Time with God – Easter

He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter

Mark 16:6&7

This weekend we celebrate the biggest event in history – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of God’s rescue plan for the world. The plan that had been foretold in scripture and waited on with hope for many generations.

Thinking of the original witnesses of these events, can you imagine the emotional rollercoaster the disciples had been on for 3 years?  Being personally called by Jesus, learning from him, witnessing his power in action, experiencing his forgiveness and compassion, seeing adoring crowds gather to listen to him and then the drama of his arrest and crucifixion.  Adoration had quickly turned to rejection.  The disciples must have felt so confused and anxious during those final days of Jesus’s life on earth.  For Peter, it was a particularly difficult time.  He had failed spectacularly in the hours before Jesus’s death.  He had denied knowing Jesus and immediately regretted it.

I love the little detail in Mark 16 that tells us that Peter was singled out when the messenger at the tomb told the women to tell the disciples ‘and Peter’ that Jesus had risen.   The messenger at the tomb was there to announce this huge news that Jesus is alive and didn’t really need to mention Peter’s name.  Yet, those two words, ‘and Peter’, reveal so much of God’s heart.  Peter was heartbroken and needed this message.  This event was a message of hope for the entire world, but on that day it was very personal for Peter. His failure wasn’t final.  He wasn’t excluded. He could hope that he would see Jesus again and be forgiven. Isn’t that exactly the message of Easter?

Today, as we reflect on the empty tomb, we give thanks that Jesus took the punishment that we deserve and celebrate that he is alive, ruling and reigning in heaven and still in the business of forgiving and restoring.

 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

Written by Wendy Campbell

(Finance Officer at BBNI)