Restoring Grace

Your Failure Does Not Have to Be the End of Your Story

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Luke 22:31–34

Oh, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!

How sweet is the Gospel message of God’s saving grace, His undeserved love and kindness toward sinners! It is a call to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, through whom we receive forgiveness for our sins and eternal life with God.

The apostle Peter, who once boldly declared to Jesus that he was willing to die for Him, his Master, friend, and Lord, later denied knowing Him publicly three times, as though he had never even met the man.

Jesus tells Peter that Satan wanted to extinguish the disciples’ faith by sifting them like wheat. What does that mean? Just as wheat is shaken and sifted to separate the grain from the chaff, Satan wanted to shake and test the disciples, including Peter, with the intention of destroying their faith. But Jesus’ intercession kept Peter’s faith from being extinguished. His faith was severely shaken. Yes, he definitely stumbled terribly, but his faith did not ultimately come to an end.

Jesus’ love is shown through His prayer for Peter and His willingness to restore him, which is a beautiful example of restoring grace. God’s grace has the power to heal broken relationships and restore us to fellowship with Him.
In John 21:15–19, the author describes how the resurrected Jesus meets Peter and graciously restores him:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” 

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

What can we learn from this account, and how does God’s grace restore us when we fall?

From Luke’s and John’s accounts, we see how Jesus anticipated Peter’s failure, prayed for him, and later graciously restored and recommissioned him for ministry.

If you have experienced failure, or when you inevitably stumble and fall, and find yourself wondering whether Jesus still loves you, remember Peter’s story and consider the following truths about God’s restoring grace:

1. Do you love me?

Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:17, 25–27), and now he is asked three times, “Do you love me?”

It’s very easy to see the parallel: with three denials come three opportunities to affirm his love. Peter denied Jesus publicly, and now he gets to affirm his love publicly. Peter failed to remain a loyal disciple, even though he had said he was willing to die for the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now Jesus is recommissioning him to shepherd and feed His people.

The repetition wasn’t because Jesus needed to discover whether Peter loved Him. Jesus already knew Peter’s heart.
Rather, the questions gave Peter an opportunity to confront his failure and reaffirm his love for Jesus.

Interestingly, Jesus uses two different Greek words for love in His questions to Peter: in the first two questions he uses agapaō, often associated with self-giving and sacrificial love. The third time, he uses the word phileō, which is often associated with affection or friendship. Peter responds with phileō all three times. Some biblical scholars believe this distinction is significant, while others question whether it is intentional, particularly because John uses these words interchangeably elsewhere in his Gospel.

While we cannot be certain whether the distinction is intentional, what is clear is that Jesus was calling Peter to reaffirm his love for Him.

If you feel that God is questioning your faithfulness and love for Him, it’s not because He doesn’t already know your heart. It’s to reveal it to you. And while He may confront and correct you, He does so not to condemn you, but to draw you near to Him in repentance and faith.

Jesus is not looking for robotic rule-followers, but for people who follow and obey Him because their hearts are filled with love for the Saviour of the world. He tells His followers, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).

As Timothy Keller beautifully put it, “The gospel says, ‘God loves and accepts me, therefore I want to obey.’”

2. Restoring Grace Leads Us Through Godly Grief

“Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’” (John 21:17).
The Greek word translated as “hurt” communicates grief or sorrow.

We could say there are at least two possible reasons why Peter felt grief:
First, because Jesus’ third question may have reminded Peter of his three denials, especially that painful moment after his third denial when Jesus turned and looked straight at him, and Peter went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:61–62).

Second, Peter may have felt that Jesus’ repeated questioning was calling into question the sincerity of his love and repentance.

But it’s good to take note of Peter’s final response: “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” This is very different from his response to Jesus before his denial, when he said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will” (Matthew 26:33).

Peter did not make any more grand declarations about his own faithfulness. Instead, he appealed to Jesus’ perfect knowledge of his heart.

Before his failure, Peter was confident in himself and what he could do for Jesus. After his failure, he came to realize how desperately he needed Jesus.

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Psalm 51:17

How desperately do you need Jesus?
And if you have failed Him and put your confidence in yourself, is your godly sorrow leading you to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10)?

And remember, God’s grace doesn’t leave us in our grief but draws us through repentance back to Christ, who desires that our joy may be complete (John 15:11) and gives us His peace (John 14:27).

3. Your Failure Does Not Have to Be the End of Your Story

Peter had denied Jesus, yet the risen Christ and Lord of life had not rejected him. Instead, Jesus confronted Peter, invited him to reaffirm his love, and entrusted him with caring for His people, the Church for whom He died.

In Luke 22:31–32, Jesus had already told Peter, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Even before Peter fell, Jesus was speaking of his restoration and future ministry.
This is a vivid picture of restoring grace.
Peter’s sin was not ignored, excused, or minimized. But neither did Jesus allow Peter’s failure to define his future.

And don’t miss how Jesus ends His conversation with Peter: “Follow me!” (John 21:19). Jesus had called Peter to follow Him from the very beginning. As Jesus Himself told His disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). His calling of them was never based on their perfect faithfulness. And now, even after Peter had failed Him, Jesus was still calling him to follow.

Without sugarcoating what following Him would mean, Jesus had just foretold the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God (John 21:18–19).

This same Peter, who had failed so spectacularly, would later boldly preach Christ on the day of Pentecost, when about 3,000 people came to faith (Acts 2:41). And according to early Christian tradition, Peter would eventually give his life for Christ, with later accounts describing his crucifixion upside down.

We all have failures in our past and will experience failures in our future. But what’s important is to know the One who never fails and whose grace draws us back to Him in repentance and restores us.

So don’t let sin, failure, or shame define your worth, your life, or your future. Instead, turn to the God whose grace saves, restores, and transforms you. And as you continue to follow Him, remember that He first loved you, called you, and has promised never to leave or forsake you.

Let His grace, not your failures, have the final word in your story.