And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; (Luke 24.2-12)
Admittedly my mind was drifting this morning as I read the Bible. The words seemed to me "an idle tale." Somewhere in the recesses I knew what I was reading was much more than that but, in the moment, my tepid attention betrayed something cold and still.
Graciously, God opened my eyes again to Peter's story.
When the disciples were first confronted with the news of Christ's resurrection they wrote it off as a tale told by hyper-emotional women. Peter was different. He responded not only like a man who believed but a man in need.
Peter's betrayal of Jesus only days before had left him acutely aware of his weakness and sin. In the three years he traveled with Christ, Peter gained the necessary evidence for belief but now he had a need. That unique combination of revelation and need made Peter a riser and a runner.
I'm guessing a small view of my need was in the way this morning.
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalms 63.1)
Additional Resources
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
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