Peter finds after his failure Jesus' question to him is not "How could you have done that?" but "do you love me?" A heart that truly seeks him, he will work with. When we turn to him with honest hearts, we find in our weakness, he is strong. His grace is sufficient for us.
How do we engage our post-Christian culture with humble conviction? We have much to learn about "being the Church in the world" from the Apostle Paul as he speaks to the people of Athens.
At the end of John's gospel, he invites readers to believe in Jesus and to have life in him. Have you?
On Palm Sunday the crowds thrill to hope Jesus will be the Messiah King who'll crush their enemies. On Good Friday, hopes disillusioned, their cry of Crucify makes of him an enemy they will crush. Because they miss the true signs of their trouble, they misdiagnose what is required to fix it. But through the sacrifice of the lamb of God, Jesus made a way to set God's people free no matter what trouble we face.
In John 19 we see Pilate act against his own conscience, and Jewish leaders blasphemously claim Caesar as their king. Both sacrifice what's central to who they are, for what they want more: power. In contrast, Jesus sacrifices power for what he wants more: to fulfill the Father's plan to be Savior for us. A good king offers his power for the sake of his people. How will we as the people of this King, choose to use the power we're given?
What is the truth and how do you know if something is true? The trial of Jesus before Pontious Pilate is the moment of truth for everyone - then and now!
Today as inside Jesus is facing the first of his trials, outside Peter is also facing his own kind of trial, which, with the crowing of the rooster, he's realized he's failed. The hard truth is, it will take the sacrifice of the Son of God to make right what we get wrong- but he is the God of second chances for all who put our trust in him. Sometimes in our failures, we see more of God's power: In our weakness, he is strong!
Before the cross Jesus both spoke and showed his love by washing his disciples' feet, reminding us he wants us to come to him, dirt and all. Jesus isn't afraid of our dirt. As we obey his command to love one another as he loves us, how can we help others to know they also can come to him, dirt and all?
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