How Jesus Sees You

Have you ever disappointed someone?
Have you ever let someone down?

I was a constant disappointment to my parents as I grew up.
I didn’t make the kind of grades they wanted me to make.
I didn’t excel in sports like my father wanted me to excel.
I wasn”t outgoing enough to please them.

I grew up believing that God was also disappointed in me.

The thing that changed that belief was how Jesus dealt with Peter’s failure.

Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him, Jesus, three times before the rooster crows. Peter basically says there is no way that is going to happen.

John 18:16-17
But Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You are not one of His disciples are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied , “I am not.”

That is one denial.

John 18:25
As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

That is two denials.

John 18:26-27
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the olive grove?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

That is thee denials.

All three denial came before the rooster crowed, just as Jesus said.

You would think that at this point Jesus would have been disappointed in Peter. You might think that Jesus would have given up on Peter and want nothing more to do with him.

Then you would be wrong.

In John 21 Peter and five other of Jesus’ disciples were at the Sea of Galilee and Jesus appears on the sea shore as the disciples are fishing. The disciples recognize it is Jesus and go to have breakfast with Him.

What an extraordinary time that was. It would have been so cool to sit and have breakfast with the risen Son of God.

After breakfast Jesus and Peter have a conversation. The conversation went like this
Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?
Peter: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.
Jesus: Feed My lambs.
Jesus: Simon, son of John , do you love Me?
Peter: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.
Jesus: Take care of My sheep.
Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love Me?
Peter: Lord, You know all things; you know that I love You.
Jesus: Feed My lambs.

Jesus takes the time to focus on Peter.
Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?”
Peter says yes all three times.

Why did Jesus ask Peter three times if he loved Him? One time would have seemed to be sufficient.

Peter denied Jesus three times and Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to reaffirm his love for Jesus.

Each of Peter’s affirmations were followed by Jesus with a directive of something Peter could do to show that his affirmation of love was real.

Jesus knows that we as humans are weak, vulnerable, sinful.
Jesus knows in our own strength and resources we cannot obey the Father.
Jesus knows that we will fail at times in obeying Him.
Jesus knows that we will let Him down.

Jesus gives us the opportunity to repent, return, and reaffirm.

Repent: Acknowledge our sin and turn from it.
Return: Coming in humility back to Jesus, recognizing Him as our sole authority and ruler.
Reaffirm: Reestablishing our love for Him and our willingness to obey Him.

Why would Jesus give Peter the opportunity to do this?
Why would Jesus give you and me the opportunity to do this?

Jesus wants us to experience the fullness of His love.

Ephesians 3:18
[that you] May have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Jesus wants you to know that He loves you.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that Jesus loves you and experiencing all the dimensions of His love.

Was Jesus disappointed that Peter denied Him?

The denial did not surprise Jesus.
The denial did not anger Jesus.
The denial did not disappoint Jesus.

The denial hurt Jesus.

Our sin and failure do not anger or disappoint Jesus.
Our sin and failure does hurt Jesus.

Jesus is hurt because He knows that our sin hurts us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that Jesus is not angry at or disappointed with us.

We need to understand also who we are in Jesus.
We need to understand how the Father looks at us.

People who have yield themselves to Jesus as Lord are seen by the Father as:
Friends
Beloved
Children

I love the picture of God the Father in Luke 15, the parable of the Lost Son. The son had rebelled against his father’s authority and rejected his love. If there was ever a father who had every right to reject his son, it was this father. When the son finally comes to his senses and makes his way back home, the father sees the son and runs out to meet him and embraces him. Remember the son had been with pigs and had not bathed. He was dirty and smelly. The father still runs to him and hugs him, because how he looked or what his condition was had nothing to do with how the father saw the son.

This is an awesome picture of how God the Father sees us and wants us with Him.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing who we are in Jesus and knowing how God the Father sees us.

Jesus loves you and is not mad at you.
Jesus is for you; He is on your side.

We have hope because of who Jesus is.
We have hope because of what Jesus has done for us.
We have hope because the Father sees us through Jesus.

Knowing Jesus Loves Us by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
                                                  Joe