2 Samuel 18:1-19:10 / John 20 / Psalm 119:153-176 / Proverbs 16:14-15
In John 20:19, 21, 26 Jesus said three times to His disciples, “Peace be with you.” Before we dive deeper into what Jesus was speaking over those He loved so much, I want to share with you my thoughts as I read the account in John 20. How many of you have been watching The Chosen series?
I’ve watched every episode of The Chosen and I’m seeing the Gospels in a whole new way as I read through them. As I read about Mary running to tell Peter and John about the stone being rolled away, I was able to imagine the scene in my mind based on the beauty and strength of the characters portrayed in Dallas Jenkins’ series.
I saw Mary’s face as Jesus appeared before her. I saw the faces of the disciples as Jesus appeared suddenly in the room with them. I imagined their surprise and joy, and I’m already looking forward to experiencing these scenes when the time comes for them to be brought to life in The Chosen.
So, what was Jesus giving His disciples as he spoke “Peace be with you”? Imagine how confused and fearful they must have been since his death. The account in John says the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.
Even though Jesus had told them many times what was coming, they didn’t understand what He meant. They thought the Messiah was coming to set up an earthly kingdom, so His death didn’t fit their paradigm. I’m sure they were trying to make sense of everything Jesus had told them as well as figure out what they were to do next without His leadership.
Peace be with you is Eirene (i-ray-nay) Hymin (hoo-min) which means, especially when spoken by The Messiah, the way that leads to peace (salvation). There is much more meant here, such as rest, safety, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation so fearing nothing from God…
As I prayed over this, and although much more is meant by Jesus’s words, I believe He was telling His disciples this – “Do you remember me saying I came to show you the Father? Do you remember me saying I was bringing Salvation? That’s been done. When I died, I went into hell and took away the devil’s power and authority over you. Now I’m giving you the Salvation that my sacrifice paid for.”
I believe this was the first instance of Salvation in scripture! And Jesus spoke Peace three times in a span of 8 days. “I came to bring Salvation. Now receive My Salvation!” During Jesus’s first appearance with His disciples, He also breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, then He spoke of forgiveness of sin.
I’m now imagining the disciples understanding the fullness of Jesus’s mission for having come to earth. I have a feeling their eyes were opened, along with their hearts as they received the Spirit of God into themselves. Prior to this moment, Holy Spirit had only rested upon men and women. Now, for the first time ever, Holy Spirit was living on the inside!
And since it’s Holy Spirit’s job to show Jesus and bring understanding, I bet they finally had the answers to so many questions…
Will you receive Him too?
