Wednesday, August 30
Even Peter
Scripture: Mark 17
Mark 16:6–7 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. 7 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.”
Observation
It’s our 48th wedding anniversary!
The angel who announced Jesus’ resurrection to the women also instructed them to tell the disciples—even Peter—to meet Jesus in Galilee.
Why “even Peter”? Peter had denied even knowing Jesus 3 times. It was a miserable, even catastrophic failure (see Aug 28 PBJ). Perhaps Peter didn’t consider himself a disciple any more. We know that in John 21, Peter went back to fishing—an indication that he might have been so discouraged by his failure that he gave up on his calling to follow Jesus. And we know that Jesus singled him out and restored him. So perhaps the meaning of “even Peter” is another instance of singling Peter out, recognizing his failure, and making sure that he didn’t disqualify himself and quit. “Make sure Peter gets the message and comes to Galilee.”
Many scholars believe that Mark’s gospel is Peter’s memories. It is remarkable that Peter tells on himself—perhaps because no one was more amazed by God’s grace than him!
“Even Peter”: It’s a simple two word example of the grace of God.
Application
Who do I think is beyond the grace of God? Who has done something so egregious that I can’t imagine them being restored? I have someone in mind. Maybe the Lord is saying to me, “Even him.”
I know that God’s grace is bigger than I think, bigger than our sin, by a mile. Why do I struggle to imagine that God’s grace could extend to even him? Because it messes with my sense of justice. It means that offending friend gets away with it. Has his cake and eats it too. Leaves a wake of destruction but still gets restored. What about repentance? Godly sorrow? Change? I’m wrestling with all this.
But underneath all my wrestling lies the bedrock of God’s grace—bigger, deeper, wider, stronger than my puny imagination. I’m glad it includes “even me.” Now I need God’s help to believe it could include “even him.”
Prayer: Lord I love You. And You know what I’m wrestling with. Help me understand how Your great grace works in the wild, in the mess of an errant friend.
More: Jonah 1-2, 2 Peter 3