I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous! (John 14:27 TPT)
Last week was an unusual Holy Week for me. On Palm Sunday, one of our ewes gave birth to four lambs (twins are the norm). Then, two days later, our other ewe had complications during her delivery, which led to two vet visits and ongoing care—shots for the moms, milk replacer for one of the quadruplets, and many trips out to the sheep barn. I’m grateful to report that, after all of that, both ewes and all five lambs are doing well.
Because of this, the week I would normally spend in extra time in Scripture and prayer was instead spent in rubber boots—organizing care, giving penicillin and other shots, and tending to these sweet animals God has entrusted to us. I’m thankful I had posts from previous years to share, as I didn’t have the time or space to write.
Today is a new day, and this is a new week. God’s mercies are new every morning. Even if my Holy Week didn’t unfold as I had hoped, Holy Week and Easter always have something important to teach us. As I was rereading the posts I shared last week, I was thinking about what happened immediately after the women and disciples found out that Jesus’s tomb was empty. Two thousand years later we know how to respond to that news, but in the twelve hours after their discovery, what would they have said? How would they have felt? What questions would they have? If you and I could eavesdrop on their conversations, what would we have heard?
John 20:19-20 (TPT) tells us, That evening, the disciples gathered together, and because they were afraid of reprisals from the Jewish leaders, they had locked the doors. But suddenly Jesus appeared among them and said, “Peace to you!” Then he showed them the wounds of his hands and his side—they were overjoyed to see the Lord with their own eyes!
So, there was a realistic fear of the Jewish authorities who, after all, had just crucified their friend and Messiah. It would be logical to wonder, Would they be next?
There was also such a community of these different people that they were gathered together. The time they had spent together with their itinerant Rabbi, had helped to mold them into a community of faith – imperfect people, but still together behind those locked doors.
Although most translations say that Jesus “came and stood in their midst,” the NLT begins the sentence with “Suddenly.” I’ve often pictured this as Jesus simply appearing among them—like passing through walls and materializing—which would make that “suddenly” feel very fitting.
But it’s also possible that Jesus knew where they were, entered the dwelling in an ordinary way, and simply walked in. We’re not told exactly how it happened. What we do know is that his presence startled them. His first words—“Peace to you”—seem to address their shock. And even then, they struggled to believe it was really him, so he showed them the marks where the nails had pierced his body to confirm his identity.
Although there’s plenty to unpack in this story, let’s take a moment and focus on Jesus’s blessing of PEACE.
Last week was more chaos than I expected or wanted; perhaps you have had weeks like that, too.
The original week we now call “Holy” was much more chaos than the original Jesus followers wanted.
But, if today, we are still trapped in that chaos, then we have failed to accept and internalize the beautiful gift of peace that Jesus offers us. He came to the disciples where they had gathered. He comes to us where we are. He spoke peace over them, and he speaks peace to us – peace over us – because he knows the trials of being human. He knows us, and he knows how easy it is to get out of the perfect Peace of God. God is always, completely, and totally at peace. This gift is always offered to us.
Today, in the aftermath of Holy Week and Easter, let us remind ourselves to gather together with those who also love and serve God. May we be people who believe in the atoning death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. And may we be people who live, move, and have our being in the perfect shalom peace offered to us.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. AMEN.
He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being…(Acts 17:26-28 NKJV)