September 10

"But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." Mark 16:7

“. . . and Peter." The tears start to our eyes unbidden when we read these two words. Why does the Lord not single out John, the beloved disciple? Why does he not make special mention of Thomas the doubter? Why single out Peter from all the others? There is only one answer: because Peter had denied him.

Suppose you had been Peter, how would you have felt if you had denied the Lord? Might you not have said to yourself, "I, Peter, who was a witness of Jesus’ transfiguration; I who was his companion in the garden; I have denied him. And not just once, but three times over! And to think that the Lord warned me beforehand and I did not believe him!"

Guilty of an offense so grave, Peter might well question his standing before God. For had not Jesus himself solemnly warned his disciples, "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven"? "Tell Peter!" That simple short message showed Peter that the yawning gulf between him and his Lord had been spanned by love.