Plot Twist Week 6

When we mess up, Jesus gives us a second chance.

[INTRODUCTION]

Welcome to our final week of Plot Twist! For the last several weeks we've been talking about twists, turns, surprises, and all sorts of unexpected things.

Sometimes the plot twists we face are beyond our control. They're things that just happen to us.

Sometimes our plot twists are totally in our control — in a good way! Maybe we make a big decision, take a risk, or try something new that changes the course of our lives forever.

And sometimes . . . well, sometimes we cause our own plot twists accidentally — in a not-so-great way. As we wrap up this series today, I want to talk about the times when we screw up our own plots with accidents, mistakes, mess-ups, and failures.

Mess-ups come in all shapes and sizes, so tell me, on a scale of 1-5, how embarrassing would these accidental "plot twists" be? Give me a 1 if you would be fine if the whole world knew about this and a 5 if you can't imagine anything more humiliating.

You finally get the courage to text your crush and they leave you on read.

You show up to school and realize you are wearing the same outfit as your best friend.

You try to text your friend about another friend who annoyed you, but you accidentally text that friend instead.

Someone cute sees you picking your nose.

You wait outside a store waiting forever for the automatic door to open, only to find out it's not automatic at all.

You realize you've had food in your teeth for at least three classes.

It can be pretty embarrassing to mess up, but it's bound to happen to all of us eventually.

Our mess-ups have real-life consequences for us and often for the people around us. We don't mean to hurt ourselves or others (at least, not all the time), but we often find ourselves being hurtful anyway.

Maybe right now you're thinking of some of your own mistakes that still make you cringe with guilt or embarrassment.

Maybe you're thinking about someone who hurt you recently with one of their mess-ups (accidental or not).

Either way, we all know what it's like when someone messes up. And sometimes it's hard to fix the damage done when that happens.

[TRANSITION]

For the last few weeks, we've been following the stories of Jesus' last days here on Earth.

A few weeks ago, we shared the story of Judas betraying Jesus, along with the crowd of people who demanded his execution. But there was actually a third betrayal that night.

It was one thing for Jesus to be betrayed by a crowd of people who barely know him. It was worse to be betrayed by Judas, one of his friends who he had invested in for years. But this third betrayal came from one of Jesus' very best friends — a disciple named Peter.

While this might seem like a plot twist to us, it wasn't surprising to Jesus. Shortly before Jesus was arrested, he predicted Peter would walk away from him in his darkest hour.

Jesus told Peter this to his face and, of course, Peter rejected this prediction with his whole heart. He assured Jesus he would die before turning his back on his friend.

But when Jesus was arrested, Peter messed up. Three times, someone asked if he was friends with Jesus, but Peter was afraid to incriminate himself. Three times, he said, "I don't know the guy." Three times.

As soon as he realized what he'd done, Peter was horrified and ashamed. He must have been replaying his own words over and over again, feeling so embarrassed and defeated by his inability to stand up for his friend when he was needed.

When Jesus was sentenced to death, Peter probably thought he had failed Jesus during his final conversation with him. But, of course, we now know the plot twist of Jesus' resurrection meant Peter had another opportunity to face his friend.

John 21:15-19

When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Feed my lambs,” he told him.

A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”

“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.

He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

“Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

“Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”

He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

If Jesus were more like me, this is the part where he would have called Peter out for being disloyal, betraying their friendship, and leaving him hanging when he needed him most. And who would've blamed him?

None of us have ever been in Peter's exact situation, but we all know what it's like to really mess up and let somebody we love down. We've all . . .

Disappointed a parent, teacher, coach, or team and knew we'd have to face them afterward.

Broken something valuable and knew we'd have to explain what happened.

Said something hurtful to a friend we really loved.

We've felt the weight of wondering how the person we hurt will respond when they see us again. Will they be mad at us forever? Will they never speak to us again? Will they humiliate us in front of everyone?

That might be something we do, but it's not something Jesus does. Instead . . .

Jesus shared a meal with Peter.

Jesus forgave Peter.

And Jesus gave Peter another chance.

Jesus chose to forgive Peter in a pretty beautiful and strategic way.

Three times, Peter had denied knowing Jesus on the night of his execution.

So, three times, Jesus extended the invitation for Peter to make it right.

Forgiving someone doesn't always mean the relationship goes back to the way it was, though. Sometimes a relationship is just too broken to go back to the way things were. Not so with Jesus, though.

Jesus forgave Peter.

Jesus picked up right where they had left off.

And then Jesus invited Peter to have even more of a role in Jesus' mission than he'd had before.

Just like Jesus knew Peter would deny him, Jesus knew Peter would play a crucial role in building the Church and spreading the good news of Jesus when Jesus was gone.

[TRANSITION]

After Peter made things right with Jesus, he went on to be one of the most important leaders of the early church.

One of the ways Peter "[fed Jesus'] sheep" was by leading and caring for Jesus' followers through letters.

Like other apostles at the time, Peter wrote letters to growing communities of believers to encourage and teach them.

1 Peter 2:23–25 (CSB)

when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep and Peter never forgot it. In this letter, Peter explained that all people, himself included, were like sheep going astray from our Shepherd, Jesus.

Maybe we're sheep who get distracted or make wrong turns. Or maybe we're sheep who were feeling a little rebellious and tried to make it on our own. Either way, Peter says we're like sheep wandering in the wilderness.

Sheep can't really defend themselves. So a lost sheep is at risk from all sorts of threats and is in desperate need of finding the safety of their flock and their shepherd again.

I wonder if Peter was thinking about the night when he betrayed Jesus when he wrote this. On the worst night of his life, his fear led him to make a bad decision. That one bad decision, as far as Peter knew, could have left him lost and distant from the person who had loved him and given him purpose.

When Peter failed Jesus, he may have worried he'd never be able to get right with Jesus again. Maybe you've felt that way before too. But with Jesus,

when we mess up, Jesus gives us another chance.