Again Jesus says, "Peace be with you." Wasn't once enough? Why receive forgiveness when you've already been forgiven? Why speak peace a second time when you've already said it? That's not what faith says. Faith simply delights in receiving whatever the Lord has to give, and if He's giving out double peace on Easter Sunday, that's where I want to be.
I hadn't given much thought to this "double peace" that Jesus gives, but that particular phrase that Pastor Jonker uses brought to mind Isaiah 40:2: "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." The study notes in my Bible comment that Jerusalem "received from the Lord's hand good things in double proportion to the punishment she deserved for her sins" and also cites Isaiah 61:7: "Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy." The double peace that Jesus speaks in John 20 is an instance of this.
I think the context here is significant, too. This giving of double peace comes right after Jesus' resurrection and His victory over sin, death, and the devil, and this is also what Isaiah 40:2 describes: "her warfare is ended... her iniquity is pardoned."
