That is what Christians love to say on Easter, and rightly so! What a glorious statement of triumph and new life it is! When the women arrived at the garden tomb on that first Easter morning only to find the tomb empty, it was an angel who first made that glorious explanation to them, saying "He has risen." That simple and amazing truth, the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead is our hope and the very foundation of our Christian faith.
But, on this weekend, we are reminded of the staggering price that Jesus paid for that victory at the cross. Indeed, it is good to remember that before the resurrection, there was a breaking, there was a death. Before He arose, Jesus' body was broken for us, and He died a horrifying death to pay the wages of sin for us.
How true that still is today: before there can be a resurrection in anyone's life, there must first be a breaking, there must first be a death. Of course that is true, spiritually, for every believer when he first comes to Christ, and it remains true for every believer for the rest of their lives as well. Remember what Jesus said in John 12:24: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said* to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.
We are told in Luke that Peter's eyes met Jesus' just as the rooster crowed. No wonder he wept bitterly! That was the last time Peter would see his Lord Jesus before the crucifixion.
I submit to you, brethren, on that first Easter morning, Peter was one broken, crushed, and hurting man. He had denied the very Lord he loved so much. It was a painful path that Peter had taken from the spiritual peaks he had experienced as he followed Jesus for those three years, to what must have been the deepest, darkest valley of his life.
Think of it: this man Peter made the famous confession that he believed Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, after which Jesus told Peter that he had been a mouthpiece for God Himself when he said those words. This man Peter personally witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus and his conversation with Moses and Elijah.
But by the time the day of the Crucifixion had dawned, Peter had hit the valley floor and he had hit it hard - to the point where he went out and wept bitterly.
Can you relate? As Christians, we experience spiritual peaks and valleys, too, don't we? There are those times when our faith in the Lord seems so strong, and it feels so good. But then there are those times when we tumble into a pit of despair - and that's where Peter was, in that pit, carrying an unbearable weight as he raced to the tomb looking for Jesus that first Easter Sunday.
But, as emotionally wrenching as that valley floor can be, it can also be the gateway to the best times of our lives. For many, that is the place where we're finally ready to meet Christ on His terms. Do you know why? Because it's there, in that pit, in that valley, that we look to the Light. Jesus had warned Peter that he would soon deny Him three times, but Peter refused to believe it. We're told in Luke 22:60-62:
Immediately, while he [Peter] was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.
Peter was there when Jesus told him the night before that this would happen - Peter listened, but he wasn't hearing, was he? Once Peter reached that pit, however, suddenly he heard it. The Word of God now was finally reaching Peter.
So often it takes that place of brokenness to bring somebody to the point where the Word of God begins to truly speak to their heart. It is there that they get off their high horses and are ready, finally, to listen to Jesus. Often it is in that place that place where genuine repentance occurs.
It's there that life's most important lessons are finally learned. For Peter, he must have realized that it was no longer a matter of what he could do for Christ, but what Christ desired to do, and could do through him. Jesus never wanted Peter to offer to build a tabernacle for Jesus, Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration. Jesus never wanted Peter to cut off the servant's ear when the Romans came to arrest Jesus. What Peter could do, and what you and I can do, is not important. It's what Christ did for Peter, what He has done for you and for me, and what He can do through us that matters.
When we finally realize that, when we're in that broken state, when we simply and humbly just turn to the Lord - that is when there's a resurrection. And there was a resurrection, wasn't there? It's interesting that on that resurrection morning, when the women came back and told the disciples that Jesus' body was missing and that an angel had told them He had risen, Peter couldn't wait. He raced John to the tomb. Peter ran for all he was worth. He ran to Christ. He ran to Jesus.
Are you in a valley? Are you at the bottom of a seemingly bottomless pit? As a child of God's, listen, there's only one place to turn, and Peter knew it. He knew that much. When many of Jesus' disciples withdrew from Him, Jesus asked the twelve disciples in John 6:67: "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."
So Peter ran to Jesus. As we know, Peter didn't find Jesus there, did he? Instead, he found an empty tomb. But in Luke's Gospel we read about the men on the Emmaus Road to whom the Lord appeared after the resurrection. In Luke 24:34, they reported, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon."
Peter went running to find Jesus and he didn't find Him. Instead, Jesus found Peter. He appeared to Simon.
James makes a beautiful promise in James 4:8: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Just turn to Him, turn to Jesus, and He'll find you. He'll come to You. Jesus came to Peter on that Easter Day. Peter was gloriously, beautifully restored to His Lord and spent the rest of his life serving Him.
Here's the point: in Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus said: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
That's what Peter did. Believe me, that first Easter ended up being one glorious resurrection day for Peter in many ways. That was Peter's Easter.
Because He is risen, and because He is living, you have the same opportunity. You have the same privilege right now that Peter had because He's the Lord, and He sees you, and He knows you, and He rose from the dead to give you eternal life and a new life to live. That day marked the beginning of a new life and a new walk for Peter, and so it can be for you today.
What's the formula that will make that happen? I have none. In a valley in my life I cried out to Him and He came to me. In the emptiness of your life, you can call out to Him and He'll come to you. The answer is simply Jesus, the risen and living Jesus Christ of the Bible - and it's nothing and no one else.
No comments:
Post a Comment