Jesus had been crucified three days earlier, and the disciples were living in fear of the same fate befalling them. They had hidden away, locking themselves in a room, and sealed themselves off from the outside world. Their rabbi had died, and along with him, their hope. It had to be the hardest days of their lives; I can only imagine the emotions going through their heads. Fear, anguish, pain, uncertainty. To the disciples, the cross symbolized the death of their hope. Hadn’t the Scriptures prophesied that the Savior would come and take the throne, freeing them from the bondage of sin? They had placed their faith in Jesus being the fulfillment of the Scriptures, but everything seemed to have fallen apart.
The image of the disciples locking themselves in a room after Jesus’ crucifixion has always stayed with me. But in 2021, I would relate to it in new and unexpected ways. For most of my life, my mother dealt with health issues, but in recent years, things had worsened significantly. We continually prayed for healing, sought out spiritual and medical solutions, but God had not brought that healing. The amazing thing was how strong her faith was throughout the struggles. No matter what she faced, she always glorified God and prayed that his will would be done. But eventually, she was admitted to hospice care to give her peace in her last days.
Loss and Seclusion
The day she passed, I was diagnosed with Covid and ordered to quarantine for ten days. Now, I was locked in a room, sealed off from the outside world, left alone to deal with my grief. Part of me was thankful that my mom had finally been healed, even if it was not the way we had hoped. The other part of me was dealing with the pain of her loss and questioning how God could allow someone who had been so faithful, to struggle as much as she did.
My family did everything they could to be supportive while I was quarantined, but the reality was that much of my time was spent sitting alone. I felt emotionally dead, exhausted.
Thankfully, there’s more to the verse than the disciples just being locked in a room alone. They didn’t know it yet, but Jesus had been resurrected. The tomb was now empty.
Finding True Peace
When Jesus appears to the disciples soon afterward, he says “Peace be with you.” Just as he brought peace to the disciples when he calmed the storm in Mark 4:35, he calmed the emotional storm that had been brewing inside them.
As I dealt with the emotions of losing my mom, I found peace in knowing that God had healed her and that she was no longer in pain. Her faithfulness in her struggles helped to remind me that God was still in control and that he is faithful. Even when I may not be able to see him working, he is.
He Has Risen
The cross of Jesus’ crucifixion was a source of pain for the disciples, but it also was the catalyst for the redemption and peace that Jesus’ Resurrection brought. The despair they felt was replaced with renewed hope. We may feel alone as we deal with the pain and struggles that Friday brought, but we also can have peace in the knowledge of what came on Sunday. In Jesus, we have hope, healing, and confidence. We do not need to hide. He has risen and made all things new.
Happy Easter!