Peace on Earth
Notes
Transcript
Text: Luke 2:13-14
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
PRAY
Introduction
What is the biggest problem in the world today?
What is the biggest problem in the world today?
People have many different ideas:
war
racism
intolerance - a lack of love and acceptance
pride
selfishness
greed
What is clear to us from all these answers is that the world is not as it should be, and people know it. How many of you think that everything is just how it is supposed to be in the world? (Of course not!)
The Bible shows us that the root of all of these things and what is behind every problem in the world is sin. Sin has alienated us from God, from one another, and from ourselves. There is brokenness in our relationship with God, with other people, and even within us.
And so our greatest need corresponds to our greatest problem - we need to be reconciled to God, to others, and to ourselves. Peace is one of the words that the Bible uses to describe the restoration of these broken relationships.
What is peace?
What is peace?
Peace is a hard word to describe. Some other words that come to mind when I think of peace are order, calm, friendship, rest, contentment, quiet.
What is the opposite of peace?
Maybe thinking of the opposite of peace will be helpful. We might think of war, hostility, conflict, anger, anxiety, worry, disorder, chaos.
Unfortunately it’s all too easy to think of many words to describe the opposite of peace, because that’s what the world we live in is like.
Why do we need peace?
Why do we need peace?
So we need peace, because the world is not as it should be. We are not as we should be. We need peace because
We have brokenness inside ourselves
We have brokenness in all our relationships with others
We have brokenness in relationship to God
With whom do we need peace?
With whom do we need peace?
We need peace
With God
With other people
Within ourselves
The good news of the gospel is that God is on a mission to restore what is broken - to restore us to what we should be, and to restore the world to the way He designed it to be.
The good news announced at the birth of Christ was a message of joy, but it was also a message of peace. Christ has come to bring us everlasting joy and peace by restoring us to Himself and one another through His perfect life, death, and resurrection for us.
On Earth Peace
On Earth Peace
This is what the angels said in Luke 2:14.
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
There’s already peace in heaven. God is the God of peace.
But through Christ, the peace of heaven has broken through to earth. God Himself has come in the flesh to restore peace - to make the world as it should be once again.
Peace Prophesied
Peace Prophesied
But the angels’ announcement wasn’t the first time that God had indicated His purpose to restore peace on earth. There are hints and clues all over the Old Testament, and they are especially clear for us in some of the prophecies regarding the birth of the Messiah.
Isaiah
Consider these well-known verses we often read around Christmas time from Isaiah 9:6-7:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
The child to be born will be called the Prince of Peace. He is the King of kings, the Messiah who will reign on David’s throne. He will exercise His authority over the whole world and He will bring His peace to all the nations. His government (or authority) and peace will always be increasing (v. 7). He brings about and sustains peace by bringing justice and righteousness - right relationship with God and with others.
And lest we think that this is only a future reality, notice that it says He will do this “from that time and forevermore.” The Hebrew phrase there literally means “from now and until eternity.” I believe that “now” or “that time” refers back to v. 6, to the birth of the son. From the time of His first coming until eternity, He is at work establishing His authority and bringing peace by restoring broken relationships.
Everything will be restored to its proper order in submission to the authority of Jesus Christ.
Micah
Consider Micah’s words in Micah 5. We’re all familiar with v. 2, regarding the place of Christ’s birth.
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel — One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
But if we keep reading, this is what we find:
Micah 5:3–5 (BSB)
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel.
4 He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
5 And He will be our peace …
The eternal one who is coming to be born in Bethlehem will be the good shepherd for His people. He will bring them security. His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth. And He will bring peace. He Himself is the source of peace.
Zechariah
We’re probably all familiar with Zechariah’s prophecy regarding the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Gospel writers pick up on this and quote Zechariah’s prophecy, showing that Jesus fulfilled it when He entered Jerusalem less than a week before His death.
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But keep reading. That isn’t the end of the story or the end of the prophecy.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
This coming King, this victorious, humble King, is coming not only to rule over Israel, but over the whole world. And His kingdom, His dominion of the nations, is one of peace. He will proclaim peace to the nations. And in the first part of the verse He is cutting off hostility - cutting off chariots, taking away horses, breaking the bow of war from the parts of Israel.
This sounds a lot like what Paul describes in Ephesians 2 (which we’ll look at in a moment) about how Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility - the brokenness in relationship between Jews and Gentiles.
Again, this appears to be related to His first coming, not His Second Coming. This is something that He has already accomplished, or rather is accomplishing, not something still to be fulfilled in a future age.
Certainly there is a fulness to the peace that must and will come someday when Christ returns; but it has already begun and is increasing.
