I. Such as was the state of the disciples on that sad evening, such must often be our state, at least in many respects. We too have all of us often forsaken our Lord and Master. We too have often lost Him. We may have forsaken Him through fear of the world. We may have forsaken Him to run after vanities. We may have forsaken Him to follow the devices of our own hearts. At such seasons, when we are weighed down with the consciousness of having forsaken our Lord, the Tempter will come to us, and having already gained a hold on our hearts, will try to make sure of his prey. He comes and tells us that we have lost our Lord; that He is dead, that to us, at least, He is dead; that to us, He is as though He had never been; that we have nothing to hope from Him; that He cannot love us; that we shall never see Him again, until we see Him as our Judge.
II. At such dark dreary seasons, when we have lost our Saviour; when the world has taken Him from us; when we have been turning away from Him and forsaking Him, and cannot find Him any more what does it behove us to do? What did the disciples do? They assembled together, with their doors shut for fear of the Jews. Now this is just what we ought to do. We should assemble together. For this is our Lord's blessed and most gracious promise, that where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He will be in the midst of them. Sin, and the whole family of sin all worldly thoughts, all worldly cares, all worldly and carnal lusts these are the Jews who crucified Christ; these are the Jews that still crucify Him, that still draw away His disciples from Him, and tempt and lure them to forsake Him, and would sever them from Him for ever. These, then, are the Jews against whom you are to shut your doors.
III. "Peace be unto you."Into whatsoever house Christ enters, these are the first words He speaks to that house. To whatsoever heart Christ manifests Himself, this is the blessed salutation with which He tries to win that heart to receive Him and abide with Him. It is when you are mourning over the loss of love, that you learn to feel how precious every token of it was. It is when you have been taught to know your want of peace, that you will feel what a blessed thing it is to have your Saviour come to you and say, "Peace be unto you."
J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church,p. 193.
Reference: John 20:19; John 20:20. Preacher's Monthly,vol. v., p. 213.