Peace Be with You

Behind Shut Doors

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Shut doors. On the evening of the day Jesus rose, the disciples were together “when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19).

Afraid. They were most likely afraid of the leaders who had handed Jesus over. They had shut the doors to stay safe.

They ran. Only a few days before, when Jesus was arrested, “they all forsook Him and fled” (Mark 14:50). Forsook means they left Him alone.

He told them. Jesus had said it would happen: “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone” (John 16:32).

His first word. Now Jesus “came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (20:19). He did not begin with blame. He began with peace.

A promise kept. At the supper before the cross, Jesus had promised, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).

Not afraid. In the same verse He said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (14:27). His peace pushes out fear.

Luke tells it too. When Jesus said, “Peace to you,” the disciples were “terrified and frightened” (Luke 24:36-37). He asked, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Then He said, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself” (24:38-39).

Again. “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you!’” (John 20:21). He said it a second time.

For Thomas too. A week later, with Thomas in the room, He said it once more: “Peace to you!” (20:26). Thomas, who had not believed, heard the same word of peace.

Peace before faith. Jesus did not wait for His friends to stop doubting before He spoke peace. Peace came first, and faith grew as they saw Him.

In Me. Jesus had said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). His peace comes from being with Him.

Not like the world. The world's peace lasts only while things go well. Jesus' peace stays even behind shut doors, because He Himself is with His people.

What this means for you. When you are afraid, or when you have let Jesus down, His word to you is still peace. Come to Him. He died for your sins and rose again, and He gives His peace to all who trust Him.

Behind shut doors. “When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst” (John 20:19). Those they feared were most likely the leaders who had handed Jesus over.

Scattered. Jesus had warned, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32). That night “they all forsook Him and fled” (Mark 14:50).

The first word. He came and said, “Peace be with you” (20:19). It was an ordinary greeting in Israel. From the risen Lord to men who had left Him alone, it meant far more.

My peace. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Deiliao. Afraid in John 14:27 is deiliao (say: day-lee-AH-oh), to shrink back, to be timid and fearful. Behind the shut doors, that is exactly how the disciples were.

Luke's account. “Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened” (Luke 24:36-37). He asked, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” and said, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself” (24:38-39). Thomas was not the only one who struggled to believe.

Peace for doubters. Jesus did not wait for the disciples to stop doubting before He spoke peace. Peace came first, and faith grew in His presence.

Peace again. “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you!’” (John 20:21). A week later He said it to Thomas and the others: “Peace to you!” (20:26).

Peace that stays. Jesus promised His peace before the cross and spoke it again after the cross. Nothing in between, not His arrest, not their running away and not His death, could cancel His promise.

Not as the world gives. The world gives peace when trouble goes away. Jesus gives peace in the middle of trouble, because He is there.

For you. Fear, failure and doubt do not keep Jesus away. His first word to frightened disciples was peace. He died and rose to make that peace, and He gives it to all who trust Him.

Peace Through the Cross

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Peace, then hands. “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). Right after He spoke peace, He showed them His wounds.

Why the wounds? The marks showed that the risen Lord was the same Jesus who had been crucified. They also showed how His peace was made.

The biggest trouble. The worst trouble in the world is not between people and people. It is between people and God. Our sin made us God's enemies.

Enemies made friends. Paul wrote that “we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). Jesus took the punishment for our sin so that we could have peace.

Brought near. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Sin had kept people far away from God. Now anyone who trusts Jesus can come near.

He is our peace. “For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Peace is not only something Jesus gives. Jesus Himself is our peace.

Through the cross. He came “that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 2:16). Jews and people from every nation come to God the same way.

Peace preached. “And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:17).

The way in. “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). Access means the way in is open. Through Jesus, anyone who trusts Him can come to the Father.

Peace with God. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). It comes through faith in Jesus.

Glad. When the disciples saw His hands and side, they were glad (John 20:20). The wounds that had broken their hearts now filled them with joy.

Peace inside. Peace with God comes first. Then God's peace can calm your heart, even on hard days.

What this means for you. You cannot make peace with God by trying harder. Jesus made peace by His blood on the cross, and He rose again. Trust Him, and you will have peace with God.

Hands and side. “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). The greeting and the wounds came together. The peace He spoke was the peace His wounds had made.

Eirene. Peace is eirene (say: ay-RAY-nay). It is more than a calm feeling. It means the trouble between two sides is over, and all is well between them.

Enemies reconciled. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). The death of the Son made the peace.

Brought near. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Our peace. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Ephesians 2:14). Jews and Gentiles, once divided, are made one in Him.

One new man. He came “to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). Peace with God also makes believers one family.

Reconciled. He came “that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:16). Enmity means being enemies. At the cross the enmity itself was put to death.

Preached peace. “And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:17). “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (2:18). Peace with God opens the way to the Father, for Jew and Gentile alike.

Far and near. In Ephesians 2 the far off are the Gentiles and the near are Israel. Both needed the same peace, and both receive it the same way, through the cross.

Access. Access means the way in is open. Through Jesus, by the Spirit, believers come to the Father as His children, not as strangers waiting outside.

Justified. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace with God comes first. The peace of God in the heart grows from it.

For you. Peace with God is not earned by effort or feelings. It was made at the cross and announced by the risen Christ. Trust Him, and you are at peace with God, even on days your heart feels troubled.

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