Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76I t i s t h e e v e n i n g of the first Easter Day. For fear of the Jewish leaders, the disciples have met secretly, behind closed doors. Through these closed doors comes the risen Jesus and stands in their midst. He has already appeared privately to Mary Magdalene and Peter, to the other women, and the two Emmaus disciples. This, however, is the first official appearance to the Twelve. His commission to them is in striking con- trast to their actual situation. They are terrified, but he tells them to have no fear and rather to be of good courage. They are in hiding, but he bids them throw open the closed doors and, risking the dangers of persecution and death, to march out to the spiritual conquest of the world. On this occasion, he spoke four short sentences–of greeting, of command, and of promise. “Peace be unto you. . . .” The church’s very first need, before it can begin to engage in evangelism, is an experience and an assurance of Christ’s peace–peace of conscience through his death that banishes sin, peace of mind through his resurrection that banishes doubt. Jesus repeated his greeting for emphasis. “Peace be unto you,” he said, “peace be unto you.” It is utterly impossible to preach the gospel of peace to others unless we ourselves have peace. Indeed, the greatest single reason for the church’s evangelistic disobedience centers in the church’s doubts. We are not sure if our own sins are forgiven. We are not sure if the gospel is true. And so, because we doubt, we are dumb. We need to hear again Christ’s word of peace, and see again his hands and his side. Once we are glad that we have seen the Lord, and once we have clearly recognized him as our crucified and risen savior, then nothing and no one will be able to silence us. B i B l e R e F l e c t i o n on John :– “Peace Be Unto You!” JOHN STOTT From “The Great Commission” by John Stott, published in One Race, One Gospel, One Task, Volume 1, edited by Carl F. H. Henry and W. Stanley Mooneyham, World Wide Publications, 1967. © 1967 John R.W. Stott. Courtesy of the John Stott Literary Executors. Photograph by Cathy Cole, Poppy Path 20 Plough Quarterly • Summer 2015