“His cry not Forward, but Follow.”
William Guthrie
Last Sunday was Easter Sunday. The focus of the sermon was on the grace that was encountered on that first Easter. There was grace to roll away the stone. There was grace to announce the resurrection and truly, to hear a brief gospel presentation from the angel. There was grace in that word of recovery to the disciples and to Peter. Here are the details:
6And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:6-7)
The Lord Jesus, through the angel, is preparing to restore the disciples and Peter. How marvelous that on that resurrection morning with that most glorious of victories having been won by Jesus and with the keys of death and Hades now dangling on his belt, his message to the disciples is restoration is coming. They were not there to receive it. They were cowering in fear. (see John 20:19) Regardless of the current state of their hearts, Jesus was inclined to restore and to renew.
There is something like this happening in Psalm 23 as well. Here are the first three verses of David’s most celebrated psalm:
1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousnessfor his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)
If you will allow me to excerpt it, “The Lord is my shepherd…He makes me lie down…He restores…” The first act of David’s shepherd was to provide deep rest for David in the midst of abundant provision (“green pastures”). One of the first acts of the resurrected Jesus was to communicate, through the angel, that renewal and restoration was coming. The process of Peter’s restoration is described in some detail in the epilogue of John’s gospel (see chapter 21). Today, if you need renewal and restoration, turn to the Lord Jesus who loves, as our shepherd, to lead us to those particular pastures. Have a blessed week and we will see most of you on Sunday.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
