A Wonderful Life
Prince of Peace
December 22/23, 2012
Digging Deeper (Questions are on the last page)
A Wonderful Life. Prince of Peace
Written by: Robert Ismon Brown ([email protected])
Background Notes
Key Scripture Texts: Isaiah 9:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; John 14:27; Isaiah 59:14-19; Luke 2:13-14
The Text
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. Of 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. (Isaiah 9:6, 7).
Introduction
First, a definition:
1. a pact or agreement to end hostilities, between those who have been at war or in a state of hostility. 2.
A state of tranquility or quiet; esp. a. Freedom from civil disturbance or war; b. Public order or security as
provided by law; as, a breach of the peace. 3. Harmony in personal relations; mutual concord. 4. Freedom
from fears, agitating passions, moral conflict, etc. 5. One who or that which makes or maintains peace.1
Then, a startling revelation:
“I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Those words from the lips of Jesus might
strike us as an odd vocational statement from the person we call “Prince of Peace.” Certainly Jesus was not
allergic to conflict, and often his words and deeds provoked others to react with force, anger, and even violence.
His coming death by crucifixion epitomized the ruthless responses to his earthly ministry. Whatever Isaiah
meant by “peace” in our chosen text for Advent, the intent must have been more than the mere absence of
conflict.
For contemporary readers, the word “peace” evokes images of doves and olive branches, the kind of thing
activists might put on t-shirts or placards. I’m a child of the 60’s when the contradictions of the Vietnam war
led to all sorts of protests and ultimately to a change in foreign policy. At the center of those discussions were
the peace sign and the peace symbol. Ironically, we raised two fingers in a “V” (“victory?”) when we shouted
“Peace!” But peace, as we eventually grew up to realize, meant more than: ending a war or making love or
smoking pot or living in a commune or going to Woodstock or singing with John Lennon, “Give peace a
chance.” Those were fleeting fancies of a naive generation who wanted things to be better but who substituted
inadequate ways to have it so.
The generation of Jesus also longed for peace. Rome gave the world Pax Romana — “Peace of Rome,” and yet
it did so through military might with much law and much order and very little true justice. Jesus chose to be
right in the middle of that narrative. He surrendered to God’s higher justice and enduring peace. But that
decision would take him to a place of utter shame, and to an unlikely place where Rome’s justice did its worst
while God’s justice did its best in mercy and forgiveness and peace. Paul dared to write to Christians in the city
of Colosse: “… through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20). What a remarkable statement about peace:
that peace is God’s reconciling agent for the whole world — on earth or in heaven. Far from a mere truce, this
peace leads to an accord between the universe and God. Peace is, on this account, that which is “made” by the
sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus our Lord.
1
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, (Merriam-Webster, 1983).
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Our purpose this week is to unpack the peace plan of God unveiled by the coming of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Prince
No, not the pop singer. Jesus. Isaiah 9:6 probably looked through a glass darkly in imagining who that “Prince
of Peace” might be. As we have already noted, the first audience who heard the words of Isaiah 9 had different
visions dancing in their heads! There were still kings in the royal line of David who were potential candidates
for the role, “Prince of Peace.” The Hebrew word for prince is śar which has the following range of meanings:
“Prince, chief, captain, ruler, governor, keeper, chief captain, steward, master.” There are 381 occurrences in
the Hebrew Bible. In terms of the related verb, śārar, the word means one who “rules, reigns, holds dominion
over.” A young man from the royal family, in line for the throne, was a prince, waiting for his time to rule.
There is evidence that the prince ruled as a co-regent: before his father died he would share power and the
throne — a sort of king-in-training.
Since Isaiah refers to the key figure in this text as “a child born, a son given,” and then predicts that
“government will rest on his shoulder,” no doubt the idea that he was a “prince” came naturally due to his
young age. The text anticipates that one day this prince will be king. As prince he is the king-designate.
The problem for Israel in Isaiah’s time was the parade of young princes already appearing on the scene. Would
any one of them be the One promised by the prophet? We noted in earlier studies that Isaiah 1:1, in listing the
names of kings, reminds the audience that Israel continued to hoped that one of these might be the One. None
of them turned out to be Messiah on whose shoulders the weight of righteous rule could rest. None of them
turned out to be the One who would secure everlasting peace. Nonetheless, the people wondered if perhaps
Hezekiah might be the One, and Isaiah’s own prophecy leaned in that direction until the fateful decision told in
Isaiah 39. Tempted by vanity and the power of fame, Hezekiah trusted Babylon as an ally against Assyria,
disclosing the contents of the royal treasury in Jerusalem to the Babylonian emissaries. Fateful decision indeed!
