People will not take the medicine if they don’t know the diagnosis. And neither will they repent unless they know they have something to repent of. And neither will they believe that the gospel is the good news that Jesus came into the world to save them from their sin and the judgement of God if they don’t see themselves as sinners under the judgment of God. Peter’s grief when he realized he had indeed denied Christ, just as Jesus said, was necessary and good. Because it was then that Peter was able to come face to face with who he really was, a totally depraved sinner in need of grace. Peter’s hard heart, that prevented him from seeing who Jesus really is, was finally completely broken over sin. And he was finally ready for the good news that would come as the result of Jesus’ Death and resurrection.
