Peace Be With You

We live in a world starved for peace. Unfortunately, we have become desensitized to wars, assassinations, and violence. What used to be unthinkable has become expected. There’s a reason that, when someone is asked what their one wish would be, a common answer is “world peace.” We long for a resolution to all conflicts, but we know that it is unattainable. 

Looking beyond the big picture to the individual person, we also long for personal, inner peace. We all have anxieties that torment our minds. We have thoughts, concerns, and worries that bother us. We all have destructive habits we want to cease. Many of us have things we have done or that were done to us in the past that still give us agony today. 

Peace seems to be high in demand but low in supply. Regarding the peace the world offers, this is true. But thank God that He has given us a different source of peace: His Son, Jesus. 

Shortly after He rose from the dead, Jesus appeared to His disciples. But the disciples were afraid. Their leader had been murdered just days earlier. In fact, the Bible says that where they were, they had “the doors…locked…for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). But what words does the risen Christ speak to His fearful followers?

“Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (John 20:19). 

However, the important part of this statement is what immediately follows. The Bible says that after this declaration of peace, “When [Jesus] had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). 

Jesus showed His disciples where He had been pierced. His hands were nailed to the beams of wood of the cross, and Jesus’ side was pierced after He died to prove that He was truly dead. But why did He do this? What is the correlation between Jesus’ statement of peace and the scars He now bore?

The peace Jesus offers is in His hands and His side. We are freely offered peace because of what Jesus did on the cross. (A dear friend of mine, Owen Lewis, first shared this idea with me, and it has stuck ever since. I give full credit to my brother in Christ, Owen, for this thought.)

I am an elementary school writing teacher, and one of the main concepts I teach my students is that when we make a statement, we have to back it up with evidence. Jesus made a statement when He said, “Peace be with you,” and He proved that this is trustworthy and true when He showed the disciples His hands and His side. Isaiah prophesied of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) as well as the servant who would be pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5). In this single instance, Jesus proved these prophecies spoke of Him! 

The Bible says elsewhere in Romans 5:1, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus took our place on the cross. All of the sins that you and I have committed were placed on Him. Now, since He has taken our place, He offers us peace. 

We have peace with God. We have peace in that we do not have to strive and work to earn our salvation. We have peace in that our sins are forgiven and forgotten by a merciful God. We have peace in that the one who let His hands be pierced now extends a nail-scarred hand to you, and if you will just reach out and take it, He will hold you securely now and through eternity. 

Do you need peace? Look no further than Jesus. The peace is in His hands and His side. May peace be with you.