Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)
This sermon was preached on 27/12/2009
It is common for leaders to make promises of peace. I suppose if we could ask people what they most wanted to see in 2010, many of them would say peace because we live in a world in which peace is lacking in many areas of life. Yet I suspect that if we asked them to define what they mean by peace, a variety of answers would be given. Some would intend external peace whereas others, who live in fairly steady circumstances, would desire internal peace.
When we look back into history, we can see that peace has eluded many who sought for it. Sometimes a form of peace was imposed on other nations who had been conquered by a dominant country, yet its rule was resented by its subjects. Its peace was merely an absence of war. When we look around our world today, we conclude that politicians cannot give peace (despite their genuine attempts at times), prosperity does not bring peace (materialism cannot satisfy the heart), advances in technology have not brought peace (instead it has developed many methods of preventing peace), increase in knowledge has not brought peace (we know much more than our ancestors did).
The people to whom Isaiah initially delivered his prophecy faced a situation in which there was no prospect of peace on a national level. Ahead of them was exile under the sway of a foreign power. Yet to them, Isaiah had a message of peace when he predicted the coming of the prophesied Messiah. He reminded them that this peace could never be found in their circumstances, even if they changed and the exile came to an end. Instead he told them to look ahead to the birth of Jesus if they wanted to experience personal peace and anticipate an environment marked by peace. His message is the same as far as we are concerned.
Need of peace
When we think about our need of peace, we have to first realise why peace is absent. If we need the peace that Jesus brings about, then we should ask ourselves what there is about us that requires God to send his Son into the world to bring this peace to us. So the first question to ask is this, ‘To whom does Jesus offer peace?’ The answer is that he offers peace to sinners.
When the Bible describes sinners, it uses a wide range of pictures. For example, sinners are said to be lost in a dangerous location (lost sheep in a hostile wilderness). Or they are regarded as rebels who have disobeyed God’s laws (he is the sovereign whom they have disobeyed). They are also depicted as being in a state of enmity with God. Enmity is not a word we use often today, but it means the presence of hostilities between two or more parties. When hostilities are present, there is no peace between the opposing groups.
With whom are we as sinners at enmity? The Bible’s answer to this question is twofold: there is enmity between God and us and there is enmity between ourselves and others. So if Jesus is going to provide peace for us, he has to do it in both areas. He has to make peace between God and us and make peace between people.
Missing the opportunity of experiencing the peace of Jesus
When Jesus was born, angels came from heaven with a song for the shepherds to hear. Part of the song declared, ‘on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased’ (Luke 2:18). Their song was, in a sense, a continuation of the prophecy given to Isaiah. The one he had predicted had arrived and the angels declared that his coming was a declaration of peace from heaven. Yet we also know that his birth caused great consternation in the palace of Herod, so there was no peace there. In addition, the inhabitants of Bethlehem, near where Jesus was born, did not seem to experience peace and the reason for this failure was their indifference. He had been born a king, as the wise men testified. Still it looks as if the arrival of the Prince of peace had not much effect, apart from giving hope to a few people here and there.
The Gospels highlight for us incidents from the life of Jesus when he helped many people who were in trouble of various kinds. Yet even when he performed outstanding miracles for the benefit of others, often they were not followed by experience of peace. Take the time when he fed thousands of people from a very small supply of fish and bread. Despite personally experiencing such amazing provision they soon became disgruntled and rejected Jesus. After the feeding of the crowd they wanted to make him a king, yet their desire was not for peace.
Or we can observe the response of those who observed Lazarus had been raised from the dead by Jesus. The fact that peace had been restored to the family in Bethany did not create a sense of peace in those who heard about this mighty act. Instead they were highly disturbed by what had occurred and the religious leaders decided to try and kill Lazarus. They were aware that Jesus had shown his power over the cause of the greatest distress possible – death, and they remained hostile.
These incidents show that it is possible to be close to the presence of Jesus, to experience the effects of his provision, and to observe great displays of his power, and never come to experience his peace. In a sense we can say that each of these aspects occurs in a church service – here we are near to Jesus, perhaps feeling the effects of blessings he gives, and observing the witnesses of his saving power. Can some of us be so near to the experience of peace and yet ultimately not receive it?
