It was a common phrase, used often as a greeting.  They’d heard it many, many times before, probably their whole lives.  But this time… well, it meant something.  There was nothing common about it on that night, because there was nothing common about their situation.  Some felt the cause was lost.  Others felt uncertainty about the future.  Perhaps more than a few wondered how they would survive what they believed to be the coming storm.  The horror of the scene that had played out not far from where they huddled together behind closed doors was still fresh on their minds.  And they were all afraid.  He had told them what would happen, but they never thought it would be like this.  The attack in the garden, the mockery of His trial, the brutality of His scourging, the bloodthirsty cries of the crowd, and then the awful, bloody, dark scene on that hill.  Then He was laid to rest.  Yes, they’d heard things that day.  The stone removed, the body gone, supposed words of hope, but they weren’t convinced.  They were still afraid.  But then suddenly, Jesus stood before them.  Didn’t even use the door; He was just there.  And that common phrase, in that moment, meant everything.  “Peace be unto you.”  And then Jesus showed His wounded hands and side as if to assure them, “I am here; I am risen, just as I said.”  Their fear melted into the peace He extended, and John 20:20 tells us, “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.”  From paralyzing fear to abounding joy in a moment.  For in that moment they felt the Master’s presence, the Master’s peace.  Sometimes we are just like them.  We huddle in fear for what has happened or what might happen.  We lose sight of His promises; we lose the strength to go on.  We shut ourselves behind the doors and wonder, “What next?”  On this Easter weekend, let’s be reminded that He is here.  He kept His promise.  He lives to dispel our fears.  And He says to you and to me, “Peace be unto you.”