Are We Hiding?

On the day between Good Friday and Easter I would like to discuss something that probably not many people have been thinking about. The disciples. When I was younger, I used to think the disciples were smarter and braver than the average person. (I guess I was forgetting that most of them fished for a living before Jesus found them. Or that they were constantly being corrected and disciplined by Jesus for something they blurted out. Or that they ran for their lives when the soldiers arrested their Lord and then hid and locked the doors.) This year, Jesus really opened my eyes to see that His disciples were just like me: broken and sinful and in desperate need of a Savior. Let's take a look at what they were doing when Jesus rose from the dead: "Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." You might be thinking, "Wait, wasn't Peter the one that promised he would rather die than desert his Lord? Weren't they the people Jesus had called to be His followers, His disciples? What are they doing with the doors shut? They should be outside telling everyone they met, "Jesus, the Lord, has been crucified. But He will rise from the dead! Just wait, it will happen!'" We probably ask that question alot: what were they thinking? But let's remember they were human. They were just as sinful as us. Now, let's look at ourselves for a minute. Are we hiding behind locked doors? Let me just throw this thought out here: When Jesus was performing miracles and raising people from the dead and coming into Jerusalem on a donkey, the disciples were all about it. They had no problem telling people they were Jesus' followers. But remember what happened when Jesus was arrested? They ran......was Jesus any less powerful when He was arrested? Did Jesus somehow lose all of His glory and authority and strength when He was dying on the cross? Of course not! He was taking mankind's sin on His shoulders. If that isn't strength, I don't know what is! Why then were the disciples not shouting, "That's my Savior! He is defeating sin! One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord!" (Philippians 2:10-11) I think it is because in their human eyes, Jesus wasn't doing what they expected. Are we hiding behind locked doors? I know very well that sin is rampant today. But is God any less powerful? No! Our Lord Jesus is just as powerful today as when He defeated sin and death that Easter Sunday! As we prepare for the glorious celebration of our Savior's resurrection, let us take a look at ourselves: are we hiding behind locked doors?