Dorothy Thompson said this:
They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war -- as though the absence of war was the same as peace.
Yet we are presented with the Prince of Peace. Surely this is the Christ: that knows no war, has known no hatred, has not hurt, or experienced great pain. Surely peace arrives when He is near. And surely it does. But not with sugarplums, roses, and easy living. The peace that is presented and offered to us from the Prince of Peace came with a great price. In a situation that may seem
rather unpeaceful.
Look with at Matthew 26 starting with verse 3-5
We have the chief preists and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priests and what are they doing? They’re plotting to kill Jesus.. and for what? What was it all about the miracles He had performed? The people He had helped? The hope He had given?
Let’s take a look at the scene in verses 6-13… A women comes knowing that the day is near for Christ to depart from them and with her she brings an offering. Her best. A jar of very expensive perfume and what does she do? She begins to anoint Jesus feet with it… a loving act. Yet even in this scene were we witness such a beautiful exchange it not without conflict. The disciples see what’s happening and they do not all agree that such a valuable possession should be used on their Savior.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
Then in verses 17-30 a scene we all know so well. The last supper with his disciples. Here Jesus reveals that not all those who sit around His table fellowshipping together, sharing His last moments on earth are of one accord. There is one in this very room that is to betray Jesus.
Look with me at verses 31-35. One of his closest friends. One of the inner three. A friend that will remain loyal when the world despises right? When all others shy away? Betray and hurt? This one surely will not. Yet we see Peter to had a moment of weakness… He to betrayed Christ.
What kind of man would prevoke such hatred? Such rage? No one to turn to His own disciples turn their backs? The deny Him, they fall asleep when their friend needs them the most. What kind of man must this be?
A scoundrel? A thief? A murder? No………. It is a man we see bending His will, fighting so hard His own battle within, not so that He can become a king, not so that He can be pronounced great among many, not for any selfish gain.
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
No not for any selfish gain…but because He so loved the world. If you know this say it with me.
“16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But what?
Have everlasting life.
This is the man who was the receiver of insults, being spit at, whipped, beaten, hung on a cross even unto death.
Why? What motivated Him? It is true He could have had taken Himself off that cross. The crowds mocked, “He saved others why can’t He save Himself?” He could have. He could have had throngs of angels attend to Him with a word. Yet He willing endured. He willing hung. He willing died.
Why?
Peace. Plain and simple Peace. Some of His last words are recorded Luke 23:34 What were they? Verse 34:
34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
See He came not to offer a life without conflicts. No this was not the Peace He came to give but rather a peace between us and God. We could not do it. We were and are and remain without Christ knee deep in sin. Our hands and our feet a covered with it. It can not be wiped off. We cannot give enough money, or time, or dedication to have the slate wiped clean. It took perfection. One without sin.
He was born to us in such a humble manner. A baby born in a manager- He did not come with great wealth, or beauty. It is not said more beautifully or plainly as it is the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53 verses 1-3
Isaiah 53
1 Who would have believed what we heard?
Who saw the Lord’s power in this?
2 He grew up like a small plant before the Lord,
like a root growing in a dry land.
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him;
there was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.
3 He was hated and rejected by people.
He had much pain and suffering.
People would not even look at him.
He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him.
No…it is not peace with man that He fought so hard for it was for us to have a way to finally at long last to be at Peace with the One who has formed us in our mother’s womb, who has labored over, and loved us at our best and at our ugliest. The one who has shed many tears for us both of joy and of sorrow.
Christ helps us understand ourselves. We have seen a picture of Him powerfully obeying the will of God as he appeared to be helpless on the cross. Yet it took great strength for Him to remain. Now let us look to the scriptures to see a picture of us and why we soooo desperately need this baby who was born to us in manager.
Romans 3:9 from the message paraphrase:
Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys. No one’s living right; I can’t find a single one. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides. Every word they speak is tinged with poison. They open their mouths and pollute the air. They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, Don’t know the first thing about living with others. They never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn’t it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God’s revelation doesn’t put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else’s sin.
And then in Ephesians 2:1
Ephesians 2:1
[ He Tore Down the Wall ] It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.
(pause)
Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
This morning are you at peace with the Prince of Peace? Do you know His redemptive love? His redemptive forgiveness? Has your sins been washed by the blood of the lamb? Our sweet Savior Jesus Christ.
You heard me say that God did not come to bring peace among people. In fact, our commitment to Him will divide us from many. Yet we have seen today many men of God who brought unrighteous division amongst the believers. Times when they were picking at each other not for the chance to bring honor to God but because of their own sinful self. Today are you bringing unrighteous division amongst the believers?
This morning the alter is open. It’s not much this humble alter just a few pieces of wood. But oh what a peace can be found. If only you will come.
