Wednesday, May 7, 2014
John 20:19-20 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
A WORD OF PEACE TO STRENGTHEN FAITH
Jesus' resurrection from the dead sent shock waves throughout the world. Peter and John, the Apostle Paul, and the others who had been with Jesus-- wherever they went they talked of Him being alive, so throughout the known world went the news that this Man who had been crucified on a cross had come back from the dead. And that news stirred up people everywhere. Some were stirred to faith. Some doubted.
The resurrection of Jesus was such a momentous thing that the disciples themselves struggled with it. When they first heard the news that Jesus was alive, they had trouble believing it.
Yet it was important for them to believe that Jesus had physically risen from the dead. For if He had not really risen, then everything they believed in and hoped for would fall apart. Without Christ's resurrection, their sin-guilt could not be counted as having been taken away. For Scripture says (1 Corinthians 15:17): "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."
When Jesus appeared to His disciples on Easter evening, He had in mind to strengthen and increase their faith in His resurrection. He did this by first giving them a word of peace. "Peace be with you!" he said. Notice that only after that did He draw their attention to His physical presence, His scarred hands and His wounded side.
First came a word of peace. First He gave them a word that would assure them that their sins had been taken away, that they were forgiven. And by this word their hearts would begin to know that Jesus had risen from the dead-- because this word of peace could not be true unless He had truly come back to life. By this word Jesus began to convince them that He was alive and among them again-- even before He said, "Look at me standing here."
How do we know that Jesus is alive again? We are not convinced because we have seen Him, but we are convinced by His word of peace. We believe that word, so we also know that Christ has risen from the dead.
