John 20:19-23 19Then, when it was on the evening of that first day of the week, while the doors had been locked where the disciples were on account of fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20And after he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John begins this next section by noting that it was the evening of the same day that Jesus had risen from the dead. Most of the day had passed by the point of these verses. Just before this, Jesus had walked along the road to Emmaus with two people (Luke 24:13-35). As evening came, he mysteriously left them and then showed up back in Jerusalem, which in itself was miraculous and suggests that he was able to come and go on a different plane of reality. The disciples had all day to think about what Mary had told them. The delay in Jesus’ appearance would challenge their faith and prepare their surprise and relief.
John also notes that the door was locked. This small detail makes Jesus’ appearance even more miraculous and mysterious. A third note is how the door was locked because the disciples feared the Jews. Instead of celebrating with wonder and awe at what Mary had told them, and possibly what the two persons from Emmaus told them (Luke 24:33-35), the disciples cowered in fear of the Jews. They were unwilling, powerless, or full of shame to face those who seemed to have won the battle. From a human perspective, all seemed lost. In certain circumstances, fear can capture hope and paralyze a person, even someone who has walked with Jesus for years. The disciples needed divine confirmation and rescue to get out of fear’s prison.
In answer to this fear, Jesus provided two gifts (the other gift is given in verses 22-23). First, he spoke the word they–and all people–needed to hear: Peace (eirēnē, šâlōm in Hebrew). The focus of this peace was the disciples (to you). Jesus repeats this greeting two more times, in verses 21 and 26, each time providing further assurance of his resurrection and gift to his disciples. His peace would replace their fear. Jesus’ peace was more than a good feeling. Through his resurrection, the disciples gathered in that room, and all who put their faith in Jesus from that point on, experienced saving, reconciling, and sanctifying peace with God (Romans 5:1). That he needed to show his disciples his nail-pierced hands and sword-plunged side suggests that they could not believe their eyes. They needed more confirmation of what they were seeing and hearing. They could know for sure that Jesus had been crucified, dead, buried, and now alive. Their response of joy is an understatement of the overwhelming moment when they realized both with the eyes in their head and the eyes of their heart that Jesus was alive again. It would take a lifetime and beyond for them to grasp the significance of that moment.
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