PRINCE OF
PEACE
ISAIAH 9:6-7
Pastor Calvin Tan
PEACE. Basically the OT word for peace, sûaµloÆm, means ‘completeness’, ‘soundness’,
‘well-being’. (BDB.) It is used when one asks
of or prays for the welfare of another, when one is in harmony or concord with
another (Jos. 9:15), when one seeks the good of a city or country
. It may mean material prosperity (Ps. 73:3) or physical safety (Ps.
4:8). But also it may mean spiritual well-being. Such peace is the associate of
righteousness and truth, but not of wickedness.
Because of the world’s chaos through man’s sin,
and because peace comes only as God’s gift, the Messianic hope was of an age of
peace, or of the advent of the Prince of peace (Is. 9:6f.). The NT shows the fulfilment of this hope. In Christ peace has come (Lk. 1:79; 2:14, 29f.). By him it is bestowed (Mk. 5:34),
and his disciples are its messengers. Num 6:24-26 24 “The LORD bless you
and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be
gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you
peace.”’ 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will
bless them.”
In classical Greek eireµneµ
had a primarily negative force; but by way of the lxx, the word in the NT has the full content of the OT sûaµloÆm,
and nearly always carries a spiritual connotation. The breadth of its meaning
is especially apparent from its linking with such keywords as grace (
For sinful man there
must first be peace with God, the removal of sin’s enmity through the sacrifice
of Christ (
ISAIAH 9:6-7
The Bible tells us that Jesus would come and that He would be the Prince of
Peace. I was looking at this title for Jesus the other day, and I wondered what
it really meant. What does it mean to have Jesus called the ‘Prince of Peace’?
Jesus must get this title because of what He would do and did do while He was
here on Earth. Jesus gets the title Prince of Peace because it defines who He
is and what He can do for us. It is not just a title, but a description.
"Peace is knowing
that we may get to the point where we can do nothing else, but that our
all-powerful God has no such limits." (adapted from John MacArthur)
Jesus wasn’t the only
character in the Bible who illustrated peace like this. There are many examples
of peace in scripture, but let me briefly mention stories where people
experienced peace at a time in their lives, when peace looked highly unlikely.
There was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
who boldly told King Nebuchadnezzar that he could throw them in the furnace,
but that they weren’t going to bow before his false god. They believed God was
strong enough to take care of them, but they informed the king that even if He
should chose not to rescue them, they still wouldn’t bow to his idol.
Isa 11:6-9
P- PARDONING OF SIN
The greatest thing that Jesus ever did to bring peace into our lives is to
provide a way for our sins to be forgiven. The Bible states clearly that at one
time we were all sinners at odds and enemies with God. There was no way for us
to have a relationship with God because of our sin. The price of sin is high,
it costs blood to wash away sins; that is why there are sacrifices in the Old
Testament. But, God had a plan to offer salvation to all people. God had a plan
to offer a clean slatre to anyone who would accept.
He did that through Jesus on the Cross. Jesus made peace between us and God
with His death. Jesus paid the price. Jesus pardoned our sin.
One Sunday morning, a man woke up early to
read the morning paper. Glad to have time to himself, he brewed some coffee,
and began to read. Three sentences into the first article, he saw his
five-year-old daughter descending the stairs. He said, "Honey, go back to
bed." "But I’m not sleepy," she insisted. Determined to read his
paper, he again urged her to go back to bed. Again, she told him she was not
tired. Looking at the newspaper, he conceived a plan. In the paper was a
picture of the world, which he cut into several pieces. Handing his daughter
some Scotch tape, he instructed her, "Go sit in the dining room, and see
if you can put the world back together." His daughter accepted the
challenge, and he went back to the kitchen to finish his coffee and read the
paper. After only a few minuets his daughter came bounding into the kitchen.
"Here, Daddy, I’m finished!" she said, showing him the picture of the
world put back together. Amazed, he asked, "Sweetie, how did you do that
so fast?" She replied, "It was easy. On the backside of the page was
a picture of a man. When you make the man right, you make the world
right."
That is real peace – when a man or woman is reconciled in a right relationship
with God. This is a peace a world cannot offer us – it is the gift of Christ.
A gift that comes when we believe in the completed work of Christ.
A gift that comes when we submit to the control of the Father.
And a gift that comes when we rely upon the help of the Holy Spirit.
E- EVERLASTING PROMISES
ILLUSTRATION... Promises from God, Our Daily Bread, January 1, 1985
A promise from God is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence.
