Jesus, Prince of Peace
Isa. 9:6
Illus. Typical of last minute Christmas shoppers, a mother was running frantically from store to store. Suddenly she realized her three year old son was no longer holding her hand. In a panic she retraced her steps and found him standing near a frosty window, gazing at a manger scene. Hearing his mother’s near hysterical call, he turned and shouted with innocent glee: "Look Mommy! It’s baby Jesus in the hay". With obvious indifference and impatience, she grabbed him and said, "We don’t have time for that!" (From "THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS" by Glenn Pease).
How many of us are guilty of being too busy for Jesus this holiday season?
And yet, He is precisely why we celebrate and why we’re studying Him this Christmas.
The truth is, we have just begun to scratch the surface of Who Jesus really is.
We’ve been looking at 1 verse that lists just four names for Jesus (turn to Isa. 9:6).
In those names, we’ve discovered…
•As our Wonderful Counselor, He is an amazing/awesome/astonishing Advisor/Advocate.
•As our Mighty God, our salvation, strength, and security depend on Him.
•As our Everlasting Father, He has a permanent and paternal relationship with us.
Today, we wrap up our short study by looking at one last Name, our Prince of Peace.
•In all the hustle and bustle, it seems like “peace” is about the last thing on our minds.
•Which is why we need to talk about it.
Prayer
Isa. 9:6 FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE.
The first thing we discover in our name today is …
I. HE IS OUR PRINCE.
The context of Isa. 9:6 revolves around the idea that Messiah will be a Prince.
6FOR TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE. 7OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE WILL BE NO END. HE WILL REIGN ON DAVID’S THRONE AND OVER HIS KINGDOM, ESTABLISHING AND UPHOLDING IT WITH JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM THAT TIME ON AND FOREVER. THE ZEAL OF THE LORD ALMIGHTY WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS.
•This whole passage conveys the fact that this Messiah would be a victorious ruler.
There are two things about a prince I want to highlight today.
A. A prince commands respect.
A prince was someone who was highly respected and revered/held in high esteem.
•He was considered royalty.
Illus. We have trouble respecting authority in America.
•That’s one of the shortfalls of being a democracy.
•Our young people are being taught to challenge and even resist authority.
When the British meet royalty, they bow/pay respect as a sign of submission/humility.
In Biblical times, a prince commanded the same respect.
Gen. 42:6 NOW JOSEPH WAS THE GOVERNOR OF THE LAND, THE ONE WHO SOLD GRAIN TO ALL ITS PEOPLE. SO WHEN JOSEPH’S BROTHERS ARRIVED, THEY BOWED DOWN TO HIM WITH THEIR FACES TO THE GROUND.
1 Sam. 25: 23 WHEN ABIGAIL SAW DAVID (before he was king), SHE QUICKLY GOT OFF HER DONKEY AND BOWED DOWN BEFORE DAVID WITH HER FACE TO THE GROUND.
A prince commands respect. Jesus, our Prince commands the greatest respect.
•He is to be held in the highest esteem.
•That means we submit to His authority whether we want to or not.
•It means we honor Him and revere Him above all else, all the time.
•It means we bow before Him in humility and treat Him like royalty.
Not only is He a Prince, but there’s coming a day when He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Phil. 2:10-11 THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, 11AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.
The second characteristic of a prince actually sets him apart from the king.
B. A prince concerns himself with the people.
Princes were usually more involved in the affairs of the country than the king.
The king sat on his throne signing orders, while the princes were out in the trenches, governing the people.
In 2 Sam. 15, David’s son, Absalom, was able to overtake the throne because he sat at the gate with the people and turned their hearts toward him.
The people could better relate to a prince than they could to a king.
Jesus, as our Prince, is also concerned with the affairs of His people.
•He left His throne in heaven to humble Himself and come down to the likes of us.
Phil. 2:6-7 WHO, BEING IN VERY NATURE GOD, DID NOT CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO BE GRASPED, 7BUT MADE HIMSELF NOTHING, TAKING THE VERY NATURE OF A SERVANT, BEING MADE IN HUMAN LIKENESS.
The difference between Jesus our Prince and any other earthly prince/ruler is:
•An earthly prince thrives on the respect he receives. Jesus renounced His respect.
•An earthly prince seeks power/prestige. Jesus gave His up by being born in a barn.
•An earthly prince gets involved in affairs for his own benefit.
•Jesus got involved for our benefit.
Jesus, as our Prince, not only commands our greatest respect, He also deserves our highest praise because He is personally concerned with the affairs of His people.
Acts 5:31 GOD EXALTED HIM TO HIS OWN RIGHT HAND AS PRINCE AND SAVIOR THAT HE MIGHT GIVE REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS TO ISRAEL.
Lk. 1:31-33 YOU WILL BE WITH CHILD AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND YOU ARE TO GIVE HIM THE NAME JESUS. 32HE WILL BE GREAT AND WILL BE CALLED THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH. THE LORD GOD WILL GIVE HIM THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID, 33AND HE WILL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER; HIS KINGDOM WILL NEVER END.”
Jesus Christ is our Prince, our Ruler, our Final Authority.
There’s a second description of Jesus we need to look at today.
He’s not just a Prince. He’s our Prince of Peace.
II. HE BRINGS US PEACE.
Shalom – also translated “safety, prosperity, success, wellbeing”.
•Mentioned 236x in Scripture, 24x in Isa..
