One of my favourite things about the Easter story is reading the stories about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances and how each one was uniquely suited to the person He was encountering and finding ourselves in the Easter Story.

We find Jesus systematically seeking out His loved ones to announce the good news, to have healing conversations, to provide comfort and assurance, to bring peace, perspective, forgiveness—and even to make breakfast!

During this season I often imagine myself in these stories, wondering what it would have been like to be feeling sad and disillusioned, aware of my desperate need for something, to not even know what I needed…but to have Jesus seek me out with exactly what I did need.

Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Priority

After all that Jesus had endured to accomplish victory over death, there were so many things he could have chosen to do in the time between His resurrection and his ascension. He could have hosted a joyous celebration, showed Himself to the ones who had humiliated and killed him, or staged a strategic gathering with influencers focused on how He was going to bring in his kingdom. But instead, He initiated a series of private and very personal interactions with his close ones, gently creating space for what they most needed. His people were more important to him than partying, politicking, or planning.

Even When the Doors are Shut

One of the most striking accounts of these post-resurrection appearances, is how Jesus appeared to the disciples even when they were trying so hard not to be found. He even knew their favourite hiding places and then searched them out.

In John 20:19 we are told that even though the doors of the house where the disciples had gathered, were locked for fear of whatever might happen next, Jesus came and stood among them, saying, “Peace be with you.”

I have generally taught that Jesus is polite and does not push in where He is not invited, but these verses refer to a more nuanced situation—one in which the door is shut or locked but the deeper truth is perhaps that we actually want Jesus to come in. While it may appear that we have shut the door, walling off some part of our hearts or ourselves, deep inside we want to open it. Of course, Jesus knows this and so He finds a way to come in.

Finding Ourselves in the Stories

The phrase, “Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them…” is so very hopeful because it means that even when one of the doors of my life is locked, either because I am afraid to open it or I don’t know how, Jesus is not limited by that and wants me and all of us to experience His presence and peace in that place.

As we celebrate this Holy Week and enter into the post-Easter season, may we find ourselves in the tender post-resurrection stories of Jesus’ first followers and watch for how Jesus might be coming to us and revealing himself even through our own closed doors and our own locked rooms. May we, too, cry out with recognition, “It is the Lord!”