Isaiah brings the word of Yahweh to the king, announcing God’s judgment on the future fortunes of his people
because of this foolish action. Relieved that the judgment will be delayed, Hezekiah utters these words:
"The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and
security in my lifetime" (39:8).
It is both an odd and cruel reaction to God’s Word in 39:5-7. Can this man Hezekiah be “Prince of Peace” if he
only cares about “peace and security” in his own lifetime? Is he only concerned about peace in his time, but not
peace for all time? Once more, a candidate for the royal Messiah fails to live up to the expectations of the
prophecy. This promise of a “Prince of Peace” remains an ongoing quest, an unanswered prayer, and a future
hope.
Every royal baby born from Isaiah’s time until Jesus carried that hope. And every royal baby born from
Isaiah’s time until Jesus did not meet the requirements to be God’s Anointed One who would secure the peace
for all time. “Is this the One?” remained the lingering question on the lips of faithful followers of the ancient
texts. Recall our previous study of Haggai, and the hope surrounding the man Zerubbabel, descendent of
David, the royal governor of restored Judah after the exile (see Haggai 2:2, 4, 21, 23; Zechariah 4:6-10). Again,
Israel wondered, “Is this the One?” Reading the genealogies in Matthew and Luke reminds us how thorough the
scribes had been in keeping the records of the royal family. Any name on those lists since the time of Isaiah
could have been the One. Yet, each remained a mere prince without credentials, title, royal power, or a throne.
Each kept alive the hope, merely by being a prince, that one of their number would be the long-awaited king.
But no kings in the line of David ever again sat on the throne in Israel. Had the prophecy of Isaiah failed? Only
princes; no kings; no Messiah.
By framing his prophecy around the “prince,” Isaiah assured a sense of possibility and immediacy for any
young prince born in a royal Davidic household. A son of Uzziah? Jotham? Ahaz? Hezekiah? (again, see
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Isaiah 1:1). But the last word ends abruptly in Isaiah 39 for First Isaiah whose prophecy closes on the somber
note of coming exile. It would be up to Second (chapters 40-55) and Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66) to keep the
torch of the Messiah burning brightly. Would these later installments of the prophetic message on the lips of
others still believe in the Prince of Peace?
Peace
If we catalog the references of “peace” just in the book of Isaiah, the result is impressive. The Hebrew word in
these cases is šālôm, a word much bigger than its common usage suggests, and occurring 30 times in the
Hebrew Bible. More than the absence of war, peace, in the Hebrew sense, has to do with the completeness,
fullness, and well-being of human life. Greet another person with shalom, and you intend to wish her well in
every area of life. You hope that her debts are paid, her crops are in the barn, her children are many and well,
her husband is respected in the city gates, her reputation is untarnished, her heart is full of joy, and her table full
of food. And that’s just the beginning. Our idea of “well-being” comes close. “Happiness” comes close. But
even in these thin words we lose much of the original meaning of shalom.
One of the most digestible works on the biblical idea of peace is Brueggemann’s book by that title.2 In his
Preface, the author lines out two texts from each of the Testaments:
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I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. 5 Your
threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the
food you want and live in safety in your land. 6 "'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one
will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country
(Leviticus 26:4-6).
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is,
the hostility between us (Ephesians 2:14).
From the outset, the biblical text promises a world history where all creation is one, living in harmony and
security with respect to each of its members’ well-being. Roots for this hope begin with Abraham and God’s
blessing through him to the whole world — a vision that Isaiah picks up (Genesis 15:5; Isaiah 41:8; 51:2).
Ezekiel foresaw “a covenant of shalom” where predators would vanish from God’s good creation (34:25-29a),
and shalom would become a plantation.
The Bible offers great contrasts of shalom and non-shalom. Genesis 1:2a begins with chaos and Isaiah 11:6-7,
9a climaxes with shalom. Jesus, in Mark 4:37-39, moves the narrative from chaos to shalom. What is true of
the natural order is also true of communities and nations. God imagines a world where political community
exchanges abused persons for shalom-persons, calling on them to “seek shalom and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14).
Shalom remained a vision for the people of God. At times it was a vain vision as in the case of those who used
the words shalom shalom, but where shalom was absent (Jeremiah 6:13-14; Ezekiel 13:10, 16; Amos 6:1-6).
