Jesus cares for you

Juan Castillo

After Jesus passed away and was buried, a great fear filled his disciples and followers. The reaction of the authorities in Jerusalem towards Jesus was a message to his followers as well. Anyone who goes against the current status quo will be punished. Only John and Mary, Jesus’s mother, stayed at the cross. Two women were brave enough to approach the tomb on Sunday morning. The rest were dispersed and hiding in their houses behind locked doors. Their world was shattered down. Their Messiah was dead. Their hope was crushed. 

Jesus could have resurrected to take revenge. He could have left the empty tomb riding a white horse with a rod in his hand and an army of angels to take Jerusalem back from the Roman Empire and the corrupted Herod. At least these were the hopes that some disciples had when they were walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were disappointed that Jesus died. They were disappointed with their government and their local authorities. But Jesus never conformed to the will of men. Jesus had other priorities. 

When reading carefully the Gospels and studying the days that Jesus spent with his disciples after his resurrection, there is one clear motive: Jesus cares for his disciples. Instead of preaching to thousands, Jesus approaches two disciples on the road and had a conversation with them. Instead of riding a horse out of the tomb, he approaches the two women and gently asks them to tell others that he is alive. Instead of gathering an army, Jesus complies to Thomas’ doubts and appears with wounds in his hands and feet. How interesting that Jesus withheld his power once again, even after his resurrection, to show love and care for his disciples!Looking at these stories with a two-thousand-year gap gives us some perspective. Jesus cared for his disciples because he wanted to teach them how to care for each other. Jesus knew that His Kingdom does not need power from armies or political authorities. His Kingdom’s power is in the way we care for each other. His power is in the love He has poured on us through the Holy Spirit to live our lives in Him. Jesus is still the same. He wants to meet us during our crises and in the midst of our doubts. He is available when we need Him and we can approach him at any time. Furthermore, even when we are locked behind doors in fear, Jesus can come through those doors or walls and show us that He is alive and that He is real. Don’t be afraid, Jesus is alive!