And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. — Mark 16:6 & 7
I have often thought to myself about what it must have been like to be Jesus’ followers soon after His death on the cross. After all, they believed Him and His teachings that He was God wrapped in flesh, yet they watched Him willingly die on the cross for the sins of the world. Even though Jesus had warned them that the time would come, it was like they still did not expect it to actually happen.
I have also often thought about how Peter must have felt. During the story, he denied being a follower of Jesus 3 times. No doubt as the time progressed, he continued to feel horrible about denying his relationship with Jesus. I can imagine that he felt terrible sitting in that room with the others.
We find that the story picks up on Sunday morning when the two ladies come to anoint the body of Jesus. They were told here that they should not be afraid of what they were seeing. They were pointed to the place where Jesus was laid. The tomb was empty. Other gospels share that the burial clothes were still there, but Jesus was gone! They were specifically told to go and tell the disciples, but specifically Peter that he was alive!
We can piece together the rest of the story from other gospels, but I am sure that knowing the Savior was risen was encouraging to Peter. He had thought he let Jesus down, denying Him in the darkest hour. Yet, Jesus triumphed over death, conquering sin, to live just as He said! What I see here is not just a message to Peter, but a personal message in the empty tomb to everyone.
There are many people that want to look at the things that they have done. They want to see all their faults, their failures, their past, and the reasons why they were not good enough. The tomb was empty and a reminder to Peter that even though he was not perfect, Jesus had overcome all those things. Today, the tomb is still empty. It’s a reminder that no matter what, Jesus conquered all of your sin, all of your past, all of your failure, and through Him we can have eternal life!
