The Need For Brokenness - John 13:36-38

Meditate

Peter loved Jesus. There is no question about that. He was bold, passionate, loyal, and ready to speak when everyone else was silent. In the Upper Room, Jesus had just washed the disciples' feet and given them the new commandment to love one another as He had loved them. But Peter's mind locked onto something else Jesus said: Jesus was leaving, and Peter could not follow Him yet.

So Peter asked where Jesus was going. And when Jesus told him he could not follow now, but would follow later, Peter answered with all the confidence he could gather. He believed he was ready to go anywhere, do anything, and pay any price for Jesus.

Peter thought he was ready. But Jesus knew what Peter did not yet know. Peter's greatest natural strength would not be enough to carry him through the crisis ahead. His courage, confidence, leadership, and determination were real gifts. But those gifts still needed to be surrendered.

Biblical brokenness is not God discarding us. Biblical brokenness is God destroying the self-dependence that keeps us from fully depending on Him. The Lord breaks self-confidence in us so He can build Christ-confidence in us.

Peter would soon hit the failure wall at full speed. He would deny the Lord three times. And when the rooster crowed, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. That look pierced Peter's heart, and he went out weeping bitterly. But those bitter tears were not the end of Peter's story. They were the beginning of Peter's transformation.

Apply

Peter's problem was not that he did not love Jesus. Peter's problem was that he trusted Peter too much. And that is where his story begins to touch ours.

Many of us love Jesus. We want to serve Him. We want to be useful in His hands. But we can still carry too much self-confidence, self-direction, and self-reliance. We can say, maybe without even realizing it:

"I can handle this."
"I'm strong enough."
"I know what I'm doing."

The Lord does want to use the gifts He has placed in us. But those gifts become dangerous when we begin to act like they belong to us. Natural strength, natural leadership, natural courage, and natural ability must all come under the full lordship of Jesus Christ.

In Peter's life, Jesus brought transformation through three steps:

1. Brokenness. Peter had to come to the end of his self-confidence. His denial exposed what his pride had hidden. He learned that natural determination alone cannot carry a disciple through the cost of following Jesus.
2. Surrender. In John 21, Jesus restored Peter by asking him about his love. Peter no longer boasted that his devotion was greater than the others. He simply placed himself in the hands of the Lord who knew everything. That was surrender.
3. Empowerment by the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, the same Peter who once denied Jesus stood boldly and preached Christ crucified and risen. This was no longer Peter operating in natural ability. This was the Spirit of God working through a surrendered vessel.

That moment broke something in Peter that needed to be broken. His self-confidence died. His self-assurance died. His confidence in his own ability died. But what looked like failure was actually the doorway to transformation.

After the resurrection, Jesus restored Peter and recommissioned him to feed His sheep. Then, at Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and became a bold witness for Christ. The man who once denied Jesus before a servant girl later proclaimed Jesus before a crowd.

That is what the Lord does. He breaks self-confidence so He can build Christ-confidence. He brings us to the end of "I can" so we can finally learn the life-changing truth: Christ in me can.

This is the life Peter had to learn. Not a more determined version of his old self. Not a stronger version of natural Peter. But a crucified life. A surrendered life. A Spirit-empowered life.

And that is what Jesus wants for every one of us. Our greatest natural strength will never be enough to follow Jesus. We need the life of Jesus living in us.

Respond

Bring Peter's story into your own life. Ask the Lord honestly: What still needs to be broken in me?

• Where am I relying on my own strength instead of Christ's life in me?
• Where am I saying, "I can handle this," when the Lord is calling me to surrender?
• What natural gift has become something I control instead of something I offer back to God?
• Where do I need the Holy Spirit's power instead of my own determination?

Jesus does not break us because He is finished with us. He breaks what keeps us from being fully His. He breaks our grip on our own strength so He can fill us with His power. He brings us to surrender so He can make us truly ready for His use.