Peace Be With You- Words of the Risen Christ

 

“Resurrected Peace” John 14:27  4/27/25 Preached at the Presbyterian Home in Columbia Ben Sloan

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27) 

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  …Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!  As the father has sent me, I am sendng you.” 
(John 20:19- ) 

The most common words Jesus said to his disciples were “Peace be with you.”  (Shalom Aleichem); (Shlam’alakhon Aramaic); Why was this important for Him to say?  Why is it still important for us to hear today?

I) WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO SAY? 

1) The second most common phrase Jesus gave was “Do not be afraid.”  (al tira). 

They had been afraid of those who put him to death- the Roman authorities, the Sanhedrin.  They were in a locked room- and Jesus came through the locked door- according to Matthew,

Mark says “He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen (16:14). 

In Luke it seems they thought they had seen a ghost and they were afraid- 24:37 sas, “They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost.”  He proved it was not by inviting them to touch him- then give him some broiled fish to eat.  Ghosts can’t be touched.  He invited Thomas to put his hands in his wounds- to prove it was really him- not just someone with makeup on.  He ate because ghosts can’t eat. 

2) He wanted them to not cower in fear but to be bold and brave.  In all the gospels he tells them to tell others that He is alive- in fact to go into all the world.  Today there are believers in every part of the world.  The disciples went from cowering to boldly proclaiming and going into all the world.  Star Trek used to have a saying, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.”  The first missionaries lived this.  They didn’t know the language, didn’t know the customs, didn’t have time to study ahead of time- they just went.  Today there are 430,000 Christian missionaries all over the world.  [Sadly the PCUSA just fired all theirs last month (Did not say)].  There are still over 7,000 (7,244 according to the Joshua project) unreached people groups (tribes) and 3.43 billion who have no Christian witness in them (most (85%) live in the 10/40 latitude window).  Some of our missionaries are the bravest, most sincere, most believing, most loving people I have ever met. 

II. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TODAY FOR YOU AND ME-

1) We need peace.  In this world we will have tribulation- troubles, suffering, sickness, dying- but be of good cheer- I have overcome the world.  Jesus said while He was living, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am humble and lowly in heart and you will find rest unto your souls.

In our day many of us have anxiety.  I want to say I refuse to be anxious about what goes on in Washington.  I want you to know I refuse to be anxious about what goes on in Louisville- though I may disagree with a lot- it is beyond my control; but it is not beyond God’s control.  Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single cubit to your height? Or a single hour to their life?  Truth is worry takes away from our height and our time.  It weighs us down, eats up our sleep, destroys our energy- our life.  In His greatest sermon Jesus said look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field- and find peace.  We need to pass that peace on to our children and grandchildren. 

2) We need to rest in peace- That ability does not come just when we die.  President Trump’s response to the Pope’s death was, “Rest in peace.”  We want the dead to not worry or be restless.  There is a peace that comes from the grave- it is just non-action.  But there is a steady peace- we can have right now.  It is found in confidence in God’s Word and recognition that we have the victory in Christ.  You know I am a Clemson fan.  About one game a year I go up and see Clemson play.  They  struggle on the field- push, tackle, stretch.  I sit and eat a hotdog and clap my hands.  But if they win I say, “We won!”  I am happy- though I didn’t break a sweat except in maybe walking to my seat.  There may have been some white knuckled times when I was anxious about their winning- but in the end- they won.  Jesus won in the resurrection.  But we won too.  We are connected to Him by faith.  He is the first one through the tunnel of death- and He came back to say, “I made it though- now put your faith in me and have peace in this life.” 

There is an interesting phenomenon happening right now. You don’t hear about it in the news or even the Presbyterian News.  Easter attendance in the West and for that matter all over the world was at an all-time high.  At Eastminster we were up by 200 if you count online people- and we do today.  There is a growing belief in Christ among the younger generation.  There is a huge rise of people who believe in heaven today.  Part of this is fueled by people who have seen the video testimonies of people who have had Near Death Experiences.  That is, they were declared dead- maybe their heart stopped beating for a long period of time and then they came back.  For those who have faith, they tell us about going through a tunnel of light and seeing Jesus and even seeing relatives and friends on the other side.  They talk about being enveloped in a feeling of love and peace.  There are also hundreds who testify about being pulled down to the other place.  But if they call on the name of Jesus, they are buoyed up.  All of them talk about coming back and telling others to not be afraid of death.  Some say “fear of death is what drives us in life.”  But what if you are not afraid to die?  What if you have the peace of Jesus in you?  Then you can change the world around you- your relatives, the people that live in this place, and yourself.       Seek Peace and pursue it.  The Lord bless you and keep you… and give you peace.