God’s faithfulness runs through Scripture, from his suffering Servant in Isaiah 53, who bore our griefs though despised and rejected, to his covering of Adam and Eve’s nakedness with garments of skin after their sin. Two other men are set side by side as pictures of two responses to guilt: Judas, whose nakedness ends in suicide and despair, unwilling to be restored, and Peter, whose betrayal is instead met with Christ’s threefold question by the shore and a fresh call to follow him.
In contrast to Judas’ despair, Peter’s restoration shows what God’s faithfulness does with sin: when we confess, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He promises an everlasting covenant, one heart and one way, and a fear of him that keeps his people from turning away. The message closes where it opened, with confidence that the God who has magnified his word above his name will perfect the work he has begun.