He sat quietly thinking… disconcerted. Being a man of action, he was comfortable with bold emotions like anger or heroic action, but today he was non-plussed, thinking:
“Maybe there was too much water under the bridge and my life is over.”
“Maybe I put all my eggs in the wrong basket.”
“Maybe the pundits, academics and politicians had been right, even though they had not experienced hundreds of miraculous events in the past three years like I have.”
He just couldn’t reconcile what he knew in his heart of hearts with what seemed to be happening in his life and in society. It was extremely unsettling.
Looking back, he could see that it had been a perfect storm. His boss (who was the greatest and most honorable man he had ever met) had just been arrested, politically railroaded and illegally executed. Justice had failed. The politicians and the press had convinced the public to turn on the one man who could have truly helped them. To make matters worse, he felt partially responsible since there had been an occasion or two when he could have publicly testified on behalf of his boss. Then, in addition to all of that, he was immensely embarrassed of the fact that he – the guy who had boldly promised to stick with his boss no matter what – had freaked out and dropped out of public view when he should have stood up for what was right.
Who was this troubled man? His name was Peter. Jesus called him “the rock”. History would call him Saint Peter. He is a main character in the original Easter story. And, because the Bible is a straightforward record of what really happened, it allows us to see how all of Jesus’ followers struggled with their faith when life took a turn they didn’t expect. All but one of Jesus disciples forsook him and fled when he was crucified. Then they hid from authorities, trying to make sense of it all. For two days their world was devastated. Then came Easter, and their faith was restored. The events of one day confirmed everything they had believed.
Calvary is the climax of history’s greatest story and Easter is the resolution; it is an amazing victory that follows a horrible tragedy. Hindsight is 20/20 and Matthew would later remember that Jesus warned them that tragedy was coming. He records, “From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” (Matthew 16:21)
Jesus promised He would be killed. He also promised that He would live again. The former was unthinkable, and the latter was such an unbelievable promise that when Jesus did come back from the dead, they still couldn’t believe it.
Those who have read the story may remember that, on Easter, a man she thought to be the gardener told Mary that Jesus had risen. Then Mary and a few other women told the disciples. Then the disciples told Thomas. A few months later Peter told the world. In each case, people were being asked, “Will you believe in resurrection? Do believe God can bring good out of bad?”
This Easter our world is rocking and reeling as we grapple with the coronavirus. Someone’s faith may be wavering. It may feel like the roof has fallen in. Hang on. God will show up when you least expect Him. Believers will go through dark times, like Calvary, but then comes Easter.