19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, 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.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
After the trauma the disciples experienced on Good Friday, and the dreadful mood of death and defeat which must have completely overwhelmed them on Saturday, the one thing above all others they needed after the resurrection of Jesus was to be reminded of the peace He now brought them.
Actually, the Gospel accounts contain very few details of the almost six weeks between the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, but what we do know is that during this time, Jesus helped His followers (and us by extension), to see the clear connection between His death and resurrection. We asked the rhetorical question a couple of weeks ago: Which is the greater doctrine of the Christian faith - the death of Jesus, or the resurrection of Jesus?
Even though He rose from the grave, and what a glorious victory that was, His disciples still had to learn that Jesus’ death too, as traumatic and as cruel as it was, was no less glorious than His resurrection.
We have referred to Jesus’ appearance to the two disciples on the Emmaus road a few times in recent weeks, and here again we see how His death and resurrection form equally important roles in God’s eternal plan of redemption when Jesus said to these two men in Luke 24:26, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?”
Three times in chapter 20, John records Jesus saying to His followers, “Peace be with you.” And for the true peace He brings to really make sense to them, they had to learn about the glory of Jesus’ atoning death, instead of trying to blot it out of their memories as if it were some kind of bad nightmare. They probably would’ve preferred to forget about Friday, and who can blame them? We would no doubt have wished the same, but the lesson to Jesus’ followers then and today, is that it is the resurrected and living Christ who suffered and died for us, who comes with power to bring us to faith.
And that faith has its foundation in the cross, in Jesus’ atoning death for us. Even though Jesus defeated the death it brought, the cross remains central to our faith. We simply can’t nor should we try to ignore the cross and the suffering our Saviour endured there for us.
In fact, the apostle Paul embraced the cross and it was central to the message he preached. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-24)
During the past couple of weeks we have looked at the resurrection of Jesus and how the news began to spread in the early hours of that day of days, and now in John’s account, he takes us to Jesus’ first appearance to His disciples that evening.
Notice what John says in the first part of verse 19. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week.” Without realising it, the disciples began a practice which Christians continue to observe today. We meet together on the first day - the resurrection day of the week. Contrary to the way so many calendars are printed these days, Monday is the second day of the week, not the first…
Luke, in his account, tells us that it was not just the remaining eleven disciples who were gathered together. We can assume that the women who had already seen the risen Jesus were there, as well as the two disciples who returned from Emmaus who joined them. “They rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:33-35)
It’s hard for us to picture the mood in the room that evening. Since Jesus’ arrest late on Thursday night, His followers had been on emotional rollercoaster ride. They had experienced fear, sheer terror, bereavement and sorrow, despair and hopelessness and flickering hope, but with no real peace, because despite the news that Jesus had risen from the dead, they just could not bring themselves to fully believe it.
After all, as John says, they had locked the doors because they feared the Jewish authorities. If they could convince the Romans to put Jesus to death, what hope did the disciples have of escaping death?
They would almost certainly be blamed for the missing body, so in their minds, it was probably just a matter of time before they would be arrested, so they were scared, confused and hopeful all at the same time.
All these years later we find it easy to criticise the disciples and the many times their faith was weak, but at least on this occasion, they were together. They had not scattered as they did on Thursday night. Gathering together, especially in the midst of such confusion and uncertainty, was an act of faith. John Calvin wrote, “This example is worthy of notice, for though they are less courageous than they ought to have been, still they do not give way to their weakness. They gather courage so as to remain together.” Remember from last week, we are family, adopted by God Himself, and we need each other on our journey through life, because as we well know, that journey is very rocky and dangerous at times.
Hebrews 10:23-25 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Throughout the history of the church, and even today, Christians have met under the threat of persecution, so they meet secretly and in fear, but what a wonderful reminder we have in John 20 that the living Christ meets us in our need, and brings us His peace.
