The Foot-Race to the Tomb John 20:1-10 It is now Sunday morning. A grave yard, which is normally a place of quiet and rest, has become a place of lots of activity and excitement. This is where Jesus was buried. Peter had left everything to follow Jesus. Now here he was three years later with nothing to show for it, a broken man, weighed down with sorrow and guilt and shame. Until the footrace. That’s right, the footrace that changed Peter’s life. The rest of us didn’t believe until we actually saw Jesus alive. But John believed in Jesus’ resurrection before he even saw him. He was the only one. In the coming days Jesus appeared to me and then to the rest of the disciples. He forgave my sin and restored me to leadership. And yes, unworthy as I am, my confession of him as the Christ, the Son of the living God became the rock upon which he built his church. By his grace I truly became Peter “the rock,” the name he gave me when I first met him. In a sense we are all on a footrace to the tomb, or to the grave as we tend to say it today. Life is short. We are on a footrace to the grave, and some will reach it sooner than others. Let’s face it, some of us have a head start! Only God knows the number of your days. But because Jesus rose from the dead at Easter, you do not need to fear death. Jesus conquered sin and death so that you could rise with him one day.