Gift of Peace

Bottom line

Jesus came to make peace with God first, than with each other.

Opening Line

Has anyone figured out the trick to experiencing peace over the Christmas season?

Introduction

Let me unpack everything that typically goes into making Christmas a success. First the gifts. You always want to give the right gift, something that is going to be appreciated for at least a year until the next Christmas season. You have to budget well so that everyone who is supposed to get a gift gets one, and you want to make sure you’re fair, though you never really are. There’s a few people that should just be happy they got something. Then there is the scheduling. If you’re married with kids still at home, you need to coordinate with siblings which grandparents you’re going to. You need to make sure you don’t short anyone time, make sure all schedules are balanced, and that time off aligns with everyone. When you’re single, you go to mom and dads. When you’re grandparents, everyone comes to you. It is the in-between where the chaos ensues.

And that is just the family stuff. Then you have to factor in town events, church events, school events. Some of you came to church this morning so you didn’t have to think about any of this and I’m not doing you any favors. Others are starting to realize they had missed a few details in their planning and are experience a level of stress that wasn’t there when they arrived this morning. For both groups, I’m sorry.

Main Point

Yet as you approach Christmas, the second theme of advent is peace. Why, in a season of hope, peace, joy, and love, does it seem like there is such a short supply of peace?

Why it matters

The truth is that everything I’ve listed off is only the things that are related to Christmas. Life doesn’t just pause itself because Christmas has arrived. The every day stresses are still very much there, they just have company in your life now.

In order for you to recapture the peace of Christmas, you need to understand what is means when scripture calls Jesus, “The Prince of Peace.” You have to understand the peace that Jesus brings. In the story we are going to be looking at this morning, Joseph was in desperate need of peace, and you are going to see that the peace he needed was the kind that only Jesus can offer. The kind of peace that you, your family, and your community needs right now is the kind that only Jesus can offer.

Scripture

We are in Matthew 1, starting at verse 18 this morning.

Matthew 1:18–19 NLT

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

blank

So Matthew gives us a review of what we talked about last week. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a virgin who became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember last week how Luke kept repeating the fact that Mary was virgin. So why doesn’t Matthew do that? You need to keep in mind that the Biblical writers had very specific audiences in mind. Luke is a doctor, hired by a wealthy Greek entrepreneur, to tell the story in great detail. The Greeks would not have had a great depth of Old Testament understanding, so he is approaching it very factually. Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience. The mention of Mary being pregnant as a virgin would have sparked the Isa 7:14 passage, which is a prophecy that the messiah would be born of a virgin. Why? Because young Jewish boys spent their early childhood memorizing the entire Old Testament, and certain passages would have held special value for the Jewish nation.

So Matthew recaps what we looked at last week, but now we get to see things from Joseph’s perspective. You need to understand why Joseph would want to break the engagement to Mary. She is claiming that she is still a virgin, yet is pregnant. Joseph is assuming the worst, but he loves Mary enough that he doesn’t want her to die or to be publicly shamed, so he just wants to distance himself quietly.

There is another aspect to this that needs to remembered. If Joseph chooses to stay engaged to Mary, and she is pregnant before they are married, what does that say about Joseph? It calls his integrity and character into question. Yes they may be engaged, but that doesn’t mean they get to do what married people do. They are supposed to wait. If they stay together, it is an admission of guilt, but he didn’t do anything to be guilty of.

Can you begin to appreciate the lack of peace going through Joseph’s mind. He loves Mary, but she’s pregnant and its not his. Does she still love him? Does he want to raise someone else’s kid? Can he someone break the engagement in a way that protects himself and her? Then there’s the possibility that what is happening in her truly is divine. If he breaks the engagement, is he going to miss something? That would’ve been an unbelievably tough situation for him, for Mary, and for their families. His parents probably have a few thoughts they are sharing with him.

If Jesus is the prince of peace, where is the peace in this moment?

Matthew 1:20–23 NLT

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ”

blank

Pop quiz. Last week I told you what Jesus means. Anyone? Yahweh is salvation. Verse 22 and 23 is just an aside from Matthew, just in case the audience needed a reminder of what the prophet said.

The angel appears to Joseph in a dream, confirming that what is happening in Mary is exactly what Mary had no doubt told him. She is the virgin who will give birth to the promised Messiah. So now there is an angelic visit, how does Joseph respond?

Matthew 1:24–25 NLT

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

blank

Joseph responds in faith. He does exactly as the angel told him to. He marries Mary, but they do not consummate the marriage until Jesus is born. We don’t know how far along Mary was when they got married, it is not vital information for the story. He waits. He honors the engagement, and becomes the earthly father to the Messiah of the world.

