Easter 2026
Dear Friends in the Lord Jesus –
For me one of the great joys of Bible study is seeing something that has always been there but I had never noticed before. Such was the case with a couple statements about Peter, which I discovered as I was preparing for the Bible study on Peter that I have been leading on the Wednesday evenings during Lent.
For many years I have been aware of the statement made by the young man dressed in a white robe to the women who had come to Jesus’ tomb early Easter Sunday morning and found that it was empty. “Go, tell His disciples and Peter” (Mark 16: 7). Other translations say, “Go, tell His disciples – especially Peter.” There was special concern for the man who had denied his Lord. “Make sure Peter knows that Jesus is alive.”
The new discovery for me this year was in Luke 24: 34, where the two followers of Jesus from Emmaus, after they recognize the Risen Lord, run back to Jerusalem, find the eleven and their companions, and say to them, “The Lord has risen indeed, and He has appeared to Simon!” Paul also mentions this special appearance of the Risen Jesus to Peter in his First Letter to the Corinthians. “He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and . . . he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15: 4-5). According to John’s Gospel at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning Mary Magdalene saw the Risen Jesus, but Peter did not. He only saw an empty tomb. Sometime later on Easter Sunday Jesus made a special point of appearing to Peter.
Think of what that must have meant to Peter – to know that Jesus made a special point of appearing to him. Think of what it would have meant to the lamb in Jesus’ parable, if the lamb had been aware of what actually was going on – to know that the shepherd left behind the ninety-nine to go searching just for him.
What can it mean to all of us – with all the ways that we have failed our Lord – to know that Jesus wants to make sure that His message of mercy, grace, forgiveness, hope, and love also comes to each one of us?
Peter spent the rest of his life boldly proclaiming Christ. Why, then, did all four Gospel writers – when they were recording this part of Jesus’ story – include the account of Peter’s greatest failure as a disciple? The Gospels contain different parts of the story, but they all tell about the collapse of Peter’s courage and his denial of his Lord. Why? I believe that they all told this story because Peter himself told this story over and over again. Peter and the Gospel writers wanted us to see that we all are like Peter and have denied Jesus. We all have lived in ways that our inconsistent
with our pledge to follow Jesus. We all have had moments when our witness or example was needed, but we remained silent and did nothing.
Peter’s story shows us that we do not need to be defined by our failures. God does not look at us in terms of the worst thing we have ever done. Jesus uses flawed disciples. And sometimes He uses us even more profoundly and powerfully, not merely in spite of our flaws and failures but because of them.
As I ponder all this, I become very sad as I think about the way that in some churches the main and sometimes the only message the people hear is about social, gender, and climate justice. People are continually told to grovel, repent, confess, and resist all forms of racism, sexism, male dominance, white supremacy, xenophobia (fear of foreigners), homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia. In other churches it is not quite so bad. The main and sometimes the only message that people hear is that they need to do good. Every Sunday they are told they need to do more good. The problem is that none of us is able to do enough good.
I was very saddened while watching a summary video from the ELCA of the ELCA’s 2024 Youth Gathering. The only time that Jesus was mentioned in the video is when the host bishop of the host synod described our Risen Lord as “the Jesus who calls us to challenge systems of oppression and power.” It was distressing to think that this was the main message about Jesus that was being given to fifteen thousand young people.
As I realize that I too have been like Peter and have disappointed and denied my Lord, I need to know that Jesus still loves me, forgives me, has a place for me within His Kingdom, and will make sure that I get word that He is alive. I do not need – I am not helped, healed, and encouraged by – a Jesus through the lens of Marxism, critical race theory, and DEIA.
Because of your faithful prayer and generous financial support we are able to continue our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. We are able to continue giving witness to the truth of the Gospel, alerting people to ways in which the Gospel is being undermined and even rejected in some parts of the church, and providing support and resources for individuals, pastors, lay leaders, and congregations.
Please find below links you can use to give a gift towards our regular operating expenses. Please also let us know how we can be praying for you. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, as we serve the Risen Lord Jesus, Who forgives and restores people today just as He did for Peter.
Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE
P.O. Box 1741
Wausau WI 54402-1741
