. . . the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”John 20:19
My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Immediately following the resurrection of our Lord, on that very Sunday evening, we discover that the eleven remaining Disciples of Jesus were far from being the courageous heralds of the Gospel that we imagine.
John’s Gospel tells us that they were all terribly afraid of the Jewish religious authorities and what they might do to them since they had been so closely associated with Jesus. After all, it was these same authorities that, with the crowds in Jerusalem egging them on, had so brutally abused and crucified their Savior. And even Peter and John, who had seen the empty tomb for themselves, could not wrap their heads around the miracle that had actually occurred early that morning (John 20:2-10).
By that same evening, they found themselves with eight of the other disciples (except for Thomas) behind locked doors, trembling in fear for what terrible things were likely in store for them.
The intersection of facts here is quite remarkable. On the one hand, Jesus had been raised from the dead, just as He said. With His atoning death and bodily resurrection all of the malevolent powers and principalities at work in the world had been mortally wounded, and death itself had been killed off! But on the other hand, we see the Disciples of our Lord groveling in fear for their lives. It’s hard not to recognize the profound tension here. Victory over death, evil, and hell itself had been achieved. Yet those who were the very closest to Jesus were paralyzed, afraid to go out in public, knowing full well that they now had targets painted on their backs!
Perhaps in those moments behind the locked doors they recalled, and even discussed, what Jesus had said to them just before He was crucified:
“They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God”(John 16:2).
If we try to put ourselves into their shoes, we can see why they would be not only devastated by the death of Jesus at the hands of His enemies, but also in fear for their lives as well.
But then, John tells us that our resurrected Lord Himself came to them there, behind those locked doors, and He said to them, “ Peace be with you”(v. 19). And then again, after the frightened Apostles had inspected the wounds on the Lord’s body, He said it once more: “Peace be with you”(v. 21).
Then, eight days later the eleven Disciples were again gathered behind locked doors, this time with Thomas in attendance (v. 26). Obviously, the fear of suffering and death still had them in its icy grip, and the uncertainty before them had robbed them of any semblance of inner tranquility. But yet again, the Lord Himself came and stood before them. And just as He had eight days earlier, He declared for the third time, “ Peace be with you” (v. 26).
So what encouragement is there for us from this passage on this first Monday after Easter?
Let me simply suggest a few quick thoughts:
First, the peace that we need in order to live and serve our Lord faithfully in this world does not come from experiencing better circumstances or conditions.
Our peace is in a Person! Our circumstances will be exactly as Jesus taught. In this world there will be tribulation for us (John 16:33). There will never be a time when the world is not at war with us. Yet, we have peace because we always have Jesus Himself!
Situations and circumstances change with the wind. But our peace is indomitable and immovable because our Lord Himself is never changing and is never absent from His beloved sheep! If we have Him, we have peace. If we have Him we have His presence, and not only with us always, but in us always!
Second, we must be careful to understand what having peace really means.
I would suggest that there is a great difference between experiencing a lack of conflict on one hand, and having peace on the other (at least in the Biblical sense). At the end of a long day as you are relaxing on your couch, almost asleep, you might well be enjoying a lack of conflict at that moment. But that’s not really peace. The peace we have in Christ not only assumes, but requires, the presence of conflict. Without something threatening us, or something disturbing us, ‘peace’ is really a meaningless term.
The peace that Jesus gives, that Jesus actually embodies, comes to us in our fears, in our anxieties, in situations of danger, and in seasons of great distress that threaten to paralyze us.
In this story from John’s Gospel, Jesus appeared to His Disciples and blessed them with His peace as they were in the midst of a very frightening situation. He did not remove them from the danger, but stood with them right in the middle of it! This is what it means to have His peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”(John 14:27).
Finally, we note that our Lord speaks His peace to the Disciples three times in these two episodes.
I sense in this the assurance that His presence and His peace are always enough, and are never exhausted by our afflictions no matter how frequent or intense they may be. Three being the number of perfection in Scripture, there is the intentional focus here upon the sufficiency and eternal abundance of our Lord’s gift of peace to His people! He will never run short of this precious treasure that He delights to give to those who love Him. For His peace is as omnipresent and eternal as He is!
So, find your Monday encouragement here in this truth: Your Savior and Lord is always with you, even when you are hiding behind locked doors trembling in fear. And since He is ever with you, you always have His peace!
I love you all so dearly!
Mike