The last verses of Mark 14 tell us of how Peter denied Jesus in the presence of others and left Jesus all alone. The last verse reads, “and [Peter] broke down and wept.” Mark 15 tells us how this lonely Jesus walked the path of suffering up to the cross and died on the tree. Mark 16 tells how Jesus, triumphantly, rose from the grave! It is a glorious finish to Mark’s little gospel and there is much we could say about this chapter. I want to focus, however, on one comment that was made by the angel who told the women at the empty tomb of the resurrection of Jesus.
After assuring the women that Jesus’ body was indeed not stolen but that He had been raised the angel tells the women, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galiee.” (v.7) What a gloriously comforting verse this is. The one who denied the Master is the very one who is singled out in the promise of being reunited with the resurrected Jesus. What might we learn from this? I think we should learn from this something about how deep the grace of God is toward us sinners.
We have all been Peter. We have all denied the Master in thoughts, words, and deeds. Even as genuine believers we have done this. Here is the lesson: there is no sin a genuine believer can commit that will be so gross that the grace of God cannot sweep it into the forgiving arms of God. Some might argue that this does not treat sin seriously enough. I am not trying to downplay sin. Peter wept bitterly over his sin and we too must sincerely repent of that which we do that does not please our Lord. No, this does not downplay the seriousness. What it does is magnify the grace of God! Live in that grace today!
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