Pause for Thought: To have the peace of the Lord means that my sins are forgiven

Although the door is locked, Jesus appears to them. You can imagine their fear at this manifestation, - but rather than being miffed at them for abandoning him at his arrest, he gently says, “Peace be with you”. He shows them his hands and feet where the nails have been and invites them to touch him to prove that he is real, and they are overjoyed to see their Lord.

Peace: what does it mean to have the peace of the Lord? It means that my sins are forgiven, chains of bondage to the things of this world that grip us – alcohol, drugs, porn, greed, anger etc. are forgiven. Jesus took all of our sins with him and crucified them with him on the cross so that we can have an opportunity to be free and feel peace. Before he left them that evening, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the holy spirit”.

This breath, in Hebrew/greek? Ruach is the same breath as breathed into Adam by God when he formed him out of the dust of the ground. Having the holy spirit in us transforms us. It replaces fear with faith, anxiety with peace, and it gives us an inner guide to help us in times of trouble, and steer us away from doing bad things.

One of the young disciples, Thomas (often termed doubting Thomas) wasn’t there at this first encounter with Jesus. He needed proof before believing what the other disciples had told him. So when Jesus appears a second time, he insists that Thomas put his finger in the hole where his side was pierced to convince him of the reality of the resurrection.

Sometimes we need an actual encounter with Jesus to believe in him – and if we are desperate enough, he will appear to us also. But in most cases, he relies on our faith in him.

If we can stand firm in that faith, we can be sure of putting to death the things of our past and stepping into a new eternal life with him.