It was in their fear where Jesus brought His disciples peace that night, because they certainly needed it. They must have been nervously watching that locked door. Their nerves would’ve been on edge every time they heard someone walking past the house, not to mention how they must have felt when they heard two people running up to their door, frantically knocking and asking to be let in, because they had wonderful news. They must have jumped out of their skins when they heard the commotion at the door. And then John says in verse 19, almost matter-of-factly, “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
The implications of both John and Luke is that Jesus simply appeared to them without having to enter through the door. This would not be possible for a normal human body, but Jesus now possessed a gloriously resurrected body. This same body, having earlier passed through the graveclothes in the tomb, appeared among the disciples seemingly out of thin air. The evangelist F. B. Meyer wrote, “He was not subject to all the laws that govern our physical life. He could pass freely through unopened doors, and at will He could manifest Himself, speak, stand, and walk, or subject Himself to physical sense.”
Matthew, Mark and Luke record Jesus’ appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus briefly took on the appearance which most agree was in the form of His gloriously resurrected body. It was still Jesus, yet there was something remarkably different about Him. Luke says in 24:37 that when He appeared to His disciples in the locked room that night, they “were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” So He showed them His hands and feet to prove that this was the same body that had been crucified. Luke even tells us that He ate some fish to prove that His body was real.
A question we hear all the time is, “What will our resurrected bodies be like, and how will we be recognised in eternity?”
We don’t have to lose any sleep trying to answer that question, because God has already answered it. We’ll just have to wait and see, but what we do know is that there will be some kind of connection between Jesus’ post-resurrection body and the resurrection bodies that we will receive in heaven. 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” And Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:49, “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
We all want to know what heaven will look like, what we will look like, how our loved one will recognise us and how we will recognise them, but these are all secondary matters. Or at least they should be. Paul put it so well in Philippians 1:23. “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
Heaven is not about us. It is about Christ, and being in His presence forever.
During the period between His resurrection and ascension, He brought His peace to His followers, and He still does so for us today through the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit.
He appeared not only to prove that He did rise from the dead and was alive, but also to deliver a crucial message to His people: “Peace be with you.”
The Greek word John uses for peace in chapter 20 is eirene. Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon defines eirene as “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.” That is the peace we need in our sinful, turbulent world, and this is precisely the peace the risen Christ brings us.
And of course, the traditional Hebrew greeting shalom, speaks of the blessing of God’s rich peace, which is what Jesus brought His disciples that night.
What a difference from just a few days earlier, when the disciples failed Jesus miserably.
“Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter answered Him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same.” (Matthew 26:31-35)
As Jesus foretold, Peter did deny Him, and the others had scattered. Now, He appears to them after His resurrection. We can only speculate as to what their first thoughts were. Would He be angry? Would He now reject them just as they had rejected Him?
A. W. Pink writes: “Well might He have said, ‘Shame upon you!’ But, instead He says, ‘Peace be with you.’ He would remove from their hearts all fear which His sudden and unannounced appearance might have occasioned. Having put away their sins He could now remove their fears.”
Because of the grace of God, we are not treated as we deserve. We deserve condemnation, but because of the blood of Christ shed for us, God brings us His peace, His shalom. It is because Jesus both died and rose from the dead that we have His perfect peace. This is why the cross and all that it signifies, remains central to the message of the church. George Beasley-Murray summed it up perfectly when he wrote, “The crucified Lord is the risen Lord, and the risen Lord is the crucified Lord, the flesh and blood Redeemer, whose real death and real resurrection accomplished salvation.”
It’s also important to note that Jesus’ resurrection did not remove the marks of crucifixion from His glorified body. One of the reasons is that these wounds are a vital part of His glory, and are essential for His saving ministry.
In Revelation, John is given a vision of the glory of Jesus, and he specifically mentions the marks of crucifixion which Jesus will bear for eternity. “Between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’” (Revelation 5:6-10)
Yet another reminder to the church that we are to preach Christ, and Him crucified.
