Easter night takes us to the upper room where the disciples were huddled in fear. The doors were securely locked as they waited in dread for the inevitable knocking on that door when the Jewish officials would come to arrest them. But the knocking never happened. The door remained closed and locked. It was Jesus, not the Jewish leaders, who came for them. He came to arrest them — to halt them — from their being afraid. He let no barrier prevent Him from making this arrest. He brought them a single word that put an end to their fears and filled them with great joy and confidence: "Peace."
Jesus came into the world to bring peace — not a worldly peace, but an everlasting peace between God and man. Once He had made that peace He would not let anything stand in the way of bringing His peace to His disciples. The locked door, the threat of the Jewish officials, and even the senseless fear and doubts of the disciples all gave way to His peace. His peace does not give up. His peace forces its way into lives and situations that have crowded out any hope of peace. His peace is not like any other kind of peace — it is insistent and persistent, an assertive peace.
The word of peace that Jesus brought to his frightened disciples gave them hope, purpose and conviction. Fortified with the gift of His Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the same men once locked in a room in fear stood before crowds and councils proclaiming the peace of Christ. They were rejected, ridiculed, beaten, and killed, but they were never without His peace.
Do you know what it is like to be afraid? Is there a place in your life like that upper room, a place that calls you to hide yourself from all the things that cause you stress, worry, anxiety, and fear? Have the circumstances of your life crowded out any hope of peace for you? Whatever is confronting you you can be sure of this: there is no barrier to the assertive peace of Christ. He who passed through death itself to bring you peace will overcome every enemy, every circumstance and every obstacle to arrest your worry, doubts, and fear with His peace.