Ps. 29:11 …THE LORD BLESSES HIS PEOPLE WITH PEACE.
Is. 55:12 YOU WILL GO OUT IN JOY AND BE LED FORTH IN PEACE…
Lk. 2:14 GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN.
But what exactly is “peace”? First of all, let me tell you what it’s not.
A. Real Peace is not…
1. The absence of conflict.
Often we try to avoid conflict so we can “keep the peace”.
Just because there’s no external conflict doesn’t mean there’s internal contentment.
Many countries feel that they’re at peace if they’re not at war. It doesn’t work that way.
Jer. 6:14 THEY DRESS THE WOUND OF MY PEOPLE AS THOUGH IT WERE NOT SERIOUS. ’PEACE, PEACE,’ THEY SAY, WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE.
2. Humanly possible.
The peace that Isaiah prophesied about, the peace that the Messiah offers is not humanly possible.
(Clark Tanner, SC.com) Mankind has never known peace. Our municipalities have laws against disturbing the peace. No peace treaty that man has ever devised has been kept. In man there is no peace; and here is why. It’s because man has never been at peace with God, and if there is not peace with God, then there can be no peace in the soul.
We are a fallen people. We are sinful and wicked.
Is. 48:22 “THERE IS NO PEACE,” SAYS THE LORD, “FOR THE WICKED.
(Stephen Todd, SC.com) Paul Harvey tells the story of a father whose son had gone off to fight for the union army during the American civil war. After months of camp fever, his son finally saw battle and was seriously wounded. News of his son’s wound came to the father on Christmas Eve, and being a poet he sat down and expressed his anguish in a song. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote these words as he contemplated that bleak Christmas morning:
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 goodwill to men."
We can stop all the wars and avoid all conflict, we can retreat and pretend that all is well.
•But if we don’t know Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we will never know real peace.
B. Real Peace is…
Real peace gives the idea of being fully alive, fully content. Specifically, it means…
1. Security
Jn. 16:33 I HAVE TOLD YOU THESE THINGS, SO THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. BUT TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict. It’s total assurance/security in the midst of conflict.
•It’s knowing that no matter what happens, God is still in control!
2. Rest
Mt. 11:28-30 “COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. 29TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU AND LEARN FROM ME, FOR I AM GENTLE AND HUMBLE IN HEART, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.”
Illus. When you were a kid, did you have trouble sleeping worrying about the bills or your job or health or having enough food? No, because your parents took care of that.
Real peace means trusting Jesus to take care of the details of life.
3. Reconciliation
Rom. 5:1 THEREFORE, SINCE WE HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED THROUGH FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,
Perfect peace can only be found when we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
(LASB) There is no more hostility between us, no sin blocking our relationship with Him. Peace with God is possible only because Jesus paid the price for our sins through His death on the cross.
4. A Gift
Jn. 14:27 PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU. I DO NOT GIVE TO YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES. DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED AND DO NOT BE AFRAID.
You will never find real peace/security/rest/reconciliation apart from the Prince of Peace.
•He gives us peace because He is the Prince and Author of Peace.
C. What kind of peace does He bring?
1. He brings perpetual peace.
IS. 9:7 OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE WILL BE NO END.
When our Prince of Peace returns as our King of kings, there will be no end to peace!
As our Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace, He brings us everlasting peace!
2. He brings perfect peace.
Is. 26:3 YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE HIM WHOSE MIND IS STEADFAST, BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU.
We can’t even comprehend perfect peace – no anxiety, no fear, no doubt, no stress.
•Just pure, unadulterated, perfect peace.
3. He brings peace that passes understanding.
Phil. 4:7 AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING, WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS.
This Baby, Whose birthday we celebrate, is THE source of perpetual, perfect peace, a peace that we will never fully comprehend this side of Heaven, a peace that we cannot understand apart from the Prince of Peace!
Jesus came to earth to be our Prince, our Ruler, our King.
•Not by force, but by peace; His perpetual, perfect peace that passes understanding.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow didn’t end his song in despair. When he heard the bells on Christmas day, he looked beyond the conflict and stress of the moment and realized that real peace was possible but only in the Prince of Peace. His 4th verse goes like this:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, Of peace on earth, good-will to men.
Do you know that kind of peace? Do you know the Prince of Peace?
Do you know real contentment, security, rest in spite of the trials of life?
Can you truly say, “It is well with my soul”?
Col. 3:15 LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE IN YOUR HEARTS, SINCE AS MEMBERS OF ONE BODY YOU WERE CALLED TO PEACE.
Too many people are running around saying, “I don’t have time for that/for Jesus”.
Too many people will never experience His peace because they will never accept the Perfect Gift that the Prince of Peace offers.
You can only find perfect peace by giving your life to the Prince of Peace.
There are many wonderful names for Jesus in Scripture.
This Christmas season, we have looked at 4. And we’ve discovered again that Jesus Christ is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father.
The Bottom Line: Jesus Christ is our Prince of Peace.
As our Wonderful Counselor, we can seek Him. As our Mighty God, we can rest in Him.
As our Everlasting Father, we can run to Him.
As our Prince of Peace, we can find real peace in Him.
•Are you seeking Him, finding rest in Him?
•Have you run to Him? Have you found real peace in Him?
Prayer/Reflection/Commitment – resting in His peace.
Hymn I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Outline and Power Point for this sermon are available by contacting the contributor.
