“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’” (John 20:19-22).
John 20 contains the account of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In the evening of that day, “the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear…” You could say that because of fear they had imposed a “safer at home” order for themselves. Their leader was dead. Their future was uncertain. The felt their very lives were threatened. They had never faced this before. As a result, fear gripped their lives.
Fear is on the rise in many people’s hearts today. Like the disciples, families are together, with their lives locked down for fear of the COVID-19 virus. The future “normal” is uncertain. Health and lives are threatened. We have never faced this before. In states that are becoming “open for business” faster than Wisconsin, some are gripped with fear and struggling to return to some sense of normalcy.
“When…the doors were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” To emphasize the point Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” a second time. “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” Fear was instantly replaced with an indescribable joy. The bondage is replaced with freedom. What fear can defeat someone who just defeated the greatest fear – the fear of dying and what happens after that?
Then Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In essence, He is saying, “You will be unlocking these doors. You will be going into the world to be my witnesses to a world that desperately needs My good news of salvation, deliverance, healing, protection, provision, etc!” He goes on the say “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In this He is communicating to His disciples that the Holy Spirit that raised Him from the dead will be coming to be with them and in them! The Holy Spirit is a spirit of freedom and not fear.
Someone said, “Ships are safe in the harbor, but that is not why they were created.” The disciples would open their lives to the fresh wind of the Spirit to take them to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. There were unkowns. There would be danger. There would be rejection. However, there would also be miracles, changed lives, churches established, etc. None would ever have happened if they would have remained in fear.
When you put your trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, He gave you His Holy Spirit. We are reminded to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. The result will be an overflowing of the fruit of the Spirit, including an enabling to walk in faith and freedom, not in fear. Today, some of you need to hear the Spirit say to your spirit, “Peace be with you!” The Great Commission has not changed. It is not put on hold because an unseen enemy. Jesus’ directive to His disciples is still true for us today, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
In Jesus’ name, I speak an unrelenting peace and indescribable joy to replace debilitating fear in believer’s lives. Amen!