Palm Sunday Reflections: A God of Second Chances

As we reflect on this Palm Sunday, I think it is important to read the resurrection and truly understand the magnitude of what Jesus did for us. I want to take today to revisit The Resurrection from the book of Mark.

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

⁵ When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, ⁶ but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. ⁷ Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:1-7 (NLT)

I keep thinking about verse 7: “go and tell his disciples, including Peter”. I pondered here for some time because Peter was one of the twelve disciples so why does it read his disciples and Peter?

I had to study this further to truly grasp the context here. Peter walked with Jesus and had the opportunity to see first-hand some of the most amazing miracles. But Jesus made it clear before he was nailed to the cross that Peter would be the one to deny him three times. It’s hard to grasp how someone who experienced so much could deny Jesus but he did.

In the book of Luke, it says that after Peter denied him the third time, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. I imagine that it was that look your mom would give you as a child when you were misbehaving: that look of disappointment that makes you want to go cry in the corner.

I can only assume that at that moment, Peter no longer felt worthy of being a disciple. Peter had done the very thing he said he wouldn’t do. He disappointed his Savior in a way that he probably felt could not be forgiven.

I truly believe Peter was called out in this conversation to show that our God is a God of second chances. It was a sweet and humble reminder that although Peter denied Him, God still welcomed him with open arms.

That same invitation is available to us. The Lord knows we will make plenty of mistakes and will fall short but He is here, available and waiting for us. I think we could all substitute our names there to show that regardless of our past mistakes, our Savior will still make sure the invitation is given to us.

I pray that as we enter into this week, we truly take time to reflect on the greatness of our Lord and all that’s available to you today because of His sacrifice for you.  It doesn’t matter how much you have fallen short, there is nothing too bad that you can keep you away from His presence.