The Legacy of Jesus (John 14:27)

This verse can be described as the legacy of Jesus. Matthew Henry’s comment has become well known: ‘When Christ was about to leave the world he made his will. His soul he committed to his Father; his body he bequeathed to Joseph, to be decently interred; his clothes fell to the soldiers; his mother he left to the care of John: but what should he leave to his poor disciples, that had left all for him? Silver and gold he had none; but he left them that which was infinitely better, his peace.’

It is evident from the verse that the disciples were distraught and confused, and this is the second time that Jesus has referred to their state in this chapter (14:1). Probably the main reason that the disciples were afraid of the future was Jesus’ words indicating that he was about to leave them. Another reason may have been his prediction that they all would deny him within a short time. Connected to this reason was his announcement that he would be betrayed, arrested and killed. These reasons can be summarised under the headings of disappointment and distress.  

When we think of the Bible’s teaching on peace, it is helpful to view it from three perspectives. First, there is peace with God which is brought about through faith in Christ’s atoning death (justification). Second, there is peace with fellow-humans, which is accomplished in the church of Christ, in which the racial, social and gender divisions of sinful society have been replaced by membership of the family of God (adoption). Third, there is the personal experience of peace which comes as part of and as a result of inner renewal (sanctification). It is this third aspect that Jesus is referring to here, although we should recognise that the other two are assumed as being in existence.

The peace of Jesus

As we think of this feature of the character of the Saviour, the incident that first may come to mind is the occasion when he was in the boat with his disciples as they crossed the Sea of Galilee during a great storm. His peace was so great that he slept comfortably through it until he was awakened by his petrified disciples. As I thought of that incident, I also recalled an incident in the life of James Macdonald, the father of the great evangelist of the early nineteenth century in the Scottish Highlands. At one time in his life he had resolved to emigrate across the Atlantic. The boat that they were on was caught in a frightening storm in the Pentland Firth and the passengers soon became panic-stricken, with most of them calling out for divine help. Macdonald sat calmly in the midst of the panic, and one lady rebuked him for his apparent indifferent attitude. His response was to say that he pitied those who had only begun to pray when the storm arose. Macdonald’s experience in that storm is a vivid example of Christ’s peace being communicated to one of his disciples. Many other similar stories could be told of disciples knowing great peace in situations of stress and trouble.

Sometimes we give little thought to the Saviour’s possession of peace because we take it to be an aspect of his divine Person, which is true, and that this divine peace automatically moved into his human experience. In a sense, this is to deny the reality of his humanity and fails to consider the situations in which Jesus did not have peace, as in Gethsemane and on the Cross. His humanity was sinless, which of course is an important aspect of his peace and is a feature in which he differs from us. Yet I would suggest that in other respects he obtained a sense of inner peace through the same means as we will obtain peace.

One way by which Jesus obtained inner peace was by his loving submission to the will of his Father. In Isaiah 50, there is a wonderful prophecy of the Father’s Servant. Verse 4 are the words of the Servant: ‘The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.’ Daily he interacted with the Father and received his approval. Between the Father and the Son there was peace as the Son pursued his mission of rescuing sinners.

Connected to his submission was his life of prayer. The Gospels reveal that resorting to prayer was a regular feature of the Saviour’s life. Many a night he spent in prayer. The Gospel of Luke points out that Jesus was engaged in prayer before the important events in his life: his baptism, his choice of apostles, his transfiguration, to name a few. In prayer he committed his situations to his Father and one consequence was peace.

His submission and his prayer-life were also accompanied by an understanding of the Bible. Of course, Jesus read the Scriptures at a different level from us because he is the great Subject of the Bible as it focuses on his person and work. Nevertheless, his soul fed on the promises of God to the Messiah, and his mission as the Messiah was governed by the Bible’s requirements (an aspect that is seen in Jesus’ words on the cross when he spoke in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies).

This possession of inner peace did not mean that Jesus was passive. He had to endure attacks from the evil one, and these attacks were designed to destroy his fellowship with God. Also he showed anger when appropriate, as he did at the cruelty of the religious leaders. So experiencing violent opposition and expressing strong disapproval were not inconsistent with his sense of inner peace.

