finished!" Jesus proclaimed in a voice
which was unusually strong for a man in his physical condition. Then he
closed his eyes and died.

Peter wept. His best friend was dead. He never got a chance to make it
right. The last intimate moment he spent with his best friend was a
moment that in Peter's eyes severed the relationship. Those last three
words burned in his heart. He thought," He is gone, and it truly is
finished."
But was it?

It was the dawn of a new day in Galilee. The early morning rays of light
crept up over the horizon. The early morning sun light revealed a sign
hung on the door of a house. It was Peter's house. The sign read "Gone
fishin'". Peter was back to the sea. He needed to get away to think, to
clear his head, to mull over the events of the past few weeks.
As he and a few of the other disciples did their fishing, Peter's
thoughts went back over all the ups and downs of the past few weeks.
Constantly before him was fact that he had denied his best friend. This
was the second lowest point of it all. It still broke his heart as
remembered the eyes of Jesus which both gently rebuked and at the same
time expressed the great love he had for Peter. His eyes still filled
with tears as he heard daily the sound of a rooster crowing. Then there
was the lowest point of it all. . . When he had watched his best friend
die. He felt the wrenching pain of loss, the loneliness, the heartache.
For three days he wept the loss of his best friend.

Then, early Sunday morning, Mary came running to him with a message. She
excitedly and a bit hysterically announced Jesus was alive! She claimed
He'd spoken to her and told her to go and tell the others... especially
Peter, that He was alive. Peter didn't know what to think. His logic told
him it was impossible, but yet his heart burned with hope and excitement
within him. He had to know. For first time in three days his denial of
Jesus was not the only thing on his mind. He wanted to see Jesus. He
wanted to see his best friend.

Off he ran toward the tomb with his good friend John. John, who had
always been faster than Peter, ran ahead. as Peter ran full speed toward
the tomb, he thought, "Could it really be true?"

As they came to the tomb they found exactly what Mary had told them. John
stood at the entrance looking at the tomb, but in true Peter form, Peter
walked right in and examined the contents. The grave clothes were exactly
as they had been, but they were hollow! No body was wrapped inside. The
head cover was neatly folded. No man could have stolen the body without
disturbing the grave clothes. It must be true. Jesus must have risen!
Not long after this Peter and the other disciples were all meeting
together. Some were afraid of the Pharisees, so the door were locked. All
the sudden, Jesus appeared among them! He was alive! Peter was
face-to-face with his best friend. Jesus calmed all of their fears by
showing them He truly was alive and not a ghost. He even ate some fish
with them. Then he took them step-by-step through the Old Testament and
showed them all the prophecy he had fulfilled. He breathed on them,
giving them the Holy Spirit. He even answered the doubts of Thomas by
letting them feel his hands and feet. It was true... Peter's best friend
really was alive.

As Peter remembered these things, a tear fell from his eye. It was dried
by the cool sea breeze, but Peter didn't notice. His mind drifted back to
his last meeting with Jesus. Jesus had come to Peter to cheer him, to
assure him that his sin had been forgiven, and to let him know he still
loved him. They were still friends. Jesus wanted to comfort his friend.
Peter now knew a new exhilarating feeling... the feeling of being
forgiven.

Peter had plenty of time to mull all of this over, for they had not
caught a fish the whole time. Little did he know he is about to relive a
memory from a few years earlier.
" Have you caught anything?" a voice from a shore yelled out.
" No " came the reply from the group of tired fishermen.
" Throw your net to the other side of the boat" the voice replied.

A bit of deja vu was happening here. They obediently threw the net to the
other side. Instantly, it was full of fish. John was the first to realize
what was going on. " It is the Lord!" He excitedly exclaimed.
That was all Peter needed to hear. He quickly grabbed his coat and in
true Peter fashion jumped out of the boat and into the water. He had to
be near Jesus.

Since they weren't far from the shore, all disciples arrived in the boat
at the same time as Peter. They arrived to find Jesus had built a fire
and had already prepared some fish and bread for them. They ate together
just like old times. Jesus truly was alive.