The obtaining of peace by Jesus
It is obvious that if peace is to be obtained, then the obstacles to peace have to be removed. With regard to experiencing peace through Jesus, there are two obstacles we can focus on, one on our side and the other on God’s side. On our side is the need of forgiveness by God for our sins; on God’s side, his wrath against us because of our sins has to be borne. The way that Jesus dealt with these obstacles was his suffering on the cross. There he paid the penalty for the sins of his people and endured the wrath of God that they should have experienced. This work of atonement becomes the basis of us receiving forgiveness from God.
Jesus has done more than placate the wrath of God. In addition he has become the messenger of peace, as Paul reminded the Ephesians when he wrote that Jesus ‘came and preached peace to you who were far off and to you who were near’ (Eph. 2:17). Paul did not mean that Jesus literally went to Ephesus and preached there. Instead he sent servants with the message of peace and they told their listeners what Jesus had achieved on the cross. When these listeners responded by faith in Jesus, they were reconciled to God and entered into a state of peace.
The contents of the peace of Jesus
We have all heard of shalom, the peace described here. Shalom is more than the absence of hostilities because it also includes wholeness. A person does not have shalom merely because he is living in a country that is not at war; in addition he must have inner peace, a sense of satisfaction. Jesus gives shalom to all who trust in him. Can we identify features of this sense of inner and outer wholeness? Here are three of them.
First, there is the realisation of forgiveness by God. There is both an objective and a subjective response to the reality of divine pardon. Objectively, we understand that we are forgiven by God because of the work of Jesus on the cross. The gospel offers this pardon freely and this offer does not change. Pardon never comes by any other way. The outcome of our initial pardon was to enter into a state of peace with God. Subjectively, a sinner experiences various emotions as he/she grasps what has happened. His conscience ceases to condemn him because he realises pardon comes through Christ. Repentance flows from a heart touched with the gospel of peace and is a sweet experience. Faith is a glad dependence on a loving Saviour. All these inner responses contribute to a sense of subjective peace.
This initial experience of peace through pardon opens the way for further experiences of Christ’s peace as we make our way through life. There is something very unusual about the peace of Christ in our hearts – we sense his pleasure when we do our best for him and, simultaneously, we sense his pardon as we confess our best was marred by sin.
Secondly, we should appreciate an aspect of this wholeness when we enjoy the harmony that marks the church of Christ. In the verses we already referred to from Ephesians 2, the obstacle that had been removed was a combination of religious and racial prejudice. The Jews despised the Gentiles because they were pagan idolaters – there was hostility. Yet Jesus through his gospel of peace brought conflicting races into a relationship of peace. A Jewish believer in Jesus and a Gentile believer in Jesus could walk together through Ephesus, and they would experience wholeness rather than conflict in their hearts.
There are other obstacles in today’s world that prevent harmony – social levels, age, degrees of intelligence, roles in life. The list can go on and on. Yet in the church, these obstacles should not exist. A person’s status in the church is not based on his status in the community – I remember reading of a wealthy nobleman who was a member in a church; he was not an elder in it, but his footman was. The point I am making is that the church should be a community of peace, of wholeness – a community that displays clearly the evidence that Jesus is its Lord. Every gift we have, every contribution we put together, every decision we make, has the goal of peace in our local branch of the kingdom of Jesus. Living in such an environment results in a sense of wholeness. It is a great blessing to serve him in an atmosphere of peace.
Thirdly, we should anticipate a future aspect of wholeness connected to the return of Jesus. Many a person crossed land and sea because they looked for a better location, and sadly they never found a perfect place. The reason for such a failure is that the perfect world is in the future. It will not come until Jesus brings into existence the new heavens and new earth. When that occasion comes, his people will be transformed into his likeness and will be ready for the life of glory. But what will be the ongoing experience of the world of glory? It will be peace, a peace of which Isaiah says in verse 7 there will be no end of its increase. The increase will be both outward and inward.
