John 20:2 NIV “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you”

It was Sunday. The disciples were all gathered in one room. The doors were locked. Everyone was afraid. The authorities had just executed their leader and they reasonably expected that Jesus’s fate would be their own soon.

It was a time of uncertainty.

All of a sudden, something startled them much more than the Temple Police. Jesus was standing among them! Matthew tells us in his account that the disciples think Jesus is a ghost. Jesus assures them by showing His wounds in His hands and side.

Finally convinced that Jesus has in fact risen from the dead, our Lord begins to instruct the disciples what He expects from them.

He says “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you”.

I’m sure the disciples were thinking, “Lord, it’s scary out there! There is too much risk and danger….And you want us go out there?” Don’t miss how Jesus follows up His commission. It says in

vs 22: “He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit”.

You and I are experiencing uncertainty we have never faced before. Day to day changes are being made that affect every part of life. Difficult restrictions are coming upon us rapidly. Financial markets are beginning to crash. The Church can’t even meet together as the Body of Christ.

Remember that in times of uncertainty God does not leave us alone. He comes to be “with us”. The Holy Spirit IS the Spirit of Christ. He lives in you and will empower you, yes, even to eventually be “sent out” into a hurting world that desperately needs hope.