Go, tell his disciples and Peter.
—Mark 16:7
Three days ago, Peter had denied his Lord—then limped away and wept.
These three days must have been miserable for Peter, tormented by his cowardice and disloyalty. The shameful, sordid scene replayed endlessly in his tortured mind.
Women who went to the tomb on Sunday morning encountered an angel who said, “[Jesus] has risen! He is not here. . . . go, tell his disciples and Peter.”
Peter was singled out by name. Jesus was not thinking of the unthinkable thing he had done; he was thinking of the remorse he was suffering. He was intent on comforting the penitent sinner, not on shaming him.
Someone said, “The most precious thing about Jesus is the way in which he trusts us on the field of our defeat.”
“Forgiveness” is such a lovely word.