We cannot understand what this will mean. But we should aim to have foretastes of it in this life. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4 that the way to obtain the peace that passes all understanding is to pray with a thankful spirit. Is this not what we should be doing, praying for pardon thankful that we can have it, praying for harmony thankful it is possible, and praying about the glory to come thankful we can anticipate it.
When we look back into history, we can see that peace has eluded many who sought for it. Sometimes a form of peace was imposed on other nations who had been conquered by a dominant country, yet its rule was resented by its subjects. Its peace was merely an absence of war. When we look around our world today, we conclude that politicians cannot give peace (despite their genuine attempts at times), prosperity does not bring peace (materialism cannot satisfy the heart), advances in technology have not brought peace (instead it has developed many methods of preventing peace), increase in knowledge has not brought peace (we know much more than our ancestors did).
The people to whom Isaiah initially delivered his prophecy faced a situation in which there was no prospect of peace on a national level. Ahead of them was exile under the sway of a foreign power. Yet to them, Isaiah had a message of peace when he predicted the coming of the prophesied Messiah. He reminded them that this peace could never be found in their circumstances, even if they changed and the exile came to an end. Instead he told them to look ahead to the birth of Jesus if they wanted to experience personal peace and anticipate an environment marked by peace. His message is the same as far as we are concerned.
Need of peace
When we think about our need of peace, we have to first realise why peace is absent. If we need the peace that Jesus brings about, then we should ask ourselves what there is about us that requires God to send his Son into the world to bring this peace to us. So the first question to ask is this, ‘To whom does Jesus offer peace?’ The answer is that he offers peace to sinners.
When the Bible describes sinners, it uses a wide range of pictures. For example, sinners are said to be lost in a dangerous location (lost sheep in a hostile wilderness). Or they are regarded as rebels who have disobeyed God’s laws (he is the sovereign whom they have disobeyed). They are also depicted as being in a state of enmity with God. Enmity is not a word we use often today, but it means the presence of hostilities between two or more parties. When hostilities are present, there is no peace between the opposing groups.
With whom are we as sinners at enmity? The Bible’s answer to this question is twofold: there is enmity between God and us and there is enmity between ourselves and others. So if Jesus is going to provide peace for us, he has to do it in both areas. He has to make peace between God and us and make peace between people.
Missing the opportunity of experiencing the peace of Jesus
When Jesus was born, angels came from heaven with a song for the shepherds to hear. Part of the song declared, ‘on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased’ (Luke 2:18). Their song was, in a sense, a continuation of the prophecy given to Isaiah. The one he had predicted had arrived and the angels declared that his coming was a declaration of peace from heaven. Yet we also know that his birth caused great consternation in the palace of Herod, so there was no peace there. In addition, the inhabitants of Bethlehem, near where Jesus was born, did not seem to experience peace and the reason for this failure was their indifference. He had been born a king, as the wise men testified. Still it looks as if the arrival of the Prince of peace had not much effect, apart from giving hope to a few people here and there.
The Gospels highlight for us incidents from the life of Jesus when he helped many people who were in trouble of various kinds. Yet even when he performed outstanding miracles for the benefit of others, often they were not followed by experience of peace. Take the time when he fed thousands of people from a very small supply of fish and bread. Despite personally experiencing such amazing provision they soon became disgruntled and rejected Jesus. After the feeding of the crowd they wanted to make him a king, yet their desire was not for peace.
Or we can observe the response of those who observed Lazarus had been raised from the dead by Jesus. The fact that peace had been restored to the family in Bethany did not create a sense of peace in those who heard about this mighty act. Instead they were highly disturbed by what had occurred and the religious leaders decided to try and kill Lazarus. They were aware that Jesus had shown his power over the cause of the greatest distress possible – death, and they remained hostile.
These incidents show that it is possible to be close to the presence of Jesus, to experience the effects of his provision, and to observe great displays of his power, and never come to experience his peace. In a sense we can say that each of these aspects occurs in a church service – here we are near to Jesus, perhaps feeling the effects of blessings he gives, and observing the witnesses of his saving power. Can some of us be so near to the experience of peace and yet ultimately not receive it?
