Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Luke 24:12 (NIV)
Wondering What Had Happened
On April 9th, 1917, 100,000 Canadians stormed the strongest German position on the Western Front. It was a decisive victory for the Canadians but the price was high with 3,600 men killed, or died of wounds. Afterwards, the battle burial squads searched the battlefield and buried the fallen. In the post-war years, exhumation companies concentrated these small cemeteries and isolated graves into the War Cemeteries we see today. In spite of their incredible effort to recover our dead, 1,100 Canadians from the Vimy Operations are still missing, buried as unknowns in the cemeteries, or out on the battlefield.
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It had been a horrible time for Peter. Jesus had died, and just as the Lord had predicted, Peter had denied that he was a follower of Jesus – three times in one evening. He had blown it and the Lord Jesus wasn’t around anymore to comfort him and assure him that all would be well. Peter desperately wanted to believe the message he had received that Jesus was alive again, but he had to see for himself. So, he ran to the tomb. Sure enough, the tomb was empty. His first response was perplexity. Luke 24:12 tells us “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Jesus had told His disciples on more than one occasion that He would die and rise again. Peter had forgotten this, but something was rising in his heart – hope. It rises in our hearts too when we come to believe in the resurrection. Jesus is alive and because He is, He can live in us by faith.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley