Sermon Devotional: Prince of Peace

Scripture:  Isaiah 9:1-7 (ESV)

 
It is interesting that in this list of titles for the Son of God, “Prince of Peace” appears last. In Hebrew, “Sar Shalom” is translated “Prince of Peace”. Sar means Commander, Captain or Ruler, while Shalom-peace, implies more than just the absence of outward conflict or the ending of turmoil.  It conveys a sense of wholeness, completion, perfection, safety and wellness.

To experience peace implies conflict before resolution. Earlier in the list, Mighty God (warrior God) is named.  Judges 6:19-27 describes the “Angel of the Lord,” or God incarnate, appearing to Gideon who prepares a sacrifice. When the sacrifice is miraculously consumed, Gideon fears he will die, having seen God face to face.  He is assured that he will not die but is then commanded to destroy the altar to Asherah, to disrupt the peace of his country, and build an altar to the Lord. God, the “disruptor of peace” uses Gideon and a handful of men to conquer the hosts of Midian, without the accoutrements of war. This foreshadows the Messiah who beginning with a small band of disciples, in the end, overcomes the mighty hosts of Antichrist, the enemy of his Church, as Isaiah describes the fall of the “Day Star” or the last great enemy. War and conflict precede a new era of peace where war and its methods are no longer required.  The disruptor of peace, the warrior God, finally embodies the title Prince of Peace.

Shalom comes from living in harmony with God. The fruit of that harmony is unity with others, prosperity, health, satisfaction, soundness, wholeness and well-being. It is a covenant word, and an expression of God’s faithful relationship with his people. Praying to Yahweh Shalom is praying to the source of all true peace.

Jesus is not referred to as the Prince of Peace in the New Testament, but this title from Isaiah has traditionally been associated with him as the One who brings peace to the world. In Ephesians 2:14-16, Paul refers to Jesus saying, “He himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”  Living in peace is to live in his presence.

The Greek word for peace is eirene.  Like the Hebrew concept of Shalom, this portrays peace as much more than the absence of conflict. The New Testament further develops our understanding of peace by revealing Jesus as the source of all peace. Alienated from God by sin, Jesus reconciled us, making peace through his blood. Peace with God then produces peace with others and peace within us.

Jesus brought peace from God to the earth. More than the absence of war, more than silence or tranquility, His peace is a restoration of our relationship with God, the peace we lost at the fall of Adam and Eve, when we became God’s enemies. Because of Jesus, we are again friends with God.  He bought our place in God’s throne room and God’s heart.  He made peace between God and us.

As true God and true man, he absorbed death as only life itself could. He conquered sin because he IS righteousness. He overcame the powers of darkness and demonic oppression because his power is greater than that of the world.  Because life, power and righteousness exist in God alone, and due to His great love for us, he chose to ransom us from sin and death, to become our Sar Shalom.

Consider—
╬      Are you experiencing Christ’s peace in your life? Have you made compromises that have eroded your faith?  Do you rely on news media to shape your perspective, distorting the deeper truths of your faith?  Are you more connected to culture than to Sar Shalom? Ask the Prince of Peace how can you participate more deeply in his peace.

╬      What steals your peace?  How often do you experience habits of worry and anxiety? Ask Jesus to free you from these so that you may reside more consistently in His peace.

╬      Holy Child of God, you shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace! Thank you for your great love and your ultimate work of peace. You became the perfect sacrifice and substitution for our sin so that we might be friends with God and enjoy Him forever.  May we live in that peace and bring it into our relationships and our world, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.