Usually those who had power and used power bore the greatest responsibility for providing shalom for the less
powerful. Perhaps the powerful could claim shalom for themselves, but they couldn’t fairly say the same for
most other people.
Such shalom ultimately comes from the plans of Yahweh, as this familiar text offers:
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This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my
gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper [literally, “for shalom”] you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. … 13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the
LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have
banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile"
(29:10-11, 13-14)
2
Walter Brueggemann, Peace (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001).
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But such shalom is also the duty of God’s people, as this earlier text in Jeremiah shows:
But seek the welfare [literally, shalom] of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to Yahweh on its
behalf, for in its shalom you will find your shalom (29:7).
What a remarkable claim, that Israel’s peace is somehow bound up with that of her enemies! Here are refugees
of war, displaced persons, living in a land not their own — certainly not the promised land — and yet their God
expects them to actualize shalom in such a foreign place on His behalf.
Fast-forward to the Ephesians text (2:14) and you will see that the early followers of Jesus found themselves in
a world at odds with their unique message of shalom. Paul dares to say that Jesus, in the midst of displaced
persons, gives himself up for the reconciliation of the world — an event Paul calls shalom. Jesus is our shalom
in the midst of an anxious, driven, covetous, unjust, and chaotic world. Had not Jesus already sent signals to his
followers that this should happen? Had he not assembled a community of lepers, tax collects, harlots, and other
“scum of the earth” to be the very center of his movement (Matthew 21:31)? Had he not called the Twelve and
one of them was a devil (see John 6:70)? Did he not say, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
the children of God” (Matthew 5:9; compare James 3:18).
In his book Brueggemann identifies several dimensions of such shalom:
1. For the “haves” and “have-nots.”
2. As freedom and unity.
3. As Ordering and eating.
4. As Gift and task.
5. As Covenant.
6. Church as “an untangled world.”
7. “Newness” as the message.
By calling Jesus “Prince of Peace,” the Bible surrounds God’s people with the vision of a world which has these
dimensions. When equipped with “tools for the trade,” the shalom-church raises up those who are cast down by
others, and shalom puts in order the house of God in service to others. If Jesus is the “Prince” of shalom, then
he is in charge of the whole operation, and we are the “officers” to whom he gives royal instructions, visions,
and dreams. Shalom isn’t just a word describing a state of affairs. Shalom is a vocation — a calling — that
comes with significant responsibility. Shalom doesn’t describe; it disturbs business as usual. Shalom wants to
re-arrange the world as it is, so that it might become the community where God’s presence is the experience of
everyone.
This idea is not a private investment, limited to the inner workings of our lives. Shalom can never be private,
for it is always about what happens between persons. Together, we are shalom persons in a shalom community.
And Jesus is our shalom. He makes the transaction possible that would otherwise be out of our reach.
God of Peace
23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (1 Thessalonians
5:23-24).
Several key words unify this passage. I’ve included 5:24 in the reading to remind us about the rootage for
shalom, namely, that God “will do it” — He refuses to give up the vision; He is faithful. Shalom grows from
the divine determination and reaches for a blameless completion. Who is this “He” who calls and will do? The
text calls him “the God of Peace.” Literally, He is the God of Shalom — the One who makes broken people
whole and broken peoples united. When Paul begins with the phrase “God himself” (Greek: autos … theos), he
lays stress on the identity of God as the peace-maker. Literally, the Greek reads, “Now He, the God of peace,
may he sanctify you wholly…” There is strong linkage between peace and wholly (Greek: holoteleis). Since
God is the God of shalom, He works for whole sanctification, since the goal of shalom is this kind of
completeness, well-being, and entirety of condition. God doesn’t deal in half-measures or quick-fixes or
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temporary solutions. He does not aim at a mere reconstruction of human life, but at a complete radical recreation. To borrow language from popular culture, the God of Peace launches an extreme makeover of the
human person, described here as “whole spirit, soul, and body.” Yet another Greek word denoting
completeness also appears in the text: holoklēros, combining holos with klēros which means “whole in all
parts.” Lexicographers Liddell and Scott correlate the term with the Latin integer — whole, positive number,
from which our word “integrity” draws its meaning.
The words “spirit, soul, and body” come together around the words “whole” and “your.” The word “your”
further expands our understanding of wholeness, since it is a plural pronoun. This implies that the unity created
by the God of Peace not only affects individual persons but also whole communities. When “your,” a plural
pronoun, combines with singular nouns, the resulting meaning has to do with this wider grouping and not just
with a singular person. Yes, as individuals, God makes His people whole. I am made whole, and so are you.
