Prince of Peace

Prince of Peace

(Isaiah 9:1-7; 53:1-12)

Yearly Theme:  “Peace is…”

Series Title:  “Kingdom of Peace”

April 4^th, 2021

Something to think about:

SHALOM – Hebrew for “Peace”:

completeness, soundness, welfare, peace^[1]

Jesus is the embodiment of “shalom,” or “peace” as translated from Hebrew to English.  He is the one who completes and makes whole those things that are imperfect and blemished.  Jesus, the very Son of God, who took on human flesh, not only took our sin upon Himself on the cross, but became sin itself, that we might become the righteousness of God.[2]  The very Prince of “Shalom” (the Prince of “Peace”) took our place to make us complete and whole; to make us “shalom.”

This Resurrection Sunday of 2021, let’s take a look at the words of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, some 800 years before the birth of Christ, to get a glimpse of what Jesus would become:

Turn in your Bibles to:  Isaiah 9:1-7; 53:1-12

So, what does some ancient text, written some 2800 years ago mean for us today?  Well, if we take these writings seriously, they mean a lot (and that’s putting it lightly).  If we take Isaiah’s prophecy seriously, and we note the connections to the documented case of Jesus in the New Testament as well as extra-biblical sources, there is no disputing the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of the Old Testament and that through His suffering we receive peace…

Key Point:  “Jesus brought peace through His suffering.”

But how is this possible?  This Easter morning, some 2000 years after Jesus the Messiah was crucified, dead and buried, and rose from the grave, we come yet again before this suffering Servant who would become the Prince of Peace.  This morning, let’s reflect on how He did this:

• Because of the Prince of Peace,  and  will not last  .

Isaiah 9:1a, 2 (NLT), ¹  Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. …  ²  The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

• The government of the Prince of Peace is characterized by  .

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT), ⁶  For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷  His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

• The Prince of Peace could only achieve peace through .

Isaiah 53:4-6, 11b (NLT), ⁴  …It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! ⁵  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. ⁶  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. …

^11b … Because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

Something to take home:

Missionary and author, Lou Nicholes, tells the story of…

“Missionary Don Richardson who served for many years among the primitive tribes in Papua New Guinea wrote a book entitled ‘The Peace Child.’ 

“He tells the story of two tribes in Papua New Guinea who maintained a blood feud between themselves for several generations.  Each generation fought and nursed their wounds only to fight again killing and maiming more and more people.  After years of struggle the two tribes realized that they must stop fighting or nothing would be left of their peoples.  But what could they do to end years of warring between the two tribes?

“Don Richardson goes on to tell that the chiefs of the two tribes came together and brought with them a child they called ‘The Peace Child.’  This child was the son of one of the opposing chiefs which was adopted into the family of the opposing chief.  As long as that child lived the two chiefs promised to cease their fighting so that all could live.  Richardson had finally found a perfect picture of God’s love for us in sending His Son, the Prince of Peace to die for us.”

Jesus came into this world as our “Peace Child,” offered by the Father, God Himself, to bring peace to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  There is no other way to find peace apart from Him, the Prince of Peace.

Key Point:  “Jesus brought peace through His suffering.”

^[1] Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 1022). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[2] 2 Corinthians 5:21.