The Prince of Peace
We have been thinking about the four unmistakable marks of the Messiah. When He comes He will be a "Wonderful Counselor"; that is, His teaching and counseling will excite wonder and awe. He will be called "The Mighty God"; that is, the God of Awesome Power. Our Lord Jesus Christ throughout His ministry healed the sick, even leprosy, which had no known cure. The blind received their sight; the deaf was restored to a full hearing, the lame and paralyzed were made well. He even raised the dead. Awesome power! Mighty power! Yes, omnipotent power! He is also called "The Everlasting Father"; that is, the source of eternal life. Our Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life, dying on a cross for our sins and in our place. He took our licken! Now, because of Jesus' substitutionary, sacrifice on the cross, when we believe in Him, we receive eternal life. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
Now we take up our fourth and final description of our Lord; He is called the "Prince of Peace or in the Hebrew "Shar Shalom." The basic idea of "shalom" or in the New Testament Greek word "eirene" is the removal of the cause of hostility. There are two different ways the idea of peace is used with reference to the Lord Jesus Christ: one Political and the other Personal.
He is the Prince of Peace politically
The first aspect is that “He will be a "Prince,” a ruler who will bring peace.” When our Lord's public ministry began the popular idea of the Messiah was that He would come and deliver Israel from Roman bondage. Many prophets and their prophecies foretold that when Messiah came, He would vanquish all of Israel's enemies and establish His kingdom, a glorious monarchy. This was the predominate Messianic Hope of the Jews in 30 A.D. They were looking for a political Messiah.
Much of our traditional Christmas music contains this idea. For Instance, "Joy To The World":
Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let ev’ry heart prepare Him room, and heav’n and nature sing.
Joy to the earth the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.
In this song, great joy appears all over the world because the Savior reigns. He rules the world with grace and truth and all the nations acclaim and applauds His righteousness and marvel at the nature of His love. In the third stanza, He removes the divine curse found in Genesis three. None of this has been fulfilled. Look at the world we live in. Approximately 149 nations and how many proclaim the name of Jesus? Zero! Nada! Not even Israel! Some might say "The United States, but our culture is post-Christian. We declare ourselves one nation "under God” and most of our people today want to just be one nation under themselves.
Again, is our world at peace? The middle east is a hotbed of turmoil. The Syrian government is killing its own people. In Iraq almost, every day we hear about a suicide bomber killing innocent civilians. In Afghanistan and Pakistan al-Qaida forces are fighting a desperate war. North Korea tests a rocket, which if placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile, could reach the United States. Iran refuses to give up its nuclear program to produce a nuclear bomb. I am out of breath. The world we live in is very much like what Jesus described:
[6] “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
[7] “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
[8] “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
[Matthew 24:6-8]
How many of you will sing this year the song written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day" and the repeated phrase "peace on earth and good will toward man." Note this stanza:
And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth,” I said; “For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.”
This accurately describes Jesus day right up to today and the great need for a Prince who could end all hostilities between nations.
Israel's Messiah did arrive so what happened?
The Bible reveals that our Lord Jesus Christ will have two advents, not just one. In the first advent, He would come to suffer and lay down His life on the cross to remove the cause of hostility between God and Man. This is the purpose of the First Advent. Isaiah spoke of this:
[4] Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
[5] But He was pierced through for our transgressions [He was our sin-bearer], He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed [the concept of reconciliation]. [Isaiah 53:4,5]
There are many more prophecies that speak about the suffering savior: Psalm 22:6-8, 19-21; Psalm 69:7-9; Zechariah 13:6. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew full well that this was the purpose of His First coming: Matthew 16:21; 20:17-19. However, before proceeding to the second way "Prince of Peace" is used in the Scripture, I want to complete the idea on this political aspect.
Jesus will one day remove the causes of hostilities between the nations of the world and affect peace between nations. This is still future to our day. Jesus will return to earth a second time. He will come in a day of great conflict and war among the nations. He called it the Great Tribulation, Matthew 24:21,22. He will come as a commander of a great army who will fight and vanquish all of God's enemies, Revelation 19:11-16. He will establish His Messianic Kingdom in Israel and rule for a thousand years, Revelation 20:4,5.
The world as we know it will be completely changed. Regarding one statement in Isaiah that illustrates this principle:
And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. [Isaiah 2:4]
He will establish peace between the nations. All of the causes of hostility will be removed. During His rule, there will no longer be a need for a standing army, therefore no need to train our young people in the art of warfare. All of this is yet future.
The second way Jesus is the "The Prince of Peace" is personally.
I have called this second aspect "personal" because you and I personally need "peace with God." He is the "Prince of Peace" who removes the cause of hostility between God and you by His substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross. This is stated in Romans 5:1:
Therefore, having been justified by faith [faith alone in Christ alone], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ [through His death on the cross].
In this same chapter, the Apostle Paul explains the reason we need this peace. Notice our condition!
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10
We were enemies of God. How did I make God my enemy? My sins and my disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-3). Listen to what Jesus says:
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey [believe in Jesus] the Son will not see life [eternal fellowship with God], but the wrath of God abides on him.” [John 3:36]
God's wrath is not the fitful sporadic anger seen in humans, but the stern reaction of His Holiness to our sin and rebellion. This is the cause of our separation from God. Jesus Christ is our Prince of Peace because He removes the cause of hostility between God and us. When you believe in Christ, all your sins were forgiven.
In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood (death on the cross), the forgiveness of our trespasses (sins), according to the riches of His grace [Ephesians 1:7]
The grace blessings from this spiritual benefit are amazing. We have peace with God so that we can have the peace of God. The negative side of this that our war with God is over. Instead of His wrath, we are at peace with Him. The positive aspect is that He opens the door for us to fellowship with Him and to enjoy all the advantages of being in the family of our Heavenly Father. Utterly marvelous! Then He gives us His peace to be an inner stronghold as a buttress against the tribulations of life. Jesus spoke of this:
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me [faith alone in Christ alone] you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]
Our Lord Jesus Christ's first strategic victory guarantees inner peace for all who trust in Him for salvation. The world around us is in chaos. It is morally bankrupted and full of trouble. This will not change until the Prince of Peace comes a second time, but in the interim, we have been given something on the inside. I call it peace of mind and heart. The peace that Jesus possessed can be ours. Rest in Him for He is your Prince of Peace for the daily struggles of life.
[28] “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
[29] “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
[30] “For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
[Matthew 11:28-30]
Paul talked about "the family plan." If you are in the family of God this is what you can expect:
[6] Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
[7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[Philippians 4:6-7]
We can now talk to our Heavenly Father about the things that we are worried about. We are in the family of God. We can cast our cares upon Him for He cares about us. 1 Peter 5:7.
As we conclude these series remember the names of our Lord Jesus Christ:
When I need wisdom, I can turn to Jesus because He is The Wonderful Counselor.
When I need strength and power, I can turn to Him, for He is The Mighty God.
When I need encouragement, I can turn to Jesus who is the Source of Eternal Life. His sacrifice and death on the cross for me reveals to me how much He loves me.
When I am facing trials or great temptations my Prince of Peace is there to comfort me and give me His peace so that I might have peace of mind and heart.
Now may the Lord of Peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. May Lord be with you all! [2 Thessalonians 3:16]