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This passage recounts Peter's denial of Christ, despite his proud assertion that he would never do so. No one was closer to Jesus than Peter, and yet he still ended up betraying him. Overcome with guilt and grief from his great failure, we see in Luke 22:62 that Peter "went out and wept bitterly."
There are two ways in which we can read the Bible:
- We can read the Bible and think, "What bad behavior am I supposed to avoid?"
- We can read the Bible and think, "How does this passage point me to Christ? How is God going to work through the sinner in this case? Where is the gospel?" The truth is, failures magnify Christ.
In Luke 22:31-34, we see that even though Jesus has already prayed for Peter (that his faith would not fail), he still gives Satan permission to sift Peter like wheat. In other words, Jesus allows Peter to betray him. Verse 32 gives the purpose for this: to humble and refine Peter so that after he comes back, he will know how to encourage other Christians ("when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."). We see this coming to fruition later in Acts when Peter is indeed a strong leader who is able to lead and emphasize with the weaknesses/failures of others, most likely because of his own personal failure from having denied Christ.
Additionally, we see in John 21:15-17 that Jesus is the one who initiates the mending of their relationship, even though he was the one who was betrayed. Jesus is the one who pursues Peter, Jesus is the one who forgives Peter, and Jesus is the one who restores Peter to ministry.
We will fail in our spiritual walks. We will sin, fall into temptation, and love our idols over and over again. But it is not up to us to fix up our lives so that we're good enough for God. No, Jesus is the one who forgives us and restores us.
