I just got done reading through Luke 22. It’s the story of the Last Supper, Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, and Peter’s denial. It’s a section of Scripture I’ve read or heard preached on probably a hundred times in my life. I would have told you I know this passage pretty well.

But I noticed something new today about this passage. Something that’s been hiding in plain sight. We all know the story of Jesus predicting Peter’s denial of him, Peter responding with a “nu-uh Jesus, I wouldn’t ever do that,” then proceeding to do it anyway. We know the story.

But I was struck when I read something in verse 61 I’d never noticed before:

Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him. (Luke 22:60-61)

Just as soon as Peter betrays Jesus for the third time, the rooster crows. We all knew that part. But it’s what came after that I thought was fascinating: Jesus looked Peter square in the face.

Part of me imagines Jesus with a “I told you so, stupid” look on his face when he does this. Part of me imagines the worst look of pain and sorrow on Jesus’ face Peter had ever seen. In that moment when Jesus looked at him, Peter knew. Peter knew he had messed up. In fact, verse 62 says that Peter “went outside and wept bitterly.”

When we come face-to-face with God, as Peter did, we realize our inadequacy. Our finiteness. Our brokenness. But the grace of God is just that: he can take someone, no matter how broken, look them in the eye, know their faults, and forgive them anyway. Peter denied he even knew Christ, and he was used to help found the church!

No amount of brokenness we ever feel can compare to the grace of an infinite, matchless God who can look us in the face, faults and all, and forgive us. That’s what I learned today from Peter’s Moment.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine from Austin (shout out to Ben Sledge) posted this sermon from a friend of his on Facebook. Let me just say, I loved it. This message from Josh Riebock on our potential and was crazy powerful. If you’ve got 45 minutes, it’s worth it to watch. After you’re done reading this, of course.

During his message, he quoted a friend of his who said this:

“Our greatest fear is that others see us the way we see ourselves.”

When I heard that, I was blown away. When you really get to the core of our fears and our self-consciousness, it’s really fundamentally about what we think of ourselves—and what we think others think of us. We’re afraid that people see us the way we see ourselves. I struggle with this. I’m sure you struggle with it too.

The fear is huge. But overcoming it is even bigger. We need to listen to the God who’s on our side and stands with us and tells us who we are in Christ, forming his image of us. Not an image of who we think we are or who we think we should be. See yourself the way God sees you. It’s the first step to healing.