Sunday April 12, 2026

Peace be with you

We are in the middle of a series called Risen. Last week we talked about hope. Mary went to the tomb weeping and the risen Jesus met her there. He called her by name and sent her to find the others. This week we turn to peace.

The scripture takes place on the evening of that same day. The first day of the week. Mary has already seen Jesus. She has already told the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." But for the rest of them, the news is still too good to be true. They are gathered in a room somewhere in Jerusalem, and the doors are locked. John tells us why: for fear of the Jews.

They are hiding. They watched Jesus die two days ago. They have heard rumors that he is alive, but they do not know what to make of it. Even if the rumors are true, they do not know what comes next. The same authorities who killed Jesus are still out there. The danger has not passed. So they lock the doors and wait.

There is a particular kind of stillness that settles over a room when people are waiting for what comes next. You have felt it. In a hospital hallway, or a living room after a funeral, or any space where the future feels uncertain and no one quite knows what to say. The disciples knew that stillness. They were afraid and uncertain, having just lived through the worst weekend of their lives.

Into that room and that silence, Jesus appeared. The doors were locked, but that did not stop him. He stood among them. And the first thing he said was not a rebuke for their fear or a lecture about faith or an explanation of everything that was about to happen. It was this: "Peace be with you."

In Hebrew the word is shalom. It was common enough as a salutation. But on the lips of the risen Jesus, standing in a room full of terrified disciples, it became something else. It became a gift. He was not wishing them well. He was giving them something they did not have and could not manufacture on their own.

Then he showed them his hands and his side. The wounds were still there. The scars of the cross had not disappeared. But the one who bore them was alive. And when the disciples saw him, John tells us, they rejoiced. Their fear gave way to joy. Not because the circumstances had changed. The authorities were still out there. The danger was still real. But Jesus was with them.

Then he said it again. "Peace be with you." Jesus said it twice, and that was no accident. Peace was the foundation for everything that came next. And what came next was a commission.

"As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

The Father had sent Jesus into a broken world to bring redemption. Now Jesus was sending the disciples into that same world to continue the work. They were not being sent because the coast was clear or because the danger had passed. They were being sent with peace in the midst of it. Peace was not the reward for finishing the mission but the provision for beginning it.

Jesus did not stop there. He knew they could not do this on their own. He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This echoes Genesis, when God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul. Now Jesus breathes new life into his followers. He was not sending them out empty-handed. He was equipping them for the work ahead.

The disciples had been hiding. Jesus met them there. He gave them peace, a mission, and the Spirit to accomplish it. They did not have to figure it out on their own.

Peace is not the absence of uncertainty. It is what carries you through it. The disciples did not receive peace because their situation had improved. They received peace because Jesus was in the room. His presence was enough.

The doors are unlocked. The work continues. And you are not alone.