Luke 24:12
Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

What did Peter think when he peered inside that tomb?  Did it just further his sense of emptiness and loss to see that barren tomb gaping so wide?  Did it only solidify the thought in his mind that Jesus was lost to him forever, that the last memory he would have of his Lord was denying that he even knew Him?  What hope was to be found in such a place?  What good could come from such a thing?  What did it matter the stories being told of angels and a resurrection when Peter went searching and found nothing but some linens in a grave?

But the truth is, there is much hope to be found.  Jesus had died.  They had seen it and known it to be so.  They’d seen His lifeless body carried away and entombed behind that stone.  But His body wouldn’t stay there because the grave could not keep Him.  Jesus was not lost to them, but now He could be closer to them than He’d ever been before.  Now there was much reason to hope and rejoice because their salvation was secured and eternal life was granted and they could be in His presence forever.  The work was finished, and their redemption was complete.

We have that same great hope because of that empty grave.  Jesus is alive today, and He can dwell within our hearts.  We can know Him as our Savior and as our Lord.  We can anticipate eternity with Him and experience His love on a personal level in our lives until we go to be with Him.  We may have come seeking completely empty of hope, full of despair and regret, but there is no reason to go away the same as we came.  There’s no need to be wrapped in death any longer, but to go away filled with new life in Christ.

What was the most puzzling thing to the disciples is evidence of the greatest truth we can know today—Jesus is alive.  He rose in victory over everything that overcomes us.  He’s broken the hold that sin had upon us.  So let us trust in His completed work.  Let us doubt no longer the truth of God or His love, but simply accept by faith the gift He has given us.  Let us not peer into the tomb with sadness, but rejoice in the hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us today.