Maybe. But I’m sure there was more to it than that. But John couldn’t just come out and say it.
Yes, Jesus' disciples were probably afraid that their fellow Jews might have wanted to see them on the business end of a cross. But that's probably not the only reason the door was locked. They might have been afraid of something - or someone - else. And they wanted to keep that person as far away as possible from them.
The announcement of Jesus' resurrection might not have been good news for the disciples. They knew what they had done. They knew that they scattered like scared rats when Jesus was arrested. Peter knew that he denied knowing Jesus while Jesus was being questioned and tortured by the police.
They knew that, while Jesus was hanging in torment waiting for death to take him, the only comforting eyes he saw were the women - and John.
Everyone else had disappeared when things started getting real.
They probably knew that their abandonment was just as painful to Jesus as the nails in his hands and feet. John says that the door was locked for fear of the Jews. But I wonder if the door was locked because there was one specific Jewish rabbi they were trying to keep out out.
They had heard that Jesus was back. And now they were in trouble.
Was Jesus angry? What was he going to say when he caught up with his disciples? What was he going to say to those who betrayed and abandoned him - the disciples who were all talk and zero action?
To those who, by their behaviour, showed Jesus that they didn't really believe a single word that he said, what would he say?
What would YOU say?
"Where were you when I...(whole thing here)
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