The women with their loving hearts were the first to reach the spot, carrying sweet spices to anoint their Lord!
They had expected to find His dearly loved Body lying in the grave—dead. Instead, they found the grave empty and a Vision of Angels!
They were so frightened that they were hurrying away, but the Angel who was sitting within the empty tomb told them not to be frightened, for though they sought Jesus of Nazareth Who was crucified, yet He was not there, for He was risen!
And then the Angel gave them this message from God: "Go tell His disciples, and Peter, that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you."
Why was that separate message sent to Peter?
Oh, the graciousness of the forgiveness of Jesus! Peter had said "he was not one of them," meaning not one of His disciples. And it may be, that if the Angel's message had only been "Go, tell His disciples," that Peter would have been utterly hopeless.
But the sorrowing man had a message all to himself!
Ah, what that must have meant to Peter!
And we have another sweet assurance of the forgiving love of our God and Saviour.
We read, in the last chapter of Luke, that those two whom Jesus had met going to Emmaus after His Resurrection, had hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven that they had seen the Lord; and were greeted with the joyful news which the other disciples had also heard—that "the Lord was risen indeed, and had appeared to Simon Peter!"