Twenty-Four Hours
“Grace is Always on the Table”
John 13:21-38

Jesus gets us. The night before His death, two of His closest friends – Judas and Peter – betrayed Him, but in very different ways, and with very different outcomes.

Two Stories of Betrayal (John 13:21-30)
It’s not just an “enemy” thing. It’s a “people you love” thing.
Jesus loved Judas completely.  
Jesus wasn’t naïve or caught off guard. (John 2:24-25)
Jesus knew betrayal was coming, yet it deeply hurt.

Two Types of Betrayal (John 13:31-38)
One betrayal was slow and sneaky; the other was brutally obvious.
Judas had pretended to be all in.
We can “fake” our faith. (Matthew 15:8)
Peter’s faith could not bear the weight of his intention.
Peter’s faith failed in the moment.
Judas’ betrayal hardened him. Peter’s betrayal broke him.

Betrayal will test us. How we respond will define us. (John 13:31-35)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” –Jesus (John 13:34)

Greatest threat of betrayal is that betrayal will define us. 

Jesus didn’t let betrayal change who He was.
Jesus’ identity, character, nature, never faltered.
Jesus’ central teaching remained central: love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Jesus didn’t force His will in the moment. He simply loved.
Jesus let Judas walk away. 
Jesus didn’t stop Peter.

If Jesus is our example, how will we respond to hurt or betrayal?
1. We’ll respond with love.
2. Love will compel us to forgive.
3. We’ll not allow betrayal to define us.
4. We’ll let Jesus stand with us.

You get to choose how you respond.

Messing up is messy, but grace is always on the table. (John 13:36-38; John 21:15-19)

Jesus didn’t cancel Peter. He called him back.
Peter assumed he was done, disqualified.
Jesus offers grace and a new beginning. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
One was hardened. The other was humbled. 

“But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” –Romans 2:5

God can work with a humbled heart. (James 4:6, James 4:10)
Peter went from denying Jesus to leading the early church.
The rest of Peter’s life was a story of redemption.

No matter if you’re the betrayer or the betrayed, grace is always on the table.