"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." [Isaiah 9: 6]
Today we look at Jesus as Prince of peace.
First, we must ask: What is Peace? According to Webster's dictionary, peace is a state of tranquillity, quiet, calm, freedom from civil disturbance; a state of security - being secure within a community; freedom from oppression, strife and disorder; being in harmony in personal relations; to be untroubled by conflict, agitation or commotion. Considering this definition of peace, Christ as prince of peace is a very intriguing title. His own life was far from quiet, calm, and free from civil disturbance, conflict, or strife. He was not in harmony in all of His personal relations. He was not secure within a community. His own community of 12 disowned and betrayed Him. Jesus Himself told followers that He did not come to bring external peace, but instead, a sword. He said He would even go so far as to bring disdain and disunity between family members. In essence, all OUTWARD definitions of peace were absent from the life of Christ. It is the INWARD peace that it appears His title speaks to. A peace He found and lived out in the knowledge that His state of security came from the Father. He knew His position and authority in heaven. He had a peace that came from trusting and obeying His Father's will. He portrayed this peace while sleeping in the boat as the storm raged around Him. He portrayed this peace as He was arrested, tried, tortured, and crucified. This kind of peace seems to be 'the peace that passes all understanding' that is offered through Christ to His followers in Philippians 4.
Secondly, what does it mean for Jesus to be prince of this sort of peace? A prince is a sovereign or monarch. According to Webster's, it can also mean someone who is chief or preemminent in any class, group, or category. Christ was certainly preemminent in displaying the internal peace that can only come through trusting that the hand that is dealt to you is dealt by a loving, good God. He is the sovereign over TRUE peace that is not dictated by circumstance. Those who live under the banner of the Prince of Peace have a peace that the world and the devil cannot take away.
Jesus is also the Prince of Peace because only through Him and a recognition of His saving work on the cross can we find peace with the Father. He is the Sovereign over the peace-making work of salvation. (Romans 5: 1)
Finally, Jesus also teaches us as His people who have been brought into peace with our Father, to be peacemakers whereever we go in this violent and peaceless world. He leads the way for those who follow Him to display the same external peace and non-violence that He Himself portrayed while He walked in this broken world by leading them to entrust their inner turmoil to Him. I remember listening to a sermon by Greg Boyd online one day and one line struck me. "The Christlikeness of your life will be measured by the degree to which you do or do not practice violence in your actions, your words, and your thoughts." If we are to bear the image of the Prince of Peace who told us to turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile, we must ask Him to rid us of all violence and turmoil in our inner spirit and fill us anew with His Holy Spirit that bears the fruit of peace. Only in this miraculous work can we display the sovereignty of Christ over TRUE peace as He Himself displayed it in His forgiveness and peaceful submission to His Father's will on His way to Calvary.
So, what will this peace look like and how do we live in it?
I don't know what your circumstances are today. But I do believe that Christ is the prince of peace who is ready and willing to give us the peace we yearn for in a world that lacks external peace. He has not promised world peace or freedom from strife. In fact, quite the opposite. He has informed us that the world is only going to get worse until He comes to bring in a reign of peace. If you have the illusion that world peace is possible prior to Christ's return, you are clinging to a false and deceitful hope. And in terms of the strife that will be found in our own lives, we better be expecting a lot of it while we live in this world. He has not promised us easy circumstances or a path lined with flowers. He has promised us hardship and the way of the cross. He has promised us that He will shake everything that can be shaken. But He has also reminded us that we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This was the peaceful security we see in the eyes of Christ Jesus as He approached the cross and told His disciples, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
Even as we find peace in the life and promises of Jesus Christ, we also see a Biblical connection between peace and the heeding of God's commands. Isaiah 48:22 says that there is no peace for the wicked while Isaiah 48: 17-18 promises peace like a river to those who follow the Lord's commands. A number of other passages (Psalm 119: 165; Isaiah 26: 3-4; Psalm 85: 8, 10) speak to this truth. It all comes down to this: You reap what you sow. If you are sowing sinfulness, you will reap the results of sinfulness and peace is not one of those consequences. If you are sowing righteousness, you will reap the fruit of righteousness, of which peace is a portion of this harvest. Let this be a warning to us this day to heed the commands of our Lord in order that we might walk in His peace.
It is my prayer that those of us who have bowed to Christ as the Lord of life will enter into His peace that passes all understanding. That we will ask our Prince for the grace to trust and base our security in this life on the goodness of our God so that we will shine forth peace as a fruit of His Holy Spirit into a world that is much afraid. That we will walk in the ways of His commands so that the fruit we reap is peace.
Some food for thought...
What would Christ as the Prince of Peace think about war and our defense of it for the sake of our worldly self-preservation? What would He have to say about our level of trust in the good and purposeful will of His Father within our lives? Would He see violence in our words, actions, or thoughts? Are we lacking peace because we are not heeding His commands? What does it mean to you that Christ is your Prince of Peace?
Tomorrow's study will be on the title "Anointed one" or "Messiah" from Psalm 2: 2. Please feel free to find other verses or prophetic passages about this title to incorporate in your study!
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