Shalom (John 20:19-23)

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

If there is one word that cannot be taken out of Easter, it is “joy”. To say “the disciples were glad when they saw” Jesus is clear understatement! They were overjoyed. Somehow Jesus has just miraculously passed through the walls or the locked door of the room they hid in for fear their lives would be taken as Jesus’ was. He arrives in the most dramatic fashion and declares in Hebrew, “Shalom.” Shalom cannot simply be translated into English as “peace be with you” but has a much deeper and profound meaning. Shalom is the full blessing of being in the kingdom of God. Shalom is life at its best, and now that Jesus is alive and has returned to this band of brothers, life is at its best. Jesus has just confirmed that God’s kingdom is ruling the world in which they live.

To reassure further his disciples, he shows them his hands and his side, the very marks of his crucifixion lest they think they are seeing some kind of ghost. It is remarkable that these marks will always be with Jesus, identifying him as the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:6). How appropriate in the violent generation in which we live where innocents are viciously slain that Jesus identifies with them through the marks of his violent death. You too will one day see those very marks and know the price God paid.

Next come the Johannine Great Commission as Jesus breathes on his disciples and sends them forth as his representatives in the power of the Spirit. The whole Trinity is involved in the commission. The breathing on of the Holy Spirit is a foretaste of Pentecost. While the resurrection is personal—Jesus shows himself to Mary, Peter, Thomas, Clopas, and Paul—Jesus does not expect his disciples to reach out independently with their own personal encounter stories. Instead, the Spirit will equip and mobilize them as a community bound in common participation with Jesus. They are to gather the lost and bring them to the Good Shepherd. Having received the Holy Spirit, Jesus is not saying that that individuals or even churches determine the forgiveness of sins, but that as his gospel is faithfully proclaimed, those who believe in him have their sins forgiven and live in shalom; and those who do not believe in him do not receive forgiveness and experience shalom. The commission is an extension and reflection of what God has already done. Jesus’ mission continues through ours as we go forth in his divine authority and proclaim his mighty acts. The cross and resurrection are complete in the past with continuing results in the present.

Almighty God, our Father, you have redeemed us by the death and resurrection of your only Son Jesus Christ and given us your Holy Spirit that we may be your witnesses in the world: banish the powers of darkness and sin from the minds of those who refuse to believe in your name and open their hearts to your gospel that they may believe in you and become temples of your Holy Spirit. Grant also that we who believe in you may be effective ministers of your Word to those whose lives have not been touched by your saving grace. We make this prayer thorough our Lord Jesus Christ who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God for ever and ever. Amen. (Church in Korea)