But together, we are also made whole in the way we interact with each other as spirit, soul, and body. I am a
spirit, and together, we are a spirit. I am a soul, and together, we are a soul. I am a body, and together we are a
body. Shalom creates this unity within the community of faith. Are we not “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians
12:27)? Are we not united in spirit (Romans 15:5)?
The operative verb whereby shalom does its work is sanctify, from the Greek hagiazō, “set apart as sacred,
make holy, consecrate, regard as sacred, purify, or cleanse.” Supplying the background for this term is the
Hebrew word qādash, applied by the Old Testament to persons, places, and things. Putting something ordinary
to a sacred use — for God’s use — sanctifies it. In a deeper sense, it also changes or transforms. Paul has this
in mind in our text. When God, whose character includes making broken things whole again, sanctifies
persons, He makes them holy “in all their parts.” He leaves no aspect of their lives untouched. Given
permission by an act of personal surrender, the God of Peace will effect shalom throughout a person’s whole
being. If a whole community agrees to commit in the same way, the God of Peace will work shalom into the
corporate life of the fellowship, healing old wounds, mending fractured relationships, and restoring fellowship.
God sanctifies persons, and He also sanctifies communities. Both are the result of His shalom unleashed among
human beings.
When using words like “spirit, soul, and body,” the biblical text does not aim at a technical analysis of human
compositions. These terms do not refer strictly to parts as much as to dimensions of human life. Not all
scholars agree about the intention of these terms. Each term has both a Hebrew and Greek counterpart in the
biblical text. A brief overview follows here:
Spirit
Soul
Body
Hebrew
ruaḥ
nephesh
basher (also, ‘tzem)
Greek
pneuma
psychē
soma
“Spirit” refers to breath and to life from God. The phrase “breath of life” appears in Genesis 2:7 as the result of
God “breathing” into the nostrils of lifeless humankind, formed from the dust of the ground. What happens to
humankind when the breath of God arrives? They become “living nephesh” or “living soul.” According to this
Hebrew rendering of the concept, nephesh has to do with what the animated life-form became, and comes
closest to our idea of person. This suggests that in the Hebrew understanding, we are not three parts put
together by God, rather we are persons endowed by God with personhood through divine breath and earthly
dust. “Body” has to do with tangible and visible substance, and the Bible distinguishes “body” from “spirit” by
attributing spirit to God and body to the earth He has made. Not that our spirits are somehow made from divine
substance, but rather they arise from the creative power of divine breath. Of course, the phrase “divine breath”
is itself a metaphor, but the underlying idea is “life” or animation.
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It is accurate to say that we are a soul, more than we have a soul, at least in the Hebraic sense. When the Old
Testament speaks of persons, it considers them to be already whole persons, united by the creative mystery of
Genesis 2:7. Thus, when Paul, the Jew, refers to the God of Peace sanctifying the whole spirit, soul, and body,
he refers to the process that restores human beings to their original unity. If anything, separating the three ideas
is itself an imperfection, whereas uniting them is a work of divine grace — of the God of shalom.
Other ways of conceiving the three ideas include equating spirit with a special God-awareness, soul with
intellect, emotions, and will, and body with the visible organism. However, those distinctions can be too severe,
especially in light of the closely woven nature of mind and body. How can we speak of emotions without
involving the body? How can we think without including the brain? The scientific understanding of human
beings brings together all of these dimensions into a system — an organism — built up from the three-part
brain, consisting of reptilian, mammalian, and cerebral components, and unites that brain with a system-wide
organism through several sub-systems. Consciousness is embodied and not localized. The biblical writers
didn’t speak or write in the language of biology. They cared about theology, and how the God of Peace brings
together in creation, redemption, and sanctification the fully functioning human person.
Finally, Paul reminds us that God wants His restored human race to be found “blameless” when the Lord Jesus
Christ returns. The Greek adverb, amemptōs comes from the corresponding adjective amemptos, meaning,
“without censure, not to be blamed.” One additional meaning is relevant here: “perfect in its kind,” a usage
found in the classical writer Xenophon. The word perfect shares ideas with peace, for they both press toward
completeness as their primary goal. The Prince of Shalom comes so that we might be complete, lacking
nothing. He comes to remedy the emptiness in our lives, and to fill them with purpose and meaning.
