Mark 14:27-29, And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

Peter was “the disciple with the foot-shaped mouth.”  God probably had Peter in mind when he put Proverbs 24:16 in the Bible — “A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” Peter failed Jesus when he took his eyes off of Him and sank in the sea, when he spoke out of line at the Transfiguration, when he rebuked Christ for talking about the cross, when he at first refused foot washing, when he swung his sword in Gethsemane, and finally when he boasted and then denied the Lord three times.

• The Lord Sees Past Our Failures.

Peter failed many times in his discipleship, but Jesus saw past His disciple’s failures to the finished product. This is why the Lord placed Peter in His inner circle (Peter, James, and John), put his name at the top of every list of disciples, and invested so much time and training in him.

Jesus used Peter’s trials and failures to shape (“convert”) Peter into a capable vessel for service.

Luke 22:31-32, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 

• The Lord Meets Us on the Other Side of Failure.

“After you fail me in Jerusalem, I’ll be there for you in Galilee!” Galilee restoration was for Peter and for all of Christ’s other disciples.

Failure didn’t define Peter’s life because Peter let God use his failures to reshape him (John 21). Repentant, restored, and re-commissioned Peter would lead the church in Jerusalem, preach at Pentecost, open the gospel to all the people groups of the world, and write comforting Scripture to the scattered and persecuted church.

In the end, Peter could say along with Job, “When I am tried I shall come forth as gold!” (Job 23:10)