Peter Runs to the Sepulcher - Luke 24:12

Luke the beloved physician wrote about the women who knew Jesus, “upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek you the living among the dead?He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not”, and in chapter twenty-four and verse twelve of his book Luke shared, “Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves” where we read:

Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

The verse reads, “Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher;” Luke began with the words, “Then arose Peter” or “at that time stood and raised up Peter whose name means a little rock or stone and was one of Jesus' disciples”, “and ran unto the sepulcher” which means “and hurried and raced toward the tomb or grave where Jesus' dead body was laid”. Luke shared how “Peter” responded to the women's words by standing up and “running” toward the “tomb” where Jesus' body was buried.

The verse goes on to say, “... and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” Luke continued with the words, “and stooping down” which means “and bending forward with his body bent so Peter could look into and inspect curiously and carefully”, “he beheld the linen clothes” or “Peter observed the fine strips clothes for swathing the dead” “laid by themselves” which means “situated and set in place by their own selves”, “and departed” or “and Peter left and separated himself from the tomb”, “wondering in himself” which means “marveling and admiring in Peter's own mind” “at that which was come to pass” or “about what happened and came into existence”. Luke shared how “Peter” bent down to look into the tomb, saw the fine linen cloths in which Jesus was wrapped lying by themselves and left the tomb “marveling” and attempting to understand what happened.

When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus' disciple “Peter” “ran with haste” toward the “sepulcher” where Jesus' dead body was buried, and as he looked inside the tomb, he saw the wrappings of “fine linen” lying by themselves. Jesus' body was gone, and “Peter” did not know or believe that He was risen. This caused “Peter” to wonder what happened to Jesus' body, and we can imagine how troubled he was in his thoughts. The “resurrection” of the dead is difficult for many people to believe, and for a person to be “forgiven” of their sins and receive “everlasting life”, they must put their faith and trust in Jesus who was raised from the dead. Jesus is risen, and all who yield their lives to Him will be saved. The rest will be only filled with wonder until they see Him after their lives on earth have ended.

Next time Luke shares how, “two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".