The Promises of God are never ending and never run out. Scripture is full of
the Everlasting Promises of God: Here are 12 promises for the Christian to
claim.
God’s presence— “I will never leave thee” (Heb. 13:5)
God’s protection—”I am thy shield” (Gen. 15:1)
God’s power—”I will strengthen thee” (Isa. 41:10)
God’s provision—”I will help thee” (Isa. 41:10)
God’s leading—”And when He putteth forth His own
sheep, He goeth before them” (John 10:4)
God’s purposes— “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil” (Jer. 29:11)
God’s rest—”Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)
God’s cleansing— “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
God’s goodness— “No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly”
(Psalm 84:11)
God’s faithfulness—”The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s
sake” (1 Sam. 12:22)
God’s guidance—”The meek will He guide” (Psalm 25:9)
God’s wise plan—”All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom.
8:28)
These promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus. God made good on all Hos promises to
Abraham and David and the prophets when He sent Jesus. God makes good on these
same promises each day with you and with me. Jesus provides these promises for
us and gives us peace of mind and peace in our lives.
Covenant of peace Ezekiel 34:25 ‘I will make a covenant of peace with
them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and
sleep in the forests in safety.
A- AGITATE OUR APATHY
I love this part of Jesus’ description because at first it does not sound like
it fits. Matthew 10:34 records Jesus saying, “Do not suppose that I have come
to bring peace to the Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Huh?
I have just talked about how Jesus is the Prince of Peace and now He is saying
He brings the sword instead of peace!? What does Jesus mean? Jesus is explaining
to His disciples that when He is in their lives, He will always be stirring
them and urging them on towards holiness... no easy task. It requires us to
take up our cross and follow Him (10:38). That doesn’t sound peaceful. I want
you to know that the path to God and the path of Christianity is full of effort
and sweat and tears. Many times peace to us is having God leave us alone. Many
times peace to us is being allowed to just sit in the pews and do nothing. But
that is not why Jesus came. Jesus came to agitate our apathy. Jesus came to
point the way to holiness. Jesus came to show us how to live and for us to
follow after Him. It is not a complacent faith that Jesus wants from us but an
active faith. By commanding us to active faith, Jesus sets us on the path of
ultimate peace with God.
C- COMPLETENESS
John 15:11- Jesus came and taught so that our joy may be complete.
John 17:23- Jesus’ prayer was that all His believers be in complete unity
Everything that Jesus did in His life was done to completeness. Every time
someone was healed by Jesus, they were not partially healed, but completely
healed. Every time Jesus fed thousands of people they were completely full when
they were done eating. Every time Jesus calmed the storm it completely died down.
All the spiritual lessons that Jesus taught were complete.
Jesus, as the Prince of Peace, brought completeness to our world. Each person
on this earth has a spiritual part of themselves that needs to be fed and
nurtured. God made us that way! Jesus fills all of those spiritual needs
completely... nothing else will do. No one else will do. No drug will do. No
move or Tv show will do. Only Christ makes us
complete people.
Catherine Marshall once
told. "My friend Marge had an experience aboard a plane bound for
Isa 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him
whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
E- EMBODIED THE STANDARD
ILL. I Set MY Clock By Your Whistle” by Unknown
Every day a man used to walk by a jewelry store, stop and set his watch by the
big clock in the window.
One day the jeweler happened to be standing in his doorway. He greeted the man
in a friendly way and said; “I see you set your watch by my clock. What kind of
work do you do that demands such correct time each day?” “I’m the watchman at
the plant down the street,” said the man. “My job is to blow the five o’clock
whistle.” The jeweler was startled. “But...you can’t do that,” he blurted out.
“I set my clock by your whistle!”
As we go through this life, we are not confused about what is expected of us.
Jesus as the Prince of Peace eases our minds because we do not wonder what is
expected of us from God. Jesus came and lived His life and set the standard. He
taught the standard. Jesus is the standard. He communicated God’s desires about
our lives and it all has been recorded in the Bible. Jn
13:12-17
APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION
The Christmas Holidays bring to us many songs that we love. Silent Night. Joy
to the World. Maybe we sang your favorite here this morning. Some of these songs
speak about the Prince of Peace. When you sing those words, I want you to
remember what they mean.
PARDONING OF SIN
EVERLASTING PROMISES
AGITATING OUR APATHY
COMPLETENESS
EMBODYING THE STANDARD
Lk 2:14 …..and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”