“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’” (John 20:19)
The empty tomb of that first Easter Day is itself a powerful and eloquent witness to an extraordinary event: the resurrection of Jesus. This is followed of course by His resurrection appearances, first to Mary Magdalene literally at the entrance of the tomb, and then to a group of the disciples “together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews.” Not to the authorities in the Temple, not to Pilate in his palace, not to the festival crowds in Jerusalem. He goes first to frightened, confused people behind locked doors. And that shapes everything that follows.
The risen Lord enters our fears. The disciples are afraid. That may surprise us, but it shouldn’t. Their teacher has been executed. They know what the authorities are capable of and they fear that they may be next. Yes, the tomb is empty – but an empty tomb does not automatically produce courage. Fear is often what remains when everything we thought was solid has been shaken. And Jesus comes right into that place of fear.
The risen Lord enters our doubts. His words of peace do not instantly resolve everything. A week later, the disciples are still trying to make sense of what has happened. And Thomas, who was not there the first time, is openly confused. Thomas’s confusion is often mislabelled as doubt, but it comes from a disorientation. Things do not add up. The world no longer works the way it used to. Death and life have collided, and it is death that has given way. How can this be?
The risen Lord enters our locked rooms. Twice John mentions the doors were locked. This is not about Jesus ignoring human boundaries or breaching privacy. We all have ‘locked rooms.’ Rooms where grief is kept; where doubt is hidden; where questions, regrets, guilt and shame and disappointments live. And we may imagine that if Christ is present, those rooms must remain closed. But the resurrection says otherwise. Jesus comes through the locks we have chosen for survival and meets us there. The result is not judgement, but life.
We are no longer ‘Good Friday’ people. We are truly ‘Easter Sunday’ people.