This is the peace that Jesus promised his troubled disciples. It was a peace that arose from a constant sense of his Father’s approval, a peace that was developed by an ongoing prayer life and regular absorption of the Bible’s contents, and was a peace that could be maintained in the stressful situations of life. By implication, our experience of peace will also come when we sense the Father’s approval of our obedience, when we pray, and when we meditate on the Bible.

Jesus, the Conveyor of Peace

Of course, Jesus is not only the person giving the legacy, he is also the Executor or Administrator of the legacy. When each of us makes a will, we know that we will not be alive to enact it. With Jesus it was different. He knew that he would rise from the dead in order to ensure that we received his legacy.

In addition, Jesus knew that he would send the Holy Spirit to bring his peace into the hearts of his people. Already in this passage, Jesus has mentioned several of the ways in which the Spirit will work in the lives of disciples. He would indwell them, he would instruct them. In addition, he would give them a sense of peace that would be similar to the peace that Jesus experienced.

Therefore, the peace that Jesus is promising is a unique type that is totally different from peace that the world gives. It is a peace that is heavenly, that comes from another world. At that time, the people of Israel were under the Pax Romana, the Empire-wide system of peace that was imposed by the Roman Empire. It was a peace from another place, but it was not a peace that was linked to liberty or love for the subjects of the Empire.

The unique peace of Jesus is different in a second way, which is that it is internal and not merely external. External peace is often merely the absence of hostilities whereas biblical peace is the presence of serenity and calm.

A third difference found in the unique peace of Jesus is its certainty as opposed to the desire of well-meaning people to have peace. Many sincere people want their friends and family to have inner comfort and say so with their words of greeting. But they are unable to ensure it. Jesus guarantees his peace to his followers.

A fourth difference located in the unique peace of Jesus is its basis. The peace of the world is dependent often on circumstances (adverse events spoil it) or on possessions (what we accumulate) or on achievements (what we can do). Obviously there is nothing intrinsically wrong with wanting pleasant circumstances, nice possessions or good achievements. But it is folly to make them the basis of our peace.

The unique peace that Jesus offers is based on a relationship with himself by the Spirit through meditation on the Bible and in prayer. It is a peace that can and should be known no matter what happens in the world. Sadly, it is a peace that can be disrupted, but the main reason for this will be disobedience to Christ, which results in the Father’s disapproval of us.

Not only is the peace of Jesus unique, it also is comprehensive in that it possesses many ingredients. Here are some of the reasons why disciples of Jesus should have peace in their souls.

First, they know the forgiveness of their sins, not just the sins of their pre-disciple days but also the sins they commit daily. When they sin, the indwelling Spirit prompts them to confess these sins. He reminds them that if they confess them, the Father is faithful and just to pardon them because of the atoning work of Jesus. As they confess them, they discover again that he is their Helper (1 John 1:9–2:2). The continual presence of sin is not really the main barrier to peace in a disciple’s heart; it is unconfessed sin that is the barrier. The Christian who is continually asking for cleansing is the one that will know Christ’s peace.

Second, they know that they possess permanent blessings from Christ. Earlier we mentioned the privileges of justification (right standing before God) and adoption (membership of God’s family). To them, we could add the guarantee of a place in heaven as well as many other permanent blessings. These blessings never are taken away, although the comfort of them will be lost if we don’t confess our sins. To me, it is a wonder that Arminian Christians can enjoy peace because they don’t believe these blessings are unchangeable. That they do is evidence of God’s grace to them in spite of their wrong notions. Take the knowledge of these blessings away from God’s people and their comfort is disrupted.

Third, disciples should have peace because they know that all the outworkings of providence are in the hands of Jesus. All power is his in heaven and on earth; he is able to work all things together for their benefit. So even adverse circumstances in themselves are not able to destroy the peace of Christ in our souls. Sometimes they do, but that happens when we focus on the bigness of the problem and not on the activity of Jesus on our behalf.

Fourth, disciples should have peace because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. He has come as the Spirit of Jesus, to give to each of his people the presence of Christ. He ministers in our hearts in ways similar to how Jesus would work if he were present physically with us. The Spirit, in addition to leading us to confess our sins, reminds us of our privileges, accompanies us in prayer, meets us in the Bible, and produces within us the fruit of the Spirit, which is Christlikeness. Part of that fruit is peace, the peace of Jesus.

This is something that we should desire for one another. Note how the letters of Paul, Peter and John begin with the prayerful desire that their readers would know peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. That should be our prayer for one another daily.