Practising Peace
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” John 20:19-21 KJV
The major significance of John 20 is its focus on the restoration of peace to the troubled and scattered disciples of Jesus CHRIST. The unexpected end of the earthly ministry of their Lord had brought them into hiding, fear, and intimidation by the authority of the religious and Jewish practice system. Therefore, the resurrected Jesus came repeating “Peace be unto you”, not just for mere greetings; the disciples needed a reassurance of the practice of peace to withstand the intimidation of the Jewish system. And when it appears the ‘greetings’ wasn’t working, Jesus had to lay His breathing hands on them for the release of the Holy Spirit (even before the fulfillment of time for the baptism of the Holy Spirit) “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained (John 20:22-23)”. It shows the overwhelming influence of the pretentious peace from the elements of the lords in our world. Those who seek their pretentious peace are simply intimidated from the practice of peace from the Lord. The moment a believer is intimidated from a peaceful practice of the revealed counsel of the Lord at home, workplaces, and the society, he urgently needs inspiration for the practice of peace from the Lord. Unfortunately, without the baptism of the Holy Ghost and absolute faith in the abiding presence of the Baptizer, there will be no access to the practice of peace for any believer’s productivity and freedom from intimidation in this world.
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