In the cool of the day, the LORD God walked in the garden and the man and his wife hid in fear from him (Genesis 3:8-10). Sin had spoiled the world and death would follow in its wake.
In John 20:19ff, it is again evening and again there is fear. This time it’s fear of man, not the Lord. A fear that the same fate will befall the disciples that had consumed Jesus, their beloved Master.
And then he’s there, among them, speaking words of peace. He shows them his hands and his side, the evidence of his slaughter at the hands of his enemies. And their response to such a sight, to the devastating display of the horrors of death and the mauling meted out by sin and evil? They are overjoyed because the one they see, the one whose ruptured side and battered hands are in full view, is the LORD.
Far from denying his lordship, these marks are the crown he wears, the vindication of his reign, the symbols of victory.
And the reason why evening fear - all fear - can be banished forever.
