Weeping, Fear, and Skepticism: When We Are Afraid

April 5

Read: John 20:11-29

Weeping, Fear, and Skepticism:

When We Are Afraid

When Jesus arose from the grave his first three stops were to one who was weeping, ones who were afraid, and to one in particular who was skeptical and seeking proof. I don’t know about you, but it is comforting to me to see our savior meeting his brothers and sisters where they are in this world. I can relate to all of these characters in one way or another. There are times in life when one’s eyes are filled with tears of sadness… times when we are scared about what is going on around us… times of fear regarding what the future holds… and even times that we doubt the messages of goodness that others tell - we are hungry for PROOF that God is indeed real and good! The RISEN and LIVING Jesus meets God’s people in every one of those circumstances.

“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.” (v.19)

It makes sense that the disciples were afraid. After all, Jesus had just been crucified by the powers that be! Corrupt individuals in power have been persecuting the people of God for thousands of years. This persecution is nothing new really. The disciples were in a locked upper room “for fear of the Jews”. Instead of tears like Mary, these disciples were experiencing paralyzing fear. It was stopping them from going out into the community. It was stopping them from going to work. These guys were afraid. For anyone who has wrestled with anxiety or panic attacks, you know these feelings all too well!

Jesus passes through the locked doors of the upper room… into this confined space of fear … and he speaks to his disciples words of PEACE. Jesus looks at them and says, “PEACE be with you.” These words were coming from the God-man who had just days earlier sweat blood in a garden because of how troubled he was! (cf. Mark 14:32, etc.) Jesus knew what it meant to face fear. He also knew that he was coming to bring to God’s people peace. This is what Jesus brings when he meets us in our fear… be brings us peace. He tells us as his troubled brothers and sisters, “peace be with you”.

Indeed, peace IS with us, because Christ is with us and Christ is the “prince of PEACE”. (cf. Is. 9:6) The Holy Spirit has been given to us as children of God, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit includes “love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. (cf. Gal. 6:22) I think what Jesus is showing us is that “peace” is as much God with us as it is any sort of emotion that we experience. I think it is a both/and scenario. What is most important is to see that the presence of Jesus drives out fear and brings peace, but that peace is as much the byproduct of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within us as it is anything else.

Take comfort in this, when we become afraid and lock ourselves away - Jesus is willing and able to walk through those “locked doors”, meet us in our fear, and bring peace through his presence. Notice what happens to the disciples:

“Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (v.20-23)

The disciples became “glad” when they saw Jesus. I think this was actual… true… real gladness! I think they actually felt better because he was near and speaking to them. They saw that he was ALIVE. This is the LIVING GOD in us… Christ IN US… and this is the antidote to fear that we need as we face the persecution of the world around us. Jesus walks out of the grave to meet us and calm our fears with his peace and gladness. For any one of you who is afraid today, hear these words from Christ: “ Peace be with YOU”. Love you guys. - JDP