My Peace or World Peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid (John 14:27).
This is the first of five occurrences of the word “peace” in the Gospel of John. They belong to that part of the
Gospel which describes Jesus on his way to the cross, and which consists primarily of his sayings or teaching
given to prepare the disciples for the coming crisis. Shalom is that which Jesus leaves and which he gives. This
may be a poetic parallel form, in which case the two verbs complement each other. “To leave” suggests leave
behind after Jesus himself leaves, whereas, “to give” underscores a more present experience of shalom. Perhaps
Jesus intends that his disciples keep on receiving the shalom, long after he leaves them.
The other instances of “peace” in John include:
16:33 — The words of Jesus, especially his teaching about the coming of the Spirit after he leaves, are designed
to bring the disciples shalom, and are a contrast to tribulations that will bedevil their lives as his
followers in the world.
20:19, 21, 26 — These instances are greetings of the risen Jesus to his followers soon after the resurrection.
They are meant to alleviate shock, fear, and surprise at seeing him for the first time. For Thomas,
shalom comes as the remedy for persistent doubt.
In our text, the contrast is between the peace of Jesus and the peace of the world. Two distinct influences are at
work here.
1. From the Jewish perspective, the city of Jerusalem was supposed to be “the city of peace” as its name
implies. “Salem” is actually a form of shalom in the popular understanding. Once thought to be a place
where God’s protection lived unconditionally, the “city of peace” had become a symbol of the turbulence of
Jewish life (and still is!). Torn by war and civil strife, the city was anything but a place of peace. Only a
shaky, tense, and forced peace lived behind its walls. Only at the Temple might the ancient people of God
have a modicum of peace through the sacrificial system where shalom offerings mended the broken bond
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under the covenant. Judaism was a divided institution, with its many parties vying for influence, suspicious
of each other, and wary of the ever-present symbols of Roman occupation.
2. From the Roman perspective, the Empire, as we have already noted, enforced Pax Romana, “the Peace of
Rome” on its subjects. Here was the promise of order, justice, and law. Here were legions of soldiers,
stationed throughout the provinces, capable of movement at a moment’s notice to trouble spots on the
boundaries of the Empire. But Rome promised to keep the peace at the price of freedom.
Neither sort of peace will do, and Jesus makes that clear by his words: “Not as the world gives,” whether Jewish
or Roman.
“Troubled” and “afraid.” These are the words Jesus uses to describe the psychological state of his disciples in
the coming days. He began John 14 by saying, “Let not your heart be troubled…believe in me.” And peace —
shalom — from the hand of Jesus promises to alleviate the trouble and the fear. The Greek word ēreinē has this
underlying meaning of “calming, quieting,” and fits nicely into the present context. There is reconciling peace
and then there is calming peace. One is relational, and the other is personal.
Paul would pick up these themes in Philippians:
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Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and
seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:6-9).
That is, “in Christ Jesus,” the Prince of Peace, we discover the peace of God to guard us and the God of peace
to guide us.
These two phrases, “peace of God/Christ” and “God of peace” turn up elsewhere in the New Testament:
The God of peace be with all of you. Amen (Romans 15:33).
The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
(Romans 16:20).
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Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will,
working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Notice how Hebrews associates the “God of Peace” with the work of making the followers of Jesus “complete
in everything good…” Since shalom is about wholeness, this resonates with the theme of the complete life that
does God’s will and pleases Him.
Further, we have the phrase:
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And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be
thankful (Colossians 3:15).
“The peace of Christ” comes from the “Prince of Peace,” and we are to ask him to rule our hearts — the proper
role for such a Prince! Whereas, Rome imposed Pax on its subjects, the followers of Christ invite his rule in
their hearts as an act of voluntary surrender, in submission to his coming kingdom. Confident that the “God of
Peace” will crush Satan under our feet (see above), are we not now free to tender new allegiance to the Prince
and his peace? Jesus, the Prince of Peace, brings regime change to the world and in us!
“He Saw There Was No One”
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness
cannot enter. 15 Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that
there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own
arm brought him victory, and his righteousness upheld him. 17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of
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salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle. 18
According to their deeds, so will he repay; wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies; to the coastlands he will
render requital. 19 So those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD, and those in the east, his glory; for he will come
like a pent-up stream that the wind of the LORD drives on (Isaiah 59:14-19).
