ALIVE AND REALLY THERE
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, 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.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23
That evening.
The evening of that first day of the week when the stone has been rolled away and Jesus’ body has disappeared. No one knows who has taken it. No one knows what is going on. There is talk of resurrection, but no one really knows what to believe.
Jesus’ followers are together with the doors locked. Scared. Confused.
And Jesus comes to them. He stands among them.
He brings peace and proof, joy and purpose, the Holy Spirit and the potential for forgiveness.
In Luke’s account , Jesus eats fish with them. He wants them to know it is him and he is really there with them.
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. Luke 24:37
‘Peace be with you!’
‘Peace be with you!’
‘Peace be with you!’
One of the Twelve, Thomas, was not there. He misses all this. He can’t believe, won’t believe, unless he sees for himself.
And so a week later, Jesus comes to Thomas.
Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:26-29
Jesus brings peace and proof, certainty and wonder, blessing upon blessing.
In Luke 24, Luke recounts the story of two of Jesus’ followers walking to a village called Emmaus on that first day, trying to make sense of all that they have witnessed. Jesus comes to them. He’s the last person they expect to see and they don’t recognise him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:17-27
Jesus gives them the opportunity to express themselves. Jesus brings an explanation.
When they urge him to stay and eat with them when they arrive at the village, that’s when they recognise him.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30-32
Jesus has been there with them on the road. They just need a reminder to open their eyes and recognise him.
Their hearts had known all along.
Jesus still comes and stands among us today.
We may not recognise him straight away, but he is there, working in us and around us. On those occasions when our hearts burn with us, that’s an indication that Jesus is at work.
Jesus brings peace where there is fear.
He brings assurance where there is doubt and uncertainty.
He brings understanding where there is confusion.
Maybe at times, we don’t recognise Jesus. And then something happens to open our eyes and we know. We know that Jesus is alive and that Jesus is here among us.
‘Peace be with you!’
‘Peace be with you!’
‘Peace be with you!’
