As a kid, losing your parents in a shop is probably one of the most terrifying moments in your whole life. You start looking around, trying to act calm and in control, while inwardly beginning to panic. As you start running out of aisles to look down, the calm and controlled walk begins to break into a frantic, almost feverish, pace. The moment your eyes rest on a familiar form, the panic disappears immediately. The fear and implications of being lost dissipate as soon as you see that friendly face. That’s your person. That’s your safe place. That’s your home.
In The Two Towers, there is one scene that, I believe, sums this thought up perfectly. King Theoden lies crushed under the body of his dead horse. Around him, the battle continues to rage on. Lying among a mass of dead or dying bodies, he is alone. He is dying, alone. Suddenly, a ray of hope pierces through the darkness of the battleground as his niece kneels beside him. In the middle of this ugly war, surrounded by the stench of death and blood, is the beautiful face of someone he knows. This is someone who cares for him. This is someone who had faithfully remained by his side. No longer alone, his sighs his last breath of life, his niece’s face the last thing his fading eyes see.
I also think this is somewhat a taste of how Peter must have felt. He had just seen Jesus betrayed, soldiers lead Him away, and people begin to abuse and mock him. Words of flogging and execution were being flung around angrily and carelessly. To make the situation worse, people were beginning to question Peter’s relationship with Jesus. Everywhere he looked, he is met by suspicious, hard and unloving faces. Seemingly all alone, his predicament was not looking good.
In the shock and trauma of the moment, surrounded by enemies of the Truth, Peter begins to panic and lie. No, he had never seen this man in his life. No, he fully denied any association with this person. No, he couldn’t possibly have been one of his disciples. Again and again, Peter desperately tries to distance himself from Jesus as much as possible.
In that moment, a rooster crows and Jesus makes direct eye contact with Peter. Through the fear, the mockery, the insults, the abuse, the shouts, the hate and the rejection, this is a face Peter knows and loves. As the full weight of what he has just done hits him, the grief is crushing and Peter begins to weep bitterly.
To any observer, this scene would be extremely hopeless if another reality were not true: Jesus knew Peter’s face as well. In that moment of denial, Jesus looks at Peter directly. He knows exactly where Peter is. Among the throng of bodies of a hostile crowd, Jesus sees Peter’s face. While this may have been a painful look for Peter to receive, it is also one of compassion. This is not a look of “See, I told you so!” but one of love, of hope, and of promises of glorious things to come. This look states that this is not defeat. This is not the end.
Jesus knew Peter was weak. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him. And Jesus loved Peter. Exalted in Heaven, Jesus unashamedly calls Peter His brother. He does not deny knowing Peter but boldly proclaims him before the Father as righteous. Peter is fully loved, fully accepted and fully forgiven. Where Peter utterly failed, Jesus perfectly succeeded.
Christian, Jesus knows your face as well. I hope it thrills you that one day your physical eyes will see the face of Christ. This will not be the face of a stranger, but the face of a Man who has known you and loved you from eternity to eternity. The rays of His glorious, beautiful face will pierce through all of the suffering, failure, grief, and rejection in this life. In an instant, these will all pass away and all we will see is eternal glory. Our weary, searching eyes will search no longer as our gaze rests on the face of Christ. Here, we are safe. Here, we are home.
“Your eyes will see the king in his beauty”
Isaiah 33:17
To The Heart 