Peace Like Jesus

“Peace, I leave with you,” Jesus said. “My peace I give to you.”

What did Jesus have in mind when he talked about peace? Certainly not a utopian existence where everything goes along without a hitch. He made it pretty clear that in this world we’re going to have trouble.

What is a Messiah?

This was an especially important point for Jesus to make. Israel had long expected a Messiah to arise from the line of David, a prophet on the order of Moses. Someone to return the kingdom of Israel to its former glory in the international arena. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, that had become far more of a political expectation than a religious reality.

When John began to preach and baptize in the Jordan wilderness, the nation had not seen a son of David on the throne for nearly 600 years. The oppression of Rome filled them with messianic longings. Jewish youth cut their teeth on Daniel’s promise of an “everlasting dominion that will never be destroyed.” Old people haunted the temple, waiting for the “consolation of Israel.”

Enter Jesus. A miracle worker with unprecedented power—to heal the sick, to deliver from demons, to raise the dead. A teacher with great wisdom and unmatched authority. No wonder their Messiah sensors went off. Surely this hope was behind Peter recognizing him as the Christ, and his hasty if erroneous insistence that Jesus should not die at the hands of the religious leaders. He could not imagine them killing their long-awaited Messiah.

If we’re honest, we all have a little of Peter in us. We long for Jesus to rock the world—and we don’t mean the gentle sway of a cradle, either. We want to see him take the world by the scruff of the neck and shake some goodness into it. We know he can. We know he will. It’s hard to wait, especially when suffering makes our longing so poignant.

Why Does Jesus Tarry?

Good question. Why, indeed?

Because his kingdom is not of this world. Before Jesus establishes his reign on earth, he first had to reconcile man to God. He did this by offering his own blood as an atoning sacrifice on Calvary. He paid the ransom set by God: one perfect life in exchange for all who come by faith. He tarries today because still others will come.

But why he tarries isn’t our problem. We live in a broken world. We suffer evil at the hands of wickedness. We are not spared disease or poverty or loneliness. Despite the many commands not to be afraid, we fear something out there is set against us. And it is. The enemy is defeated but he has not retreated.

The truth is, hardships are very real. They threaten us and our loved ones. We know ourselves to be defenseless before them. Fear combines with need and, left unchecked, anxiety takes root in our souls. More and more people resort to meds to moderate the anxiety of daily life.

How sweet is Jesus’s command, “Take heart.” How welcome his assurance, “I have overcome the world!” Our poor hearts, trounced by fear and pain, can barely gasp, “If only it were true.”

Wake up, Christian! You’re having a nightmare.

His word is true. Jesus has overcome the world. All authority in heaven and on earth already belongs to him. Turn to him!

The troubles of this world no longer master those who abide in Christ. Abide in him!

These light and momentary afflictions are working for us an eternal weight of glory. Fix your eyes on the unseen!

It’s Not That Easy

Easier said than done, right? For many of us, the immediacy of our trouble eclipses the greatness of his help, and we are still afraid. Is the peace he promised really meant for today?

Sometimes I think we live so far this side of Pentecost that we’ve forgotten the little Flame. Worse, for many the Indwelling has been reduced to a mere “seal,” a stamp on our ticket that’ll get us into heaven when we die.

How tragic! The omnipotence of God is at our disposal and we are defeated by next month’s bills, a bad medical report, a family crisis. Weak we may be, but whatever happened to the peace that passes understanding? Oh, how we need to recover the hope of glory: Christ in us.

Do you get the strength of this hope, that GOD lives in us? What once separated us from him was destroyed at the cross. Jesus died there—wrapped-up-and-laid-in-a-tomb dead. Yet he returned triumphant over death and demons, over world powers and principalities, over sickness and need and despair and every other everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.

The Price of Peace is a Renewed Mind

This triumph is yours through the Indwelling Spirit. Embrace your victory! The peace that Jesus gives, his own peace, doesn’t have anything to do with circumstances. The beautiful truth of the Indwelling is that peace is part of who we are. Therefore we do not lose heart. No matter how often or how hard trouble wallops our life, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Let’s be done with prayers that amount to nothing more than pleas for comfort and ease. When fears assail you, take them captive. Make them obey Christ. Fill your mind instead with thoughts of better things, things that are good, noble, praiseworthy, excellent, true, right, pure, lovely, admirable. Rejoice always. I’ll say it again, rejoice. Be thankful.

Above all, don’t be like Jerusalem—Jesus’s metaphor for empty religion—who failed to recognize the time of God’s coming. “If only you had known what would bring you peace,” he wept over the city.

Does Jesus weep over you?

Do you know what will bring you peace?