What goes on the day after Easter? A. Your dog finds the leftover Easter Eggs behind a bush and partakes. B. You spend time cleaning up all the cascarones spread through your house. C. You eat the remaining jellybeans that are your favorite color and leave the rest for others. D. You consider all that took place on Easter and allow the resurrection to change you.
How can Jesus’ resurrection change us? Today is not a day to “get back to normal”. Easter is a new beginning! Jesus’ death on the cross, the empty grave, and the resurrected Jesus give us hope. Jesus' resurrection gave the disciples hope! Take a look at John 20:19-20:
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”
It was the first day of the week, and the disciples locked themselves away from people. Could we possibly have known the pain in their hearts? How would they pick up the pieces and go on after their beloved Jesus was gone? Life seemed to stop. Even what Jesus had taught them seemed like a distant memory.
We see in the text of John 20:19-20 that the doors were locked. This gives the idea that they were not only shut but also secured and locked against unwelcome visitors. All at once, Jesus came and stood in their midst. We don’t know how Jesus got into the room, but I doubt it was in a normal way.
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”
It was the first day of the week, and the disciples locked themselves away from people. Could we possibly have known the pain in their hearts? How would they pick up the pieces and go on after their beloved Jesus was gone? Life seemed to stop. Even what Jesus had taught them seemed like a distant memory.
We see in the text of John 20:19-20 that the doors were locked. This gives the idea that they were not only shut but also secured and locked against unwelcome visitors. All at once, Jesus came and stood in their midst. We don’t know how Jesus got into the room, but I doubt it was in a normal way.
Just to be honest, any of us, if we were sitting in that room, would have flipped out. This strange experience would suggest that resurrected bodies were not subject to the same limitations as our present bodies. Just think…. Jesus could have gone anywhere. He could have done anything. But He sought out His people and He brought a word of peace to them. The words ‘Peace to you’ are an assurance that there is no cause to fear, and that all is well, for they were alarmed by his manifestation. (Trench, Enduring Word)
The resurrected Jesus gives peace. Something happened in that room that night. The disciples saw the risen Lord. In time, the disciples became more and more confident of what they believed. Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
When Jesus came back to life, they came alive. They would not stop sharing about Jesus and what He had done. The resurrection changed the disciples. It can change us, too. Could it be true that others recognize that we, too, have been with Jesus?
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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