He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.
—Mark 16:6
As my pastor, Matt, was reading this passage today, he stopped and said, “And isn’t this a great example of God’s grace? Because Peter is specifically called out…”
I knew as soon as he got to the word “grace” what he was going to say and it brought a tear to my eye.
Peter, in my limited knowledge, is my favorite apostle. He was almost comically flawed and his faith was weak at times. He failed over and over again. He denied knowing Jesus to save his own life. Peter may have been the least “deserving” of the remaining apostles to be told that he was welcome in the presence of Jesus at Galilee.
The specific mention of Peter in this moment shows how tender and complete God’s love is for us. I imagine that Peter was more ashamed of his denial of Jesus than anything he had ever done before in life. If it were me, I know that I would feel completely unworthy to stand before Jesus again. I would be sick with guilt. I would even think, upon hearing the news of Jesus’ resurrection, that I would be unwelcome for what I had done. It’s not hard to believe the same thoughts must have passed through Peter’s mind.
Yet, God said yes, Peter, you are welcome.