Often people claim to have no regrets about the way they have lived their lives and the things they have done. But it seems to me that they must either have an unusual capacity for forgetfulness, or an extraordinary ability to avoid accepting responsibility. One of the inherent characteristics of humanness is our constant failings. We try to be the person we want to be, but time and time again we fall short of the mark. It is impossible to live life without doing things that we later regret.
The night before the death of Jesus was a night that many people would later regret. As recorded in Mark chapter 14, Jesus said to his disciples, “All of you will stumble because of me tonight. It is predicted, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’” And sure enough, Judas betrayed Jesus, the disciples ran away when the going got tough, and Peter denied even knowing Jesus when he faced questioning.
The stumblings of the disciples were a contributing factor to the death of Jesus, and the disciples could have been left wondering for the rest of their lives, “What could have happened if only I had been more courageous?” However, the story does not end with the failings and regrets. When Jesus died, he bore in his body the sins and failings of the whole world. If we believe in Jesus, our failings and our sense of guilt have been taken away. Regret has been swallowed up in resurrection.