Doubt and anxiety are opposed to peace.  Doubt is uncertainty about the present and anxiety has no confidence about the future. Both are human responses to uncertainty and insecurity. Peace resolves both and comes with the confidence that all is well and will be well.  Such was the peace which Jesus had previously promised the disciples, but they had not allowed themselves to receive it (John 16:33).
 
Even though the disciples agreed that Jesus was alive, they were not ready for Him suddenly appearing in the room with them.  The doors were locked because they feared for their own safety.  The religious leaders who had hounded Jesus to the cross might come looking for them next.  So, Jesus’ arrival into a locked room was intensely frightening (John 20:19).    Even though He spoke ‘Shalom’ (‘may all that is good from God come to you and give you peace’) over them again, they were still scared and needed more reassurance.  So, what was it that enabled doubt to disappear and allow them to receive His peace?

The big questions were, was this some sort of ghost, or hallucination or illusion.  Jesus understood their concern and so He invited them to examine His mutilated hands and feet by touching Him.  Jesus then deliberately ate a piece of fish which they had cooked in front of them.  Those physical demonstrations showed that He was still fully a human being.  And yet despite all the physical evidence they needed something more to put the risen Jesus into perspective.  What they needed was the written Word of God to explain the amazing signs and wonders they had seen (John 20:9).  The dual witness of Jesus’ physical presence and the voice of the Holy Spirit breathing through the Scriptures was conclusive.  What God had said He would do, He had done.  Scriptures which they had known for years now brimmed with fresh vitality as they saw the fulfilment of prophecy in Jesus.
 
Many people suggest that if they could see Jesus, they would believe in Him; and if they had physical evidence, they would accept what He had to say.  But that is not true.  Although the disciples had all that, it was not enough to convince them (Mark 16:11).  They needed the truth of God's Word to explain the miracle of God's grace.  It is the same for our generation.  Wonderfully, we have no disadvantage in faith just because we were not there at the time - God's Word is still available to explain what it all meant.  Never underestimate the ability of the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21), to use His words to penetrate the hardest, saddest or most doubting heart.  Never think that explaining the person and work of Jesus from the Bible is a waste of time.  God’s Word is His essential tool for bringing people to faith and salvation (John 20:30-31). Share His Word today, verbally, in a letter or email, social media post or text!  A blind and anxious world needs to know the truth about how to be saved.  Find creative ways to put God’s Word in front of God’s world for God’s glory.