Have you ever had someone quietly sneak up on you and scare you? Have you walked around a corner and be scared because someone was standing there? Were you trembling for a few minutes after that? Have you thought about how the disciples felt when Jesus just appeared?
When people sneak up on us or we simply turn a corner and there they are, it can be a bit unnerving. I typically walk quietly, thanks to my training in the Marine Corps. More times than I can count, I have unintentionally scared my wife or a daughter by being where they didn’t expect me.
What Jesus did was something else entirely. He just appeared. He wasn’t there, then suddenly He was. They were likely sitting and talking about what had happened. They may have been discussing how they were going to get out of Jerusalem with their lives. Suddenly, Jesus is standing in the room with them.
If you have every been scared by someone unexpectedly, you can imagine how the disciples felt. Think about it for a moment. Imagine sitting in your living room having a discussion. Suddenly someone is standing there. We might jump right out of our skin. We might scream. We might be trembling for more than a few minutes.
But Jesus came to comfort them and to let them know He had risen from the dead, just as He told them He would. He greeted them with peace. Though it is not recorded, I can only imagine the joy they felt when they recovered from their fright and the questions they asked. I’m sure there were a lot of smiles and laughter. Perhaps we should smile more when we talk about Jesus. I think it would make Him a lot more attractive to the people we are telling the gospel to.
I pray we all are joyful when we think about Jesus. I pray we think about what it would have been like to be a disciple in that room. I pray each one of us smile more when we are telling others about Jesus. Be joyful. Think about Jesus often. Smile when telling others about Jesus.
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Marty Pressey 