“But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” Then they went out and ran from the tomb, for terror and bewilderment had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” —Mark 16:6-8
When pain and heartache come, it’s easy to forget what we know to be true. The angel had come and rolled away the stone to show that Jesus had indeed risen! Fresh air and the morning light filled the tomb where He had been laid. Death had been conquered! A stone could not hold Him. Death could not hold Him. Overwhelmed with wonder, the women were told by the angel that Jesus was not there. He had risen! They were to go and tell the disciples and Peter! How precious of Jesus to single out His friend, Peter. Peter, the one who had betrayed Him. Peter, the one who had vowed to go to the death with his Lord and then turned and disowned Him three times. I can so feel his pain! How many times I have let the Lord down through my actions, or lack of them; or through my words, or lack of them! Yet Jesus remains faithful. Tell Beth!
Jesus is not surprised by our frailties and shortcomings–He expects it from flawed human flesh! Remember what Isaiah tells us:
“ A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: “All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the LORD blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass.
The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” —Isaiah 40:6-8
“All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him.” —Isaiah 53:6
Paul tells us in Romans:
… “There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” —Romans 3:10-12
What God desires from us is to keep our accounts short. We must repent and turn back to Him when we fall. We must go back to the cross and to its power! Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians:
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.”
“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” —1 Corinthians 1:17-18
In the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible the word translated “repent” is the Greek word Metanoeo meaning “to undergo a moral reorientation of the soul in which one acknowledges the error of his ways and turns toward the divinely prescribed way of truth and righteousness”. It is a turning from unbelief to a “reliance upon His forgiveness and favor.” We can never sin beyond God’s grace and mercy–we need only to go back to the cross. Jesus’ blood shed for us covers all sin–past, present and future! That is good news indeed!
I love the angel’s last line: “There you will see him, just as he told you.” God never changes. If He said it, He meant it!
Take It to Heart
We can stand on the promises of God–He will never let us down!
“Since, I, the LORD, do not go back on my promises.” —Malachi 3:6
“The Preeminent One of Israel does not go back on his word or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” —1 Samuel 15:29
“The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.” —Psalm 51:17
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!” —Hebrews 13:8