In government, power vacuums take many forms. For the contemporaries of Third Isaiah, the great pillars of a
godly society were absent: justice, righteousness, truth, and uprightness. Worse, those who ruled pay no
attention to the deficit. To what did the prophet refer? This passage belongs to the wider context of Isaiah 5861 which is set against the background of the Persian Empire where little Judah was a sub-province.3 Having
succeeded Babylon as the Empire ruling the Near East, Persia was having difficulty managing its far-flung
domains. Xerxes had been occupied in foreign wars to the west, scrapping with the Greeks who give the
Persians a royal beating in the period 480-469 B.C.E. Xerxes dies in 465, and the throne goes to his son
Artaxerxes who proves himself both survivor and victor. Third Isaiah chides Judah for wasting opportune time
they might have spent building up the restored community of Jews who were now back in the land. Each scene
of this dramatic act unfolds in this way:
1. Time for a fast (58:1-14)
2. Judah is in trouble (59:1-15a)
3. Yahweh must do something (59:15b-21)
4. Better days are ahead for Zion (60:1-22)
5. Yahweh prepares to send new leaders (61:1-11)
Our text falls within chapter 59, scenes 2-3. The oracle begins with a sure word to the people of God:
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear (59:1).
The phrase “arm of Yahweh” translates the Hebrew, “hand of Yahweh,” and can have reference to the person
who sits at Yahweh’s right hand, as well as to the actions of Yahweh as Warrior. This passage may share both
meanings. The word “save” has military overtones, implying that God needs to intervene to remedy a bad
situation and rescue Judah. With the Persian Empire dismayed by circumstances in the west, disquiet troubles
the subject peoples, including the Jews. Unfortunately, they have squandered the present opportunity afforded
by the previous absence of Xerxes. The prophet is not shy: “Your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (59:2). The bill of indictment is long and
shameful (59:3-8), concluding with these telling words: “The way of peace they do not know…” (59:8). The
deep roots of Judah’s sin was not lost on Paul when he wrote Romans 3:15-17 and quoted 59:7-8!
What is the remedy for a people who do not know “the way of peace”? What is the remedy for a people who
have lost the pillars of a just society? God looks, the prophet tells us, but “He saw that there was no one … no
one to intervene” (59:16). Then what did He do? “His own arm worked salvation (=deliverance, victory) for
him.” Like a great king faced with the enemy at his gates, but lacking any commanders in the field, God
decided to put on the warrior’s armor and take to the field himself. Once again, the language of “arm” may
suggest the one at God’s right hand as in 59:1. But the text grows more specific:
“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD (59:20).
Is not this Redeemer the “Prince of Peace,” the “hand of God” and the “arm of the Lord”? In this closing
section of Isaiah 59, the prophet prepares the readers for two subsequent chapters of hope and coming triumph
(60-61) where we meet the Prince. He is the “light” who is coming, and the one on whom “the Spirit of the
Lord rests.” According to 60:17b, through this rising light,
I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
Will not the Prince of Peace fulfill this promise to the people of God?
See John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66 . Word Biblical Commentary. Ed. David A. Hubbard, et. al. (Waco: Word Books, 1987), 265305. Watts proposes in his two volume treatment of Isaiah that the final form of the book follows a multi-act drama, with Isaiah 5861 belonging to Act XI and consisting of five scenes. The setting is the Persian Empire after the Jewish return, during the reign of
Artaxerxes (465-458 B.C.E.)
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“… And Peace …”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:13-14).
The Infancy Narrative in Luke’s Gospel includes Zechariah’s prayer, known as the Benedictus (1:67-79), in
which he praises God for fulfilling the ancient prophecies by showing mercy, rescuing Israel, and sending “the
rising sun from heaven” (1:78). Within this prayer are echoes of the promises made to Abraham and to David
(1:769, 73). The societal pillars missing from Judah in the days of Third Isaiah (see above) God at last restores,
including “holiness and righteousness” (1:75). Zechariah, father of John the Baptizer, confirms his own son’s
future role as “prophet of the Most High,” an office long absent from the religious life of God’s people. But
this time, the mission is more acute: “You will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him” (1:76) —
echoes of Second Isaiah (40:3) — by giving “the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins”
(1:77). The prophet then extracts the key elements of the Messiah’s mission, calling him “the mercy of our
God,” “the rising sun from heaven,” and the “light to shine on those living in darkness and to guide our feet into
the path of peace” (1:78-79).
