John 14:27 (KJV)
Jesus Kind of Peace
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Luke 12:49-53
Jesus Kind of Peace
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
John 8:12-59
The Debate and Dispute Over Who Jesus is
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
When Jesus said that He gives us a peace that is not as the world, He gives is quite a statement...The large majority of His followers on earth were outcasts, taxpayers, prostitutes and the like...And they all loved Him and were mystified by Him...They wanted to follow and listen to Him...His teachings to His followers were in such a way that His teaching style, His teachings, and where He comes from did bring about some peace to them, as they listened to Him speak...And maybe some, if not many, followed Him because there was "this" something about Him...But not so for the Sanhedrin, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the Pharisees...These were the ones running the country of Israel with the Roman authorities when He was one earth...The officials in charge saw Him as anything but peace and peaceful...They wanted Him to follow the rules, their rules...
Jesus made claims about Himself that the religious leaders and other officials could not understand...His claims were radically different...Jesus interpreted God the way God is to be interpreted...And while He taught about God, and He was always calling God, His Father -that did not set to well with the officials...Jesus went around making comparisons with God and Himself, and that did not set well with the officials...He forgave others of their sins, and that did not set well with the officials...Jesus even claimed to have existed before Abraham, who was born many centuries before Him, and of course that did not set well with the officials...While Jesus sees God one way, the teachers of the law saw God a little differently...And through all of Jesus' interpretations about God, the leading officials did not like His specific interpretations about our Father in Heaven...They especially did not like Him comparing Himself to God, and saying how close He is to God...The leaders could not believe that One could be that close to God...As close as He went around talking and telling and teaching others...And through all this there was little, if any peace, between Jesus and the other religious groups...Because these leaders could not see Him close to God, He was committing blasphemy in their eyes...And in the end they wanted Him dead...
I think if Jesus would have toned down His teachings and did not forgive others of their sins, and did not relate Himself so close to God, then He would have gotten along much better with the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, and His opposition...But He did not care to be politically correct, because He spoke the Truth...And Truth is one-pointed and exclusive...That is what Truth can be sometimes...He brought little peace to the leading officials, and when we think about His teachings and what He taught...He brought very little earthly peace to them...But when His followers heard Him, they did recognize this goodness, His wisdom, this Spirit around Him that brought to Him His uniqueness...His radical ministry and teachings are they way we must live...The leaders could not see it, but the outcasts saw something in Him...In Him and Only Him do we recognize that we are sinners, and that life and the world could be so much better, if we could just follow what He said and taught...