After the meal, Jesus asked Peter to take a walk with him. Jesus, knowing
all things, knew Peter was in need of some attention. He had a wound deep
in his heart, and Jesus was going to operate on him to heal him.
Turning to Peter, Jesus said " Peter do you love me and are you willing
to sacrifice yourself out of love for me even more than these?" With the
hands of a skilled physician, Jesus made his first incision. Peter
understood what Jesus was doing. He was making Peter remember the bold
profession he had made just before he denied Jesus. When Jesus had
predicted his denial, Peter proudly proclaimed, " Even if all men are
offended by you, I'll never be offended." The healing was under way.
Jesus was making Peter face His sin. Peter had to look at his heart. An
answer had to be made.

" Lord, you know I love you." Peter was not about to bring the others
into it. He loved Jesus, but he had denied him. Yet he knew that Jesus
knew that he loved him. Peter was well aware of his faults now. Any aura
of pride was gone. Peter knew he was no better than anyone else. Jesus
knew this too, for he said to Peter, " Feed my sheep." Peter was to
furnish food for the souls of the believers to come. The puss in Peter's
infected heart was being removed. It was time for the next incision.
" Simon, do you truly love me?" Jesus asked. He was saying, " Simon, do
you love me ardently and supremely?" Peter, knowing enough not to rely on
his own heart, thoughts, feelings, and emotions again appealed to his all
knowing Savior and said, " Lord, you know I have love for you."

Peter was not going to fall into a trap of pride and conceit again. Jesus
was going to have to see inside of him to know that he loved him, for
Jesus knew his heart better than anyone, even Peter. Jesus said to
Peter,"Feed my sheep." He was charging him to be faithful in caring for
and guiding the future believers. Peter's heart was now ready for the
final incision.

"Peter, are you my friend?" The incision was made, the puss revealed.
Jesus had a way of getting to the heart of the matter. Peter had denied
his best friend three times. Jesus now gave him a chance to three times
proclaim his allegiance to Jesus and re-instate their deep friendship.
Remember, this was not an attack to show Peter his guilt. Jesus had
already appeared to Peter and expressed his forgiveness. This is about
making Peter face His pass and forgive himself so that he could become
the rock that Jesus had called him to be. Peter had been humbled, and
Jesus was showing him how he had been humbled, how it had affected his
mind, and how it had prepared him for the future ministry.

"Are you my friend?" The words cut straight to Peter's heart. There it
was. He had to face himself. Three times he had denied his best friend.
He knew it. Jesus knew it. Peter's faults were out in the open. He had to
face it. He had to be made aware that he had fallen. The past had to be
dealt with before there could be a future.
" Jesus, you know I love you," was the reply from the broken hearted
Peter. And this was true. He did love Jesus.

Jesus went on to show Peter why these things had to be addressed. He was
still Jesus' man. Jesus still believed in him. He was still the right man
for the job. But Peter had to know that it was not his own strength, his
own passion, his own feelings that would endure the future struggles. It
could only be done through Jesus. Peter knew that in himself he would
fall, so he had to rely on Jesus and His strength. In his weakness, Jesus
would make him strong.

Jesus was once again calling him to follow Him. The impetuous Simon would
no longer jump ahead and do it in his own power. Peter, the rock, would
follow behind Jesus, knowing that without Jesus, the rock could easily be
blown into pebbles. From that moment on, Peter, through the power of the
Holy Spirit, became the most firm and unwavering of all the apostles. He
was the rock that the church was founded on. He preached boldly, bringing
thousands to Christ after Pentecost. He boldly proclaimed the truth
before the leaders who just months before he had hid in a locked house
from. He endured prison, beatings, the murder of his wife on the cross
before his very eyes, and even his own death upon the cross. He was able
to do it all because of his love and dependence on Jesus, his best
friend. It was not finished as he earlier had thought. He would live
forever with his Lord, his Savior, his best friend.

Send This To A Friend