As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas season, let us go back to a beautiful verse from the prophet Isaiah who foretold the birth of Christ in Isaiah 9:6 which states, For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end… Of all these amazing titles, I am curious to learn why Jesus is our Prince of Peace and His rule will bring about peace with no end? What does this mean? And why is He called by this name? In this lesson, I will look at what the scriptures have to say about these questions, with our celebration of Jesus’ birth as described in the book of Luke.
After Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for the census, Luke 2:6-14 says, So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Wow! This is the first thing the angel declared after our Savior’s birth! Glory to God and peace on earth to men- Amazing! We can safely consider that Jesus left His throne in heaven to be born so very humbly of a virgin and laid in a manger in order to bring us peace. What do we know about peace? The letter of Paul to the Galatians says that peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit in Gal 5:22 which says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. In Romans 14:17, Paul said, for the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So peace is a key fruit of God’s Spirit that literally defines the kingdom of God. How do we get this fruit? How do we enter God’s kingdom? How did Jesus birth make these things possible for us?
First, we look at Isaiah 48:22 which says, “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” And who is wicked? Isaiah 53:4-6 describes Jesus’ fate in His suffering on the cross and what it means for us, stating, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So, we are all wicked!!! Each one of us has gone astray and have committed iniquity or sin. And the suffering and punishment due for our transgressions was laid upon Jesus in His suffering on the cross. He suffered our punishment in our place to spare us from God’s righteous justice against us. Not only this, but He suffered for the sake of our very peace, even as we are healed through His wounds.
Who is this Savior of ours? Was He a martyr, a mere sacrifice for our sins? No! Indeed, He was God Himself, perfect and pure in holiness, come to live on earth the sinless life of a human being. He called himself the Son of Man over 80 times in the New Testament, more than any other title for who He was. Paul shows us who He is and what He accomplished through His cross in Colossians 1:15-20 which states, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Through this scripture we see that Jesus is God! And He died to reconcile and make peace with the world, estranged in its fallen condition from God in His holiness, through the blood of His cross. Without His blood, we are all outside of God’s covenant promises of mercy. When God makes a covenant with you, you are safe within His promises of mercy and forgiveness of your sin, otherwise you are left in the wrath of God with no peace for the wicked. At the last supper Jesus told His disciples the night before His sacrifice, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Through His cross Jesus made a covenant with us that promises to forgive our sins when we believe He is our Savior and God and make Him the Lord of our lives.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God described our fallen condition through the metaphor of a marriage between a husband and wife. He describes His promise and covenant to us prophetically, hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, declaring in Isa 54:5-10, “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” says your God. “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer…For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Through the blood shed on His cross for our sins, God has made a covenant of peace with us, His bride. He is our bridegroom until we meet at the wedding feast of our salvation in heaven. In this covenant of peace, God has promised us mercy and kindness in place of His holy wrath for our sins, peace and healing in place of the bondage and torment and disease of our sinful condition of suffering in this world. It is true that deliverance may not come until we die, but we know for certain our bridegroom is faithful to save our souls to eternal life with Him because He loved us so much that He willingly died in our place so we wouldn’t have to. He didn’t deserve it. He got what we deserve so that we could get what He deserves, glory in heaven. A God so generous is worthy of all of our trust and faith. Because of His generosity, we stand justified—declared, “Innocent!” before His Holy Judgment. We are no longer deemed the “wicked,” who have no peace or rest.
Romans 5:1-10 says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us….For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
So we rejoice in God who has reconciled us in our wickedness and redeemed us to His peace, giving us His own righteousness with which we can stand before His judgment. Having done all this for us, we can take heart that God doesn’t waste our suffering either. Romans 8:28 promises, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. We are all called to His purpose of salvation and reconciliation. We are all called to His blood covenant of peace. We are all called to repent and place our trust in His mercy and to make Him the Lord of our lives. The Word of God shows we can take heart and even find glory in our suffering because it only stands to produce perseverance and character and a hope that doesn’t disappoint because the love of God is faithful to bear fruit even in our suffering. In this temporary life on earth, as we await final redemption in heaven, let us take heart and rejoice in God through our precious and wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory and power forever and ever, Amen!
So, this Christmas, we thank You Lord Jesus for coming into this world as a humble babe and living a sinless and righteous life and dying an unjust and evil death for our sake. We thank you for Your sacrifice, for Your cross, Lord. We thank You for Your great mercy on our souls. We will strive to remember You always in all we do and to rejoice in You with gratitude and praise Your Holy Name! Amen!