The first word, according to the gospels of Luke and John, out of Jesus’ resurrected mouth to His disciples was simply “peace.” In John, Jesus said it first to the group (twice) then later to Thomas. While “peace be with you” was a common greeting, there is no other record of Jesus using these words at any time. It’s like He reserved that phrase for a special occasion. Hmmm…
The events of the crucifixion were anything but peaceful. It was violent, tortuous and lonely. There was an earthquake, sadness, betrayal. Certainly the disciples were still pretty nervous about the events they had just witnessed—all the more reason why “peace” was such an important word for such a special occasion. In fact, there were several reasons why this word was so vital and needed to be expressed to the disciples, to the world, and to us.
To the disciples:
It’s a fair guess that the moment the disciples realized it was Jesus in front of them that there was at least a tinge apprehension among them as to what Jesus might do next. The last time the disciples were with Jesus they were not having their finest hour. There was betrayal, fear, denial and doubting—not good building blocks for the start of the church age or for evidence of belief in what Jesus had been telling them. Their surprise in seeing Jesus didn’t help their case (Jesus rebuked them for this in Mark and Luke). So when Jesus said, “peace be with you,” it was a colossal letting-off-of-the-hook. But even more importantly, we get to experience the same hook release.
To the world:
The Greek word for “peace” (eirene) used in these instances in Luke and John was the same word used when translating shalom in the Old Testament. (We see this in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament for Greek speaking Jews, compiled 300-200 BC). Shalom was a powerful Hebrew word for peace that carried a wide range of meaning. In the day-to-day realm it expressed general well-being (Judges 19:20), bodily health (Psalm 38:3; Isaiah 57:19), prosperity (Psalm 73:3), even contentedness in going to sleep (Psalm 4:8). It was used in the climax of the blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 (“…the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace”) and was a theme of proclamation with many of the prophets. But it was after the destruction of Jerusalem (597 and 587 B.C.) that the word took on the promise of an everlasting, eternal peace—that God would make the world whole (Isaiah 11, 29, 62) through the coming day of salvation brought on by the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5-6). (Thank you to the late Verlyn Verbrugge and his work in The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words; Zondervan, 2000.)
This was the cosmic work of Jesus—setting things as they should be between Creator and creation. Jesus, with this one word, was confirming to the disciples (and to the world!) that the dawning of that day was at hand.
To us:
Just prior to His crucifixion Jesus had an intimate, final conversation with His disciples. In that conversation Jesus assured His disciples, and us, with these words (John 16:33):
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In these words you can hear Jesus setting the stage for His first resurrected word of “peace.” In this world you will be afraid; you will doubt; you will let Me down. But don’t worry because I have overcome the world; and by the way, your peace is in me, who has overcome the world!
Jesus tells us emphatically that we will come face-to-face with the fallen world. We will experience loss. We will experience heartache. We will experience pain from mistakes. We will experience regret from decisions. We will experience remorse from actions, or even non-actions (paths taken and not taken). But, in the one area of life that truly matters, the relationship between us and God, the matter is settled. There can be peace.
We all experience our own versions of personal earthquakes and sadness, times of anxiety and uncertainty. In these times we are given ample opportunities to trust the words of Jesus, to count on His presence. Yet, like the disciples, we often entertain thoughts of doubt or we decide to do things our way instead of Jesus’ way. We constantly let Jesus down, but He constantly lets us off the hook with His limitless supply of grace.
If our teens haven’t already experienced pain from this fallen world, they will soon. As youth workers we are in a sacred position to help them frontload their experiences with the peace of Jesus—encouraging them to live in the reality that their peace is in the One who has overcome this word.
Download a teen devo on this subject here!
Download a small-group devo on this subject here!