Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood and stood in the midst and said ‘Peace to you.’ John 20:26

It’s the day after Easter and the world is going about its business as usual. It’s the day after the most momentous, mysterious and memorable day in history and already on the back burner of the public’s interest. Jesus’ death on Friday and Sunday Resurrection which flipped history upside down 2,000 years ago is relegated to a long weekend on the calendar. Pagans are ready to move on into the next season of Mondays. And what of believers? How long do we hold onto Jesus’ Resurrection as the pivotal moment of existence?

In the Bible, we’re told a great deal about the events of Friday and Sunday: Jesus’ torture and crucifixion; the disciples’ fear and abandonment; John’s recording of Jesus’ Words on the cross; Jesus’ body being taken down, wrapped and placed in Joseph of Arimethea’s personal tomb. Saturday is the day of silence and seemingly lost hope. It is a great pause in the salvation plan of God. Then comes Sunday morning , a divine eruption, a tsunami of heavenly events involving angels and humans, Jews and the Romans, rulers and authorities -and significantly – Jesus’ disciples. After Mary, Peter and John ( in separate Gospel accounts) saw Jesus’ now empty tomb, they witnessed to the other disciples: He is risen from the dead. And what was the others’ initial reaction to such an amazing report? Jubilation that Jesus lives? That their friend and teacher hadn’t abandoned them? That Messiah did come? Nope. They were terrified.

The Bible says in John that on the same Sunday, the disciples were together in a room behind a shut door because they feared the Jews. Jesus appeared, calmed them with His Presence. and offered them Peace, their reconciliation with the Father. He showed His crucifixion scars so as to physically prove He rose from the dead. Those nail and spear scars represented all humanity’s sins which Isaiah foretold the Messiah would bear on the cross. We are forgiven and healed but we have to acknowledge at what cost, His scars.
Jesus breathed on them, and commissioned them. He gave them Holy Spirit power to forgive sins just as He forgave them.

Initially, the disciples were glad to see Jesus, but a week later they were shut in again this time with Thomas who had been absent before. The door was locked. again. They were still afraid . Even after Jesus had been in their midst, the disciples were scattered and unsure. They hadn’t yet received the Pentecostal fire of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension to the Father. They were experiencing The Monday After… Despite all the evidence, despite Jesus being in their midst through locked doors twice, despite His Words and very breath upon them, they were still afraid and powerless to move on with Him – until the Holy Spirit came. Until Jesus left His disciples to be with the Father they would not understand.

Unlike the disciples who were in caught up in the events, we have greater knowledge of Sunday and the weeks following. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit, we know the ending and have had centuries of God’s Word to help us understand the Resurrection. Yes, the disciples were confused about what was happening and they feared the Jews. For a time they needed Jesus’ physical assurance that He was in their midst. They did not knowhow things would turn out for them.

We do. And yet it’s the Monday after Easter and we forget so quickly. My faith can falter. Just 24 hours after the Resurrection the world wants me to shut myself in and lock the door against Jesus. They forget that the Lord can walk through any door, especially locked up hearts. The power of the Resurrection does not end on Monday morning. It’s an eternal beginning.