Daily Devotion – March 18, 2020 – Pastor Brian Hansen
John 20.19-22 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
I pray that the peace of Christ which passes all understanding might dwell in your heart and minds during this time of fear and uncertainty. Today in our text we see Jesus showing up in the locked room where the disciples have locked themselves away due to fear. We see them gathered together in this dwelling place afraid of what the unknown future might bring. In this text Jesus finds his way into that locked room and greats them with words of peace. Peace be with you!
The word peace in the Bible often means the opposite of how we’ve come to understand it culturally. Often when we hear the word “peace”, we think of the absence of conflict, such as when there are peace talks between warring nations. However, in the Bible when we hear the word peace used, it generally communicates the promise of God’s presence with us in the midst of conflict, struggle, fear and doubt.
When Jesus shows up in that locked room with the disciples, he meets them amidst their fears and uncertainties and he greets them with those four simple words: PEACE BE WITH YOU. As we make our way forward together as a community in Christ called to be Christ in community, that is my hope and prayer for you as well. May Christ’s peace and presence dwell richly within you. May you know the comfort of Christ’s abiding presence today, tomorrow, and in the days to come. May the peace that passes all understanding be with you all!
In Christ,
Pastor Brian