The obtaining of peace by Jesus
It is obvious that if peace is to be obtained, then the obstacles to peace have to be removed. With regard to experiencing peace through Jesus, there are two obstacles we can focus on, one on our side and the other on God’s side. On our side is the need of forgiveness by God for our sins; on God’s side, his wrath against us because of our sins has to be borne. The way that Jesus dealt with these obstacles was his suffering on the cross. There he paid the penalty for the sins of his people and endured the wrath of God that they should have experienced. This work of atonement becomes the basis of us receiving forgiveness from God.
Jesus has done more than placate the wrath of God. In addition he has become the messenger of peace, as Paul reminded the Ephesians when he wrote that Jesus ‘came and preached peace to you who were far off and to you who were near’ (Eph. 2:17). Paul did not mean that Jesus literally went to Ephesus and preached there. Instead he sent servants with the message of peace and they told their listeners what Jesus had achieved on the cross. When these listeners responded by faith in Jesus, they were reconciled to God and entered into a state of peace.
The contents of the peace of Jesus
We have all heard of shalom, the peace described here. Shalom is more than the absence of hostilities because it also includes wholeness. A person does not have shalom merely because he is living in a country that is not at war; in addition he must have inner peace, a sense of satisfaction. Jesus gives shalom to all who trust in him. Can we identify features of this sense of inner and outer wholeness? Here are three of them.
First, there is the realisation of forgiveness by God. There is both an objective and a subjective response to the reality of divine pardon. Objectively, we understand that we are forgiven by God because of the work of Jesus on the cross. The gospel offers this pardon freely and this offer does not change. Pardon never comes by any other way. The outcome of our initial pardon was to enter into a state of peace with God. Subjectively, a sinner experiences various emotions as he/she grasps what has happened. His conscience ceases to condemn him because he realises pardon comes through Christ. Repentance flows from a heart touched with the gospel of peace and is a sweet experience. Faith is a glad dependence on a loving Saviour. All these inner responses contribute to a sense of subjective peace.
This initial experience of peace through pardon opens the way for further experiences of Christ’s peace as we make our way through life. There is something very unusual about the peace of Christ in our hearts – we sense his pleasure when we do our best for him and, simultaneously, we sense his pardon as we confess our best was marred by sin.
Secondly, we should appreciate an aspect of this wholeness when we enjoy the harmony that marks the church of Christ. In the verses we already referred to from Ephesians 2, the obstacle that had been removed was a combination of religious and racial prejudice. The Jews despised the Gentiles because they were pagan idolaters – there was hostility. Yet Jesus through his gospel of peace brought conflicting races into a relationship of peace. A Jewish believer in Jesus and a Gentile believer in Jesus could walk together through Ephesus, and they would experience wholeness rather than conflict in their hearts.
There are other obstacles in today’s world that prevent harmony – social levels, age, degrees of intelligence, roles in life. The list can go on and on. Yet in the church, these obstacles should not exist. A person’s status in the church is not based on his status in the community – I remember reading of a wealthy nobleman who was a member in a church; he was not an elder in it, but his footman was. The point I am making is that the church should be a community of peace, of wholeness – a community that displays clearly the evidence that Jesus is its Lord. Every gift we have, every contribution we put together, every decision we make, has the goal of peace in our local branch of the kingdom of Jesus. Living in such an environment results in a sense of wholeness. It is a great blessing to serve him in an atmosphere of peace.
Thirdly, we should anticipate a future aspect of wholeness connected to the return of Jesus. Many a person crossed land and sea because they looked for a better location, and sadly they never found a perfect place. The reason for such a failure is that the perfect world is in the future. It will not come until Jesus brings into existence the new heavens and new earth. When that occasion comes, his people will be transformed into his likeness and will be ready for the life of glory. But what will be the ongoing experience of the world of glory? It will be peace, a peace of which Isaiah says in verse 7 there will be no end of its increase. The increase will be both outward and inward.
We cannot understand what this will mean. But we should aim to have foretastes of it in this life. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4 that the way to obtain the peace that passes all understanding is to pray with a thankful spirit. Is this not what we should be doing, praying for pardon thankful that we can have it, praying for harmony thankful it is possible, and praying about the glory to come thankful we can anticipate it.