On Earth Peace Series

1. INTRODUCTION:

As Christmas is coming a sense of relief is being made in our hearts. It is bringing a sense of Peace in our hearts because soon we will be celebrating Christmas the coming of the Prince of Peace from Heaven to Earth.

In the read text (Luke2:8-15), we see that a multitude of the heavenly hosts said,”…On earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”

What this peace is all about? Can we buy peace? Can we earn peace? Can we privatize peace? Can we grow peace? Can we discover peace? No. None of the human efforts can gain it. It is the Prince of Peace that gives the perfect peace.

From 1901 till 2022, 110 individuals and 27 organizations have won Nobel Peace Prize. All of them have done amazing efforts in establishing peace. But you will agree with me, none of them can match the Peace brought by the Prince of peace.

Stephen William Hawking is considered the most brilliant theoretical physicist of all time. He revolutionized the field of physics through his work on the origin of the universe and the black hole explosion theory. But you will agree with me that, the Peace that Jesus gives was beyond his understanding.

Someone writes that the very English word ‘Peace’ cannot describe the actual meaning of the original word for ‘Peace’ mentioned in the Bible. ‘Sheh-lem’ is the original Hebrew word and ‘Eirene’ is the original Greek word for ‘peace’. Hebrew and Greek languages were nearly 4000 years old whereas the word ‘Peace’ came to be used in English only during the 11th century. That means the word that we use may have no capacity to describe the greatness of the ‘Peace’ Jesus gives us.

May the Lord be gracious to us so that we have at least an introduction to the word ‘Peace’ that was spoken by the multitude of hosts! May the Lord with His utmost mercy grant us that Precious Peace as a gift this Christmas!

2. SURPRISINGLY, PEACE IS FOR YOU:

The Gospel of Luke indicates, it was a group of shepherds that were the first to know about the birth of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. They were the first to receive a sign about the Baby Jesus. They were the first to visit baby Jesus that night. Apart from Mary and Joseph, they were the first to see the babe lying in a manger. They were the first to tell others about what they had heard and seen.

Who were these shepherds? The shepherds of Israel were among the low caste category. They were just better than the leprous. Leprous people were not allowed to enter villages and towns because in those days it was an incurable disease. Only thing was that the Shepherds had permission to enter the villages. But they were considered so low in society that their witness was not considered legal evidence in their court of law.

Randy Alcorn says, "In general, they were considered second-class and untrustworthy." Jeremiah, the prophet documented that shepherds were deprived of all civil rights. They could not fulfill judicial offices or be admitted in court as witnesses.

The Mishnah are documents that recorded Jewish oral traditions--like laws, they governed the Israelites during the time of the Pharisees. One of its regulations states, "it forbids the keeping of flocks throughout the land of Israel except in the wilderness, ... only flocks otherwise kept would be those for temple services."

So, the shepherds we read about (in Luke 2), were fulfilling temple duties. They served in the fields on the outskirts of Bethlehem at a place called Bethlehem Ephrathah (Micah 5:2).

To such a group of meek, lowly, and deprived people God chose to be the first to witness baby Jesus. The owner of the inn was not fortunate. The travelers staying next room at that inn of Bethlehem might have been disturbed by the cry of the baby and gone away towards their destination the next day. People in the neighborhood might have missed the chance. But it was the countable number of shepherds that could have a vision of the Savior.

That night heaven must have become empty for a moment for the first time because a multitude of hosts came down to tell the very one message, “glory in the highest and on earth peace.” The message of peace and the message of the Prince of Peace were heard for the first time by the shepherds.

After careful reading of 280 bible verses about angels, some estimate that there are 100 million angels in heaven.

What was the need of let’s say 1 million of the angels coming down to speak to a group of 20 to 25 shepherds about the reason for glory in the highest and on earth peace? The message was really important to God and the group of those shepherds too was really important to God.