A Restored Spirit

After Peter denied having known Jesus, much less being discipled by him for three years, and after Jesus’ arrest and trial and crucifixion, and even after seeing the empty tomb, Peter went back home—confused probably, in despair undeniably, and without purpose understandably. Surrounded by his buddies one day, he said to them, “I am going fishing.”¹ Perhaps not knowing what else to do with himself, he returned to his old lifestyle. His friends gladly joined him and “they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”¹

And then the most amazing thing happened. Jesus came looking for them! The story is beautifully poetic in that it is a replica of the first time Jesus called those guys to follow him. At the outset of Jesus’ ministry, “he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.”²

So here Jesus is again after having risen from the dead. Peter and his buddies are fishing and Jesus stood on the shore and “said to them, ‘Children, do you have any fish?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So, they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.”³ And John told Peter, “It is the Lord!”⁴

Knowing they would be in despair after his crucifixion, Jesus went looking for his disciples, specifically Peter. They ate breakfast together and in their deeply personal conversation about love and forgiveness, Jesus restored Peter’s spirit and gave him purpose once again. He told Peter, “Feed my sheep.”⁵ And his instructions were simple: “Follow me.”⁶

The most interesting thing about that conversation is that Jesus’ question to Peter, “Do you love me?”⁷ was rhetorical. Jesus never doubted Peter’s love for him, but Peter did. He felt he was not worthy to serve Jesus anymore. Although Peter questioned himself after that night, Jesus never did. Peter needed to believe in what Jesus had told him earlier, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”⁸ That’s how Jesus still saw Peter—as the rock. Jesus restored Peter’s spirit with that gentle confrontation and reminded him that the plan was still the plan.

When we fail, when we are humbled and broken because of our sin, we often wonder if we can ever be of use again. We question ourselves. God does not. He will not ever lead us to believe that we are unlovable because we have let him down. In fact, he expects us to let him down. We are strugglers, and the battle between our old and new nature will continue until we reach the kingdom of heaven.

When we are led astray, by our own doing or someone else’s, God waits for us with outstretched arms like the father of the prodigal son. While the broken son “was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”⁹ God loves us in spite of our sin and longs to restore our broken spirit.

¹John 21:3   ²Luke 5:4-6   ³John 21:5-6   ⁴John 21:7   ⁵John 21:17   ⁶John 21:19   ⁷John 21:16   ⁸Matthew 16:18-19   ⁹Luke 15:20