Before we leave the story, there is something you need to understand. Only Joseph was visited by the angel. Not his parents, not the community, none of them. Just Joseph. That means that all the scrutiny, all the comments, everything still came his way. His character would’ve been questioned. His parents would have been so disappointed. They knew he didn’t do anything wrong, but he still married the girl who fooled around on him? All the comments, the looks, those don’t just go away. This young couple would have faced hard times and prejudice for a long time.

But for this young couple, they knew the truth. They both had visits from angels, the divine messengers of God, hearing the plan and knowing not only what was happening but what was to come.

Transition to Application

But it still begs the question. If Jesus is the Prince of Peace, why does there seem to be such a lack of peace between this couple and their families? Why does the prince of peace seem to create so much chaos? This confusion is only magnified when you consider Jesus’ own words:

Matthew 10:34–36 NLT

“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

blank

To understand the peace that Jesus brought, you need to understand that Jesus’ first priority was to reconcile the broken relationship between God and man. All throughout the prophets, leading up to the period of silence, the prophets constantly pointed out that the people had turned their backs to God instead of their faces. The relationship between Israel and God was described as a marriage, a covenant relationship that was exclusive. Yet Israel consistently pursued other gods. As they broke the relationship with God, they lost their peace.

Mary Joseph could face any of the challenges and comments coming their way because they knew they were right in God’s eyes and their relationship with Him had never been stronger. It didn’t matter what people thought, only what God did.

Main To Do

If you want to experience the peace of Christ this Christmas, you need to make sure your relationship with God is strong. Peace is described as total well-being, prosperity, and security associated with God’s presence among His people. When was the last time you gave yourself enough time to actually experience God’s presence, to hear His voice? One of the overwhelming things that you will experience when you hear the voice of God is peace. If you feel fear or anxiety, that’s not God’s voice. You don’t have to be perfect or all put together to hear His voice either, you just have to be willing to listen, and believe that He still speaks. The primary way that God speaks to His people is through His word, because He will never contradict Himself.

When you have peace with God, you will experience that kind of peace that Paul describes in Phil 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

A peace that exceeds anything you can understand. Anyone interested in circumstance defying peace? Anyone interested in health defying peace? How about peace that defies finances or global situations?

The kind of peace that Jesus brings is that kind that is found in a relationship with God alone. As long as you know that your sins are forgiven and that you are walking in step with the God of the universe, what else matters? When time runs out on your life and you stand before the judgement seat of Jesus, it won’t matter how much money you made or who thought what of you. You won’t stand before family or friends or world leaders and try to bargain your way into eternity. The only thing that will matter is if Jesus knew you and you knew Him. All that matter right now is if your life reflects Jesus to the world. When you begin to experience that kind of peace, why wouldn’t you wan to share that with everyone around you?

Why it matters

Here is the beautiful thing that begins to happen. When you are in Christ and filled with this peace, and you interact with someone else who is in Christ and filled with this kind of peace, the two of you experience peace! Its amazing! Jesus came to create peace between you and the Father first, then between people who are in Christ.

Because what inevitably happens if you feel a lack of peace in your life and you come across someone who does have peace? You try to bring them back to earth and try to steal some of their peace. This is what happens when you complain and gripe about life. You literally steal people’s peace. Watch. If you make a concerted effort to grow in peace between yourself and God, and your peace becomes evident, watch how people try to steal it from you. They will remind you over and over about everything that is wrong, and no matter how often you try to change the topic, they will try even harder to steal your peace. Because it is easier to drag someone else down then to try to lift yourself up. But you don’t have to have your peace stolen, because it comes from above, and nothing can take that away from you.

Closing Line

If you want to experience peace this holiday season, and every day after, it starts with having a peaceful relationship between you and God.

This morning we are going to do something different. If you would like prayer this morning, I will be at the front. You can come down, we can talk and pray, and then you can rejoin your table for discussion. But if you want prayer, I would love to pray with you.

What stood out this morning?

How can understanding Jesus as the Prince of Peace transform your approach to stressful situations during the Christmas season?

In what ways can we cultivate a stronger relationship with God to experience His peace, especially during chaotic times?

Reflect on a time when you felt a lack of peace; how did your relationship with God influence that experience?

What practical steps can you take this Christmas to create an environment of peace, both in your home and in your community?

How does knowing that Jesus came to reconcile our relationship with God motivate you to seek peace with others?

In what ways can you support friends or family members who are feeling stressed or anxious during the holidays?

How can your understanding of peace influence your interactions with others during the holiday season?