When Luke continues the narrative in chapter 2, he picks up this theme of peace by placing its message on the
lips of the angelic host who declare it to waiting shepherds. The herald angels announce “glory” directed to the
God in heaven, and “peace” to human beings on earth who receive God’s favor. Peace — shalom — is the
promise of Jesus, “a Savior … born to you, Messiah the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Such shalom comes from the
Glorious God in the highest, not from the Glorious Caesar in Rome. Luke knows this, and skillfully crafts this
extended passage (2:1-20) to send that powerful subversive message. In what way?
The chapter begins with “a decree from Caesar Augustus,” ordering a taxation census “of the entire Roman
world” (2:1). Nobody gets to do that but the Glorious Caesar who brought order to the Empire after years of
civil unrest. By his decree, “everyone went to his own town to register” (2:3). By Caesar’s decree Mary and
Joseph journey to Bethlehem, the city of David’s birth, where Jesus would be born. Caesar’s decree was part of
the Pax Romana — the Peace of Rome, a policy calculated to maintain order throughout the Empire by making
an accounting of its residents. Yet, herein lies the great irony of the story Luke tells us.
Luke wants us to know that there is yet a higher decree, issuing from a higher sovereign than Caesar, one that
comes from the Glorious God in the Highest who sends His Son Jesus to rescue humanity in ways that Caesar
could not. This Jesus comes with a peace that is far more effective and just than Caesar’s. God in the Highest
cares about shepherds “living out in the fields,” and He extends His peace and His favor to them. What
happened to them when they found the prince of this peace, lying in a manger? Did not the peace of the Christchild send them away “glorifying and praising God” (2:20)? Did they not “spread the word” and “amaze” those
who heard their witness (2:17-18)?
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, had far greater influence over the hearts of humankind, than Caesar Augustus,
Emperor of Rome.
Conclusion
Twice in Isaiah we hear the following sober utterance: “There is no peace for the wicked” (48:22; 57:21).
Twice in Jeremiah come the words, “Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace” (6:14; 8:11). Then there’s
this pleading question from God’s troubled people, on the verge of crisis:
Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We look for peace, but find no good; for a time of
healing, but there is terror instead (Jeremiah 14:19).
Many in our time “look for peace,” and along with it, a time of healing. Painfully, the prophet knew that
ancient Judah’s plight was of its own making, “a grievous wound, a crushing blow” (14:17). Even among the
prophets there were those in denial, “who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for it,
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when there was no peace” (Ezekiel 13:16). Like the short-sighted King Hezekiah who consoled himself with
“peace and security in my lifetime” (Isaiah 39:8), others “who despise the word of the LORD [say], ‘Peace
shall be yours’; And to everyone who walks in hardness of heart, ‘No evil shall overtake you.’”
In the astonishing visions of the prophet Zechariah, he witnessed God’s intelligence community bringing back
their report: “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace” (Zechariah
1:11). But, as it turns out, the peace was false, since the Empire had neglected the plight of God’s people who
were back in their land after the long exile (1:15). Not all peace is genuine or good or just. Some peace masks
the underlying disquiet of the heart or the family or the nations. Peace can masquerade as oppressive silence
that kindles the smoldering fires of discontent in the soul. Such peace is unworthy of the Prince of Peace or of
the God who gives him to us.
Later in Zechariah, the people are urged to “love peace and truth” (8:19). They are urged to embrace the kind
of peace that God’s coming Messiah “will proclaim to the nations”, when “His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth” (9:10). God’s covenant, Malachi reminds us, “of life and peace”
(Malachi 2:5) — the peace that gives life. This peace, continues the prophet, walks alongside “uprightness” and
“turns away from sin” (2:6).
When Micah gave us the familiar prophecy about Jesus’ birth, he concluded with hopeful words about the
source of peace:
2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." 3 Therefore Israel will be
abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the
Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the
LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 5 And he will
be their peace (Micah 5:2-5).
The phrase “sustainable peace” fills today’s literature on the subject. From the biblical writers we hear similar
words:
26
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase
their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be
their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my
sanctuary is among them forever." (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
Sustainable peace is peace that lasts, and such peace is rooted in “an everlasting covenant.” The basis for such
peace must be the determined “I will…” of the Prince of Peace. He utters the “I will” followed by these verbs
of promise: “make, establish, increase, and put.” Such peace “makes Israel holy.” Such peace comes from the
God who will place his “sanctuary among them forever.” Such peace comes from the God who regards them as
“my people.” Such peace comes from the God who wants “the nations” to know that He fundamentally
changes for the better the lives that He touches. “In this place I will grant peace,” declares Yahweh Almighty
(Haggai 2:9). Peace is what God grants to human beings through the Prince of Peace.