We move into the NT to another Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1. At the birth of his son, He prophesied,
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
77 to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
79 to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
His son, John the Baptist, would be the forerunner for the Messiah, who is the Lord Himself, who brings salvation, forgiveness, mercy, light, and peace.
The one that the prophets had foretold is almost here.
And then…
Six months later, in a field outside Bethlehem, the good news was announced to some shepherds.
He’s here!
The Savior, the One who is the Messiah and the Lord, has come. The one who will bring peace - who will restore us to God and to each other. He’s here!
And the whole army of angels announced together,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
The Prince of Peace has arrived.
But the kind of peace Jesus brings was not what most people expected - or wanted.
The kind of peace that people wanted was like what they had experienced in Solomon’s day (his name means peaceful - related to shalom). We read of the peace they enjoyed in 1 Kings 4:24-25
24 For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates —over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza—and he had peace on all sides.
25 Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
The people enjoyed peace - freedom from conflict with other nations, and they enjoyed financial prosperity (each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.)
It seems that the people in Jesus’s day were hoping that the Messiah would bring the same freedom from war and oppression and restore them to security and prosperity.
But Jesus came to deal with a much more fundamental problem than simply conflict between nations or a lack of financial prosperity. He came to deal with sin. He came to defeat Satan, sin, and death. And the only way for Him to do that was through His own death.
Ephesians 2 tells us how He brought peace:
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility
15 by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace
16 and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
18 For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
By His death on the cross, Jesus brought about for us peace with God and peace with others.
Paul says something similar in Colossians 1:20
20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.
God reconciles all things in heaven and on earth to Himself through Christ - that is, He puts everything back in its proper order in submission to Him. He did this (and is still doing it) through the blood of His cross.
Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, God is restoring everything to its proper order - that is, bringing peace. And one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. All creation will bow in submission to Him, and then everything will be in its proper place once again.
Does this mean that everyone will be saved?
If all we had was this verse, it might be easy to see why some people come to the conclusion that God will save everyone in the end. Many people reject the doctrine of eternal punishment for different reasons, some better than others - of course we don’t want people to suffer forever.
But there are too many passages that clearly teach the reality of an eternal just punishment for the wicked.
So when Paul says that God is reconciling all things to Himself through Christ, he doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved - that would contradict other clear Scriptures.
What he does mean is that God will restore a proper order to the universe. Everything will be properly ordered under the authority of Christ. And sadly, for those who reject Christ, their place is in the lake of fire forever.
We need peace now if we’re ever going to have it. So how do we get it?
How do we get (and keep) peace?
How do we get (and keep) peace?
Answer: we receive peace as a gift from God by faith.
In Luke, the angels proclaim peace for those on whom God’s favor rests. Other translations say on those with whom He is pleased.
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
So let’s ask the question:
On whom does God’s favor rest?
With whom is God pleased?
Perhaps the most obvious answer that we might miss is Jesus Christ Himself. In the next chapter of Luke at Jesus’s baptism, the Father says that He is well pleased with His Son, and He says the same on the Mount of transfiguration.
But how about us?
Can God’s favor rest on us?
Can He be pleased with us?
Not by virtue of who we are or anything we have done. We are born sinners and we sin. Even our most righteous acts are detestable to God.
So how can we get God’s favor? How can He be pleased with us, so that we can have peace?
BY FAITH
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Faith pleases God because it takes hold of what God has said, and faith says, yes, what God has said is true, and what He has said is valuable. Faith pleases God because it glorifies God - it demonstrates that God is both good and great, that He is faithful and trustworthy. That honors God.
God is pleased with those who trust Him.
And so, peace is for those who trust the promises of God.
Do you trust God’s promises?
Peace is obtained by faith in God’s promises.
Peace is obtained by faith in God’s promises.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
We have peace with God by trusting in His promises regarding who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Our broken relationship with God is restored by faith in Christ, who is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.
Peace is also sustained by faith in God’s promises.
Peace is also sustained by faith in God’s promises.
Peace begins when we begin to trust God’s promises, and it grows as we learn to trust Him more.
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is true regarding peace with God, peace with others, and inner peace. All of these are obtained and sustained by trusting in the precious promises of God.
Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:27,
27 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; do not be afraid.
The peace that the world offers is based on circumstances - there is a certain peace of mind and security that the world can give us with a large bank account, material possessions, friends and family, and any number of other positive circumstances. But these things can change so quickly and unexpectedly.
But Jesus says, “I do not give to you as the world gives.” The kind of peace that Jesus gives is not based on our circumstances. Rather it is His peace. “My peace I give to you.” There is a peace that passes understanding that is His from all eternity, and He