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.

John 20:19-20

Peace be with you.

When Jesus appears after His resurrection this is the first thing he says – Peace be with you.

It should surprise us really. John’s fantastic complex sentence gives a lot of information swiftly.

When Jesus meets the disciples, they are all in there together. The last time they were all together was just before most of them fled. They probably don’t feel great about that. Would hardly want to share their stories on that one and get judged. And that’s not even to mention the Judas factor. He was there last time too. But now, Judas has betrayed and then attempts unsuccessfully to come to terms with that. That’s going to hit a group dynamic hard. Collectively, as a group what they need is – peace.

And even in saying all that, I haven’t got to the fact that the disciples are in fear for their lives because of the chief priests and teachers of the law and what they did to Jesus. No wonder they locked the doors.

In Back to the Future, the Doc famously tells Marty McFly “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

At this point in the story, the risen Jesus could quite easily say, “Doors? With this resurrection body, I don’t need doors.” Or unlocked ones at any rate…

Because he just appears. The doors are locked but there he is.

And he brings them peace.

Peace with God. Peace with Him. And Peace with each other.

Jesus shows them his hands and his sides. He gives them evidence that it truly is him.

And the disciples – overjoyed.

Overjoyed. There’s a word you don’t hear very often.

Other than via Matchbox 20 and Stevie Wonder, I can’t think of anything in popular culture in which the word ‘overjoyed’ gets used.

But when Jesus, who was dead, becomes alive again and comes to visit and you see the evidence and truth of it all, there really is no other word for it. Overjoyed.

Yours with her own complex sentence,

Alison