What a blessing this past week has been, entering the upper room where Jesus established the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, standing among the scoffers on Good Friday, reliving the story of God’s faithfulness throughout all time at the Easter Vigil, and finally celebrating the victory that our Lord holds over sin and death forever on Easter morning! Let’s return to the gospel of John to continue in the good news that the Lord offers so not to forget that the story continues.
“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. 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.” John 20:19-22
John 20 begins with Mary Magdalene, Peter, and another disciple (likely John) discovering the empty tomb. After Peter and the other disciple return home, Jesus the resurrected Lord greets Mary who in turn, runs to tell the other disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” It is here that we enter yet again into a room with the disciples, yet this time without Jesus. We are not told what the disciples are feeling or thinking. Are they exhausted from the events of this past weekend? Are their hearts tired from weeping? Did they believe that Mary truly saw him? We are not given insight at this point into anything except that their door is locked “for fear of the Jews.” All the same, Jesus enters the barricaded room of fear, revealing himself for the first time since his resurrection to these disciples, saying “Peace be with you.”
Now in this statement Jesus is not just telling the disciples that they have no need to fear the Jews. This PEACE is far greater than protection from a group of people! This is a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that means we have no need to fear the consequences of sin, no need to fear the power of death because our Lord has proven victorious over the powers of this world!
As Jesus’ resurrection begins to make sense of all the “Easter eggs” Jesus laid out for the disciples throughout the Gospels, I believe his words “Peace be with you” would have dawned a light on an earlier conversation they had with him. Just a few chapters back, after he had washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus told the disciples that he would send a Helper to be with them (and all believers). Immediately afterwards he says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).
The peace that Jesus foretold then is now at hand because he has delivered his people from the chaos and bondage of evil. It is like he is reiterating what he already declared on the cross, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). And it is so appropriate that at that moment, Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit—the Helper he promised!
As the excitement and anticipation of our yearly Easter gatherings begin to fade, don’t let the true joy and peace that the Lord offers be clouded over by the distractions of this world. Jesus Christ has truly saved us from sin and death and not just that but has offered us a life that is guided by his Spirit! Live in this peace!
-Tori
Palm Sunday Poem
Hosanna, Jesus! Hosanna!
Hosanna to our God most high;
To our Elyon, Lord Sabbaoth,
To Yahweh, holy Adonai!
Hosanna to the coming king,
Most royal son of Jesse’s son.
Blessed is He who comes to see
Righteous salvation’s labor done.
“Hosanna,” cry and welcome him,
Behold him mounted on the foal,
Who rides in humble power’s peace
In conquest for each sinner’s soul.
“Hosanna,” sing, not just in praise.
Your fickle heart knows not it’s need.
“Hosanna” means, “Deliver me!”
It means the perfect God must bleed.
So hold back your Hosannas if
You’d hoped for gain without the cost.
Take up your cloaks, lay rest your leaves
Unless you truly know you’re lost
And would, in desperation, beg
That our Creator come and die
If you would see his kingdom come
You also must plead, “Crucify!”
Then, in his death, taste death in you,
But from the grave arise made new.
A Reflection on Ephesians 2
In last Sunday’s reading from Ephesians 2, we heard the phrase, “God…raised us up with [Christ] and seated us with him in the heavenly places.” You might be different than me, but one thing I usually don’t feel is that I am seated in the heavenly places! For that matter, most people who don’t know Christ don’t feel “dead in trespasses and sins,” either. This may be a bit closer to our experience, especially to those under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but it still seems like a pious exaggeration. And seated in the heavenly places? That seems far-fetched, too good to be true, utterly separated from our daily experience.
In theological terminology, Paul is employing “realized eschatology.” In less obscure language, he is looking at things from God’s perspective. From God’s perspective—the only true perspective—we were actually dead in trespasses and sins before Christ. It would take a lifetime of experience and physical death to fully experience the truth, but it is actually already true of those who don’t know Christ. And from God’s perspective—again, the only true perspective—those who are in Christ Jesus have actually already been raised and seated with him in the heavenly places. Again, it will take a lifetime of experience and the resurrection for us to fully experience this, but it is already true. Things that already are true have yet to be realized, in other words.
This tension, this “already but not yet,” marks the Christian life. We are already saved, but still waiting to be saved. We are already raised up with Christ, yet we are waiting to be raised bodily in the resurrection. We have been given victory over sin, but have not yet experienced that victory in our lives. It seems that everywhere we turn, we are faced with truths that are not fully realized in our lives. The call that comes out of this tension is to live according to what is true, rather than according to our limited experience.
This means that our view of ourselves shouldn’t stop with a healthy awareness of our sin. We need to go through confession and contrition—we need to go through it daily—but we don’t stop there. To remain in grief and contrition over our own sin and to never rejoice that we have been raised into the heavenly places is to effectively deny the work of Christ. We have been raised up. We have been seated in the heavenly places with Christ. We are God’s workmanship. It is right to feel the weight of our sin, but wrong to get stuck under that weight.
As you practice contrition, confession, and repentance this Lent, do not lose sight of the fact that your sin has already been dealt with. You actually are forgiven, washed completely clean. And as daily life weighs you down this season, remember that you have been raised up in Christ Jesus. You are seated with him in the heavenly places, and your life is hidden with Christ in God!
Steven+