Today marks the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday. It’s the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, where the streets were lined with people shouting hosanna, save us. Palm Sunday is a day we're reminded of the choice Jesus gives us; a choice to accept him as Lord and crown Him as King, or deny Him and reject Him all together.

As Pastor Danny took us through Mark 14: 53-72, we see two things in this set of verses; Jesus is giving up his life and Peter is trying to save his life. Jesus is on trial and the high priest asks Jesus if he is the Messiah. Jesus responds "I am". Jesus, acknowledging he is the true Messiah and King, knows it will get him killed. Peter is watching from the outside. As Jesus is laying down his life, Peter denies knowing him in an effort to save his own life. 

Peter’s denial of Jesus is at its core breaking the connection of a relationship. Mark highlights the disappearance of Peter in his gospel but if we look at the other gospel writers we see in Peter a couple things that happen when we are the betrayer. 

1. Peter is overcome with guilt and shame 
2. Peter numbs the feelings by going back to work. He returns to his old way of life. 

And then hope breaks through. In John 21:4-7, we see Jesus on the beach where he meets with Peter and the other disciples and makes them breakfast. They share a meal together and three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Three times Peter confesses his love and in doing so, Peter is restored to new life. 

Palm Sunday is an invitation to all of us and in Peter, we see how the response to the invitation plays out. It’s an invitation to make a choice - a choice to accept Jesus as Lord and crown Him as King, or deny him and crucify him. Peter denied Jesus, faced the spiritual death marked by guilt and shame and the need to try and deal with it by covering it up or numbing it. But in his restoration through Jesus, in his acceptance of Jesus as King he experiences the hope that restoration brings. That hope is marked by full transformation, full of purpose, and full of peace. 

Jesus offers everyone the same choice. No matter how you’ve betrayed him, he sits on the beach calling. That same restoration is available to anyone who chooses to receive it. Transformation, purpose, and peace are available in part now, and the beauty of Palm Sunday is it’s a promise that it will be complete when he returns again.