John writes in verse 20, “He showed them His hands and His side.” He appears in a glorious resurrection body, but He bears the marks of His sacrificial death in that body. The reason is clear - through His sacrificial death in our place, Jesus provides peace with God through the forgiveness of our sins. The marks on His body proclaim and remind us that God’s just wrath against our sins has been satisfied by Jesus’ death. He took the punishment we deserve. Paul writes in Romans 3:23-25, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”
The peace Jesus brings is completely different to worldly peace. From a human perspective, peace is just the absence of war and hostilities between nations and between individual people, and we all know how fragile that peace is. This is why, just before going to the cross, Jesus told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Paul writes about the peace of God in Philippians 4:5-7, “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Even our most peaceful, closest, personal relationships are corrupted by sin, and that peace can be shattered in an instant.
Jesus though, offers a divine peace that comes from knowing that our acceptance in God’s love has been secured by Jesus’ sacrifice and that God’s blessing of spiritual provision has been secured through our union with Christ in faith.
Do you know the peace that comes as a direct result of His wounds on the cross? If you have not looked to Jesus in faith, trusting His blood to cleanse your sins, then you have no legitimate hope for peace with God and no access to the peace that God gives through the ministry of His Word and in prayer.
“Peace be with you,” Jesus told His disciples, as He showed them His wounds. Having died for sin, Jesus offers everyone His peace through faith in His atoning blood, and it is only through faith in Him that we can ever know true peace.
He is also our source of true joy. Verse 20 says, “Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” Other English translations say, rejoiced, overjoyed, and filled with joy.
Now, at last, they finally understood. Jesus had indeed risen from death, and they were filled with Godly joy.
We may not be happy all the time. There are times when we are incredibly sad and desperately heartbroken, but we can, through the power of the crucified and risen Christ, live with Godly joy in our hearts. And we have that peace and joy because we know our sins are forgiven, and we belong to God through Christ.
And then, through Jesus’ words at the end of verse 21, John reminds us once more of our task as the church. “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Our salvation brings us peace, it fills our hearts with joy, and in that peace and out of that joy, we go to the lost, telling them of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Leon Morris wrote, “The church is a group of people who have been saved by Christ’s saving death and resurrection and who, on the basis of that death and resurrection have been commissioned to bring the message of salvation to sinners everywhere.”
Jesus was sent into the world, and now He sends us into the world. We are to be life-preserving salt in this dead and decaying world, and we are to shine the light of the Gospel of Christ in the dark which surrounds us everywhere.
Of course, none of us is perfect. If Jesus’ very own disciples let Him down, how can God use us with our doubts, our fears and our insecurities?
The answer is in our text today. As peace and joy come from Jesus’ atoning death, so also does our rejoicing in the cross stir and motivate Christians to be effective witnesses of the power of the Gospel.
We must remember that it is God who empowers and equips His church, but if we have peace and joy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, He will empower us to share that message of hope with the lost.
Tell them what God has done. Share the testimony of the death and resurrection of Christ. 1 John 5:9-12 says, “This is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
“Peace be with you,” Jesus said to His disciples, and He says the same to us. To a world which rejects the peace of Christ, we offer to them a peace that it has never known - peace with God through the forgiveness of sins achieved by Christ’s death and the peace of God as Christ’s Spirit lives within the hearts of all who believe.
Homegroup Study Notes
Read John 20:19-21
This was now many hours after news of the resurrection of Jesus had begun to spread, yet the disciples were still fearful, and hiding in a locked house. Why was this?
The risen Jesus not only calmed their immediate fears, but He reminded them of the peace of the forgiveness of sins.
Discuss some of the differences between the peace Jesus brings, and peace the world pursues.
Although Jesus appeared in His glorified resurrection body, He still bore the scars of His crucifixion. Revelation 5:6 teaches that He will bear these scars for eternity. What is the significance of this?
Now, at last, the disciples finally realised that Jesus had risen from the dead, and verse 20 tells us they were filled with joy.
How have you experienced the peace and joy of Jesus, especially in times of struggle and sadness?
What did Jesus mean in verse 21, and how do these words apply to us today?