A Visual Sermon: Jesus’ Look of Mercy, Part 2

Read Part 1.

A Look of Mercy

Let me offer two reasons why I believe mercy was the primary message communicated through Jesus’ gaze:

The Love of a Savior

First, “mercy” is an aspect of the very kind of love that Jesus’ exercised towards his disciples to the end. “Having loved His own, Jesus loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Later that night, Jesus explained the nature of His love in these words: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). The love with which Jesus loved Peter was a redeeming love. Indeed, it was that very love that drove Jesus to the cross. Thus, it seems very likely that Jesus’ eyes would have assured Peter of His redeeming love. “Peter, even though you have denied me, I have not and will not stop loving you with redeeming love.” And at the heart of such love, there is abundant mercy.

The Root of Repentance

Second, it was a look of mercy because Jesus knew this was necessary to bring about the repentance Jesus predicted of Peter. As one commentator notes, “The cock’s crowing and the Lord’s passage through the court and his look at Peter were so timed by divine providence as to effect the saving result in Peter’s soul.”² Earlier, Jesus not only predicted Peter’s denial, but He also prayed for and predicted Peter’s repentance:

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. (Luke 22:21–32)

We know that Peter did repent. Verse 62 records Peter’s repentance: “So Peter went out and wept bitterly.” The term translated “wept” refers to loud wailing. The term translated “bitterly” underscores the intensity of Peter’s grief. It was not a superficial sorrow. It wasn’t shallow sentimentalism. Peter had been “pierced to the heart,” and an explosion of grief and sorrow burst from his soul and flowed down his cheeks in a flood of tears. This was a godly sorrow that produces true repentance.

What was it that moved Peter’s heart to repent? Certainly, Jesus’ look of disappointment must have made Peter deeply aware of his sin. But Jesus used another means to being Peter to repentance. According to Scripture, the tree of repentance springs of two roots: (1) from a genuine acknowledgement of our sin, and (2) from a genuine apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ. Jesus’ knew that if Peter were genuinely to repent, he would not only need to become aware of his sin, but Peter would also need to be reminded of God’s mercy and disposition to forgive. Thus, Jesus did not merely seek to make Peter aware of his sin, but He also sought to make him aware of God’s mercy.

Perhaps, as Peter looked into Christ’s eyes, he remembered the words Jesus had earlier spoke to him on the subject of forgiveness: “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22). What Jesus spoke to Peter then, he now preached to Peter with His eyes. In the words of the Scottish pastor James Stalker,

[Jesus’ look] was a rescuing look…. There was pain, no doubt, and there was immeasurable disappointment. But deeper than these … there was the Savior’s instinct, that instinct which made Him reach out His hand and grasp Peter when he was sinking in the sea. With this same instinct He grasped him now.

In that look of an instant Peter saw forgiveness and unutterable love…. [He saw] such a revelation of the heart of Christ as he had never yet known. He saw now what kind of Master he had denied; and it broke his heart…. It is not our sin that makes us weep; it is when we see what kind of Savior we have sinned against. [Peter] wept bitterly; not to wash out his sin, but because even already he knew it had been washed out.³

As Peter looked into Jesus’ eyes, he grasped the mercy of God. I believe that it was Jesus’ look of mercy that moved Peter to repentance and kept him from the suicidal despair of Judas Iscariot.⁴

Applying Jesus’ Rescuing Gaze

What does Jesus’ look of mercy say to us today?

Ready to Forgive

Jesus’ look of mercy reminds us of the purpose for which He came into the world. The apostle John tells us, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Jesus Himself said, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). His very purpose for coming into the world was to show mercy to sinners! Of course, the Day is coming when Jesus shall judge the world. But that Day is not now! Today is the day of salvation!

Whatever evil thoughts you’ve entertained, whatever filthy words you’ve uttered, whatever wicked deeds you’ve committed—you can be sure of this: Jesus is willing to save you! What Jesus did for Peter is what He would like to do for you today. He stands ready to forgive you.

None Is Lost

Jesus’ look of mercy reminds us He never gives up on His failing disciples. Satan knew Peter’s weakness and wanted to ruin Peter. But Satan was no match for Jesus! Jesus prayed for Peter that his “faith should not fail.” And Peter turned back his Savior.

Jesus knows us as well as He knew Peter. He knows our weaknesses. He’s fully aware of our besetting sins. They don’t take Him by surprise. And Jesus knows we’re no match for Satan. He knows that left to ourselves, we’d perish in our sins. But Jesus has died on the cross to cancel out our sins. And He ever lives to make intercession for us as He did for Peter—that our faith might not fail. When we do sin, Jesus prays that we might “turn back”—that we might repent of our sin and to look to Him again for mercy.

And Jesus’ prayers are effectual! “Father,” He prayed, “those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost.” And He went on to pray, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me” (John 17:12, 24). Oh, what a Savior!

Debtors to Mercy

Jesus’ look of mercy reminds us that forgiveness is a powerful motivation for sanctification and for service. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 130:4, “There is forgiveness with the Lord that He may be feared.” God knows how to motivate His children. When we look into the eyes of our precious Savior and see mercy, we’re not moved to say, “Let us sin that grace may abound!” On the contrary, we say with the apostle Paul, “The love of Christ constrains me to live not for myself but for Him who died for me and rose again” (2 Cor 5:14). We fall on the ground and say with the hymnwriter,

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away, ‘tis all that I can do.

Jesus’ look of mercy reminds us of His saving purpose. Second, it reminds us that He never gives up on His true disciples. Third, Jesus’ look of mercy reminds us that forgiveness is a powerful motivation for sanctification and for service. May God be pleased to write these great truths upon the tablet of our heart!