The poet, in his familiar hymn, captures essence of God’s peace, in the midst of the raging storms:
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)
1.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.
2.
3.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should
come,
let this blest assurance control,
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My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)
4.
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be
sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall
descend,
even so, it is well with my soul.
(Refrain)
(Horatio G. Spafford, 1873)
This hymn was written after two crises in Spafford’s life: 1) The great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman); 2) Crossing the Atlantic, when all four of Spafford’s
daughters died in a collision with another ship. His wife, Anna, survived and sent him this telegram: “Saved
alone.” Weeks later, when Spafford’s ship sailed near where his daughters perished, these words came to him.
Jesus said, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But
take courage; I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33).
Glory to God! Amen.
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Digger Deeper: A Wonderful Life. Prince of Peace
(Bob Brown)
To gain a deeper understanding of A Wonderful Life. Prince of Peace, carefully read the selected passages below.
To aid you in your study, we invite you to visit the website at http://www.c1naz.org, click on Resources, click
the tab Series, find and click on the series title, find and click on the date you want, and then click on the
Background Notes link at the lower left. You can also pick up a copy of the Background Notes at the
Information desk, or from your ABF leader. Now consider the following questions, as you ask the Lord to
teach you.
1. Using an English dictionary, list the primary meanings for the word “peace.” With those firmly in mind,
read Isaiah 9:6-7, the main text for our series. What does the word “peace” mean in that context? Why
does the passage use the word “prince”? Suggest possible meanings for the word “prince.”
2. Compare Matthew 10:34. How is Jesus’ statement puzzling in light of Isaiah’s prophecy? Offer an
explanation.
3. According to Colossians 1:20, what does Jesus accomplish, and how does he do it?
4. Read Isaiah 39, paying special attention to 39:8. What is wrong with Hezekiah’s understanding of peace?
How does Jesus, the Prince of Peace, give us a different perspective?
5. Study Leviticus 26:4-6 and Ephesians 2:14. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Using outside
resources or the Background Notes, offer a definition of the term. How does the Hebrew idea differ from
our popular understanding of peace? According to Psalm 34:14 what are we to do with peace?
6. What misperceptions did ancient Israel have about peace in their time (Jeremiah 6:13-14; Ezekiel 13:10, 16;
Amos 6:1-6)?
7. How is peace not just an idea but also a responsibility (Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 5:9; James 3:18)?
8. What does God’s peace do for us according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23-34)? Notice the way God is named in
this text. Discuss the thoroughness with which God does His peace-work in our lives, paying attention to
the way Paul describes human beings in this passage. What relationship does “peace” and “wholly” have in
this text?
9. How does Jesus show himself to be the “Prince of Peace” in John 14:27? Compare this passage with John
16:33; 20:19, 21, 26.
10. What two phrases using the word “peace” appear in Philippians 4:6-9, and how do they each provide a
unique emphasis? Compare these additional instances: Romans 15:33; 16:20; Hebrews 13:20-21;
Colossians 3:15. How does each phrase make a special contribution to our understanding of Jesus as Prince
of Peace?
11. Read Isaiah 59, paying special attention to 59:8. Define the phrase, “way of peace.” How does Paul use
this passage in Romans 3:15-17? How is human nature devoid of peace? What promise does God give to
Israel in Isaiah 60:17? How did He fulfill that promise in light of Isaiah 9:6?
12. What expectations did Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, have for the coming Messiah (Luke 1:6779)? What was his final hope in 1:79?
13. Now read Luke 2:13-14, paying attention to its wider context. What promise do the angelic hosts make?
What does “peace on earth” mean in this passage, especially in light of Luke 1:79?
14. Using outside sources or the Background Notes, find the meaning of the Latin phrase Pax Romana. How is
that imperial policy implied at the beginning of Luke 2? Discuss the contrast of Pax Romana with “peace
on earth” brought by Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
15. With the following Scriptures in mind, discuss the quest for peace, and why people fail to find it on their
own: Isaiah 6:14; 8:11; 48:22; 57:21; Jeremiah 14:19.
16. How does the Prince of Peace succeed where others have failed (Zechariah 9:9-12; Micah 5:2-5; Ezekiel
37:26-28; Haggai 2:9; John 16:33)?
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