| PETER |
| Jesus' apostles were hiding in a locked house. They were afraid they would be found and crucified next. As they hid, they cried. They had deserted Jesus. Now their leader was dead. They were so very sorry and so very sad. Nothing could stop the pain in their minds and hearts. They couldn't work, they couldn't eat, they couldn't do anything but stare and cry, stare and cry. How they missed Jesus. When Mary Magdalene arrived and told them Jesus was not in the tomb, Peter and John rushed to the garden to see for themselves. John arrived and stood in the doorway wondering why Jesus' body was not there. When Peter arrived, he rushed right inside the cave. John followed him in. What they saw amazed them. The bands of cloth with spices were still wrapped up in the shape of a body. But it was hollow. Jesus' body was not inside. Then they noticed the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. It was separate from the body cloths. It, too, still held its shape but was hollow. John laughed. "He did it! He came back to life!" Peter thought it was a bad joke and got mad at John. Then they returned to their locked house in Jerusalem. That is when Mary Magdalene stayed behind and saw Jesus. Peter and John did not know this because they were already gone. Back in hiding at the locked house, the apostles were still so very, very sad. They sat and stared or walked back and forth and stared. And they cried. Finally Peter could stand it no longer. He left the house. He worked his way back to the Mount of Olives where Jesus had prayed for help and where the apostles deserted Jesus. Peter sat down and cried some more. He remembered following Jesus to the palace and denying he knew him three times. He remembered how Jesus looked at him so sadly when he did. Peter cried and cried. He begged Jesus over and over to forgive him. How could he go on living? All Jesus did was love him. He had betrayed the best friend he ever had. He had betrayed God's Son. Suddenly there was someone standing in front of Peter. It was Jesus. At first Peter was afraid, but Jesus smiled. Jesus told Peter he forgave him and wanted to be best friends again. Have you ever told anyone you didn't know anything about Jesus? Have you ever stayed silent when you could have told people you believed in Jesus? Jesus forgives you. You can start over now. You can still tell people about Jesus' love. Who will the first person be? |