“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” ( Isaiah 9:5)
“Jesus answered and said unto him . . . Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
(John 14:23, 27)
The word PEACE is an amazing term. According to Webster’s New Compact Dictionary the word “peace” means: “Calm and quiet.” We read in the book of John of a great calming that took place at the hands of this Prince of Peace.
There was a man that had been blind from birth. He had never witnessed the beauty of a sunrise, nor the spender of the dessert night. Truthfully, he had no peace within; just an ever longing desire to be whole. Then one day (like as with us) his time came to glorify The Almighty God. Along the road came the sound of a tumult. A great crowd was headed his way and the excitement continued to build as the feet of hundreds of people pounded against the dusty highway.
That day in the land Israel, as the crowd came by the way of the blind man, Jesus beheld a son of Adam. He looked not through eyes of wrath and righteous indignation, instead, He saw through the eyes of grace, a subject of his kingdom that had no peace with God. Within Christ arose a desire toward the work of His hands; a compassion that only a “faithful Creator” (Pet. 4:19) can posses. Jesus awaited one simple question to which He give a glorious answer.
“Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him . . . When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” (John 9:2,3,6,7)
Not long after Christ healed the blind man, Jesus was crucified. It was in this act of reconciliation that the cursed had been granted redemption, the spiritually blind was given sight, and the dammed had been granted a way of escape. Christ had risen from the dead to reign forever as a High Priest, King over all His creation, and the eternal Prince of Peace between God and man.
The world had not known peace, neither had it felt the comfort and security of true love. Adam, long ago, had lost that place in God. Desiring rather the pleasure of sin for its season, he disobeyed the command of the Most High. Therefore in the place of love there was wrath and instead of peace arose turmoil. God declared that, “Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches” (Isa. 43:27-28). Man had no place of repentance, no place of mercy. Then, as the flood that cleansed the world in the days of righteous Noah, peace filled the barren desserts of our souls. Angles from the realms of glory sang of this great and notable day of God. “Glory to God” they proclaimed, “in the highest, and on earth PEACE, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). |
