Victory: Victory’s Peace

The surprise and joy of the first Easter Sunday has cascaded down through the ages into the festival service we celebrated last week. We raised the strain of gladness and celebrated Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. But, each year, we run the risk of Easter Sunday being a one-off. A single day where we mark a single event and then consign it to the background. That’s fine for most historical events. But the Resurrection is different. In rising from the grave, God has done more for this world—and for us individually—than anyone has ever done. Today, we see the disciples facing this same struggle. They had heard that Jesus rose from the dead—but they were filled with doubts. Even after he appeared to ten of them, they were still afraid. But Jesus comes to them with words of comfort and joy: Peace to you! and he blesses his people with the most important power this world has ever known—the power to forgive sins in heaven and on earth.