While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

—Luke 24:36

This past week, we got to celebrate the single most important and impactful event in all history—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I’ve gone through this time of celebration, one word has echoed in my mind like a song I just couldn’t get out of my head. Peace. 

I haven’t heard a lot of people speak or preach about Easter and peace, but I believe they are deeply linked, so I went looking for a place in the Bible where Easter and peace come together and I came across this passage.

At this point, Jesus had been crucified and had already risen from the dead. Even though word had reached the disciples that Jesus was alive, they were still very afraid when they found the risen Savior suddenly standing among them despite all the doors being locked. Can’t say I’d blame them. This isn’t the first time the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost and now here Jesus is acting like a ghost by appearing out of nowhere.

Maybe that’s why Jesus decided to greet them by offering them peace. It may also just have been the common greeting of the time, but either way, there is a deeper meaning because of the context. The disciples, not understanding all Jesus has taught them about His suffering, believe He is dead just as anyone else would be dead—never to return. They are mourning, broken, confused, and afraid even before Jesus suddenly appears.

What’s more, the disciples had not been as faithful to Jesus as they planned or promised to be. Peter in particular promises to follow Jesus even to death, and it seems like he will live up to that promise when he begins to fight back in the Garden of Gethsemane, but that changes when Jesus stops him and heals the damage he’s done. Then he flees with the rest of the disciples and ends up denying him three times. 

The disciples have, in a sense, failed to uphold their commitment to Jesus. So when the man they promised to follow and then failed just before His death suddenly appears in the room with them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were expecting this to be a haunting to punish their faithlessness.

But that’s not what Jesus does. Instead, He sees all that pain and fear and confusion and offers them peace.

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, but it doesn’t just mean that you’re not surrounded by chaos at that moment. When the Jews in the Bible talked about peace or shalom, they were talking about wholeness and completeness. It’s not just the absence of the chaos, but the healing of what was broken, the putting back together of all the pieces that had shattered, sometimes even in the midst of the chaos. And this is what Jesus offers to our hearts, just like He did with His disciples in Luke 24.

Our world is a little different from the world the disciples were living in 2000 years ago, but not that different. Even as we celebrate the joy of Easter, pain and chaos and confusion and fear are always around us, in the world at large, in our communities, sometimes in our homes, or even in our own minds. 

Some of it is because of our own failures and some is out of our control, but just like the disciples in this passage, we don’t have to stay in that dark place. Jesus offers us the same light He offered them—the light of peace that comes with His presence. His offer is more than just the offer to take difficulties away. Rather than violate our free will by taking away the consequences of our choices, He offers to step into the darkness to bring us peace.

This week, we will all probably face some difficulty and darkness. The next time you find yourself there, I pray that you will invite Jesus into the room so that in the midst of chaos, you can be whole because Jesus fills the empty space we have in our hearts for true unconditional love and respect. In the midst of trouble, you can be calm and trust the God who decided you were worth giving up everything for. In the midst of pain, you can be comforted by the truth of Christ’s nearness and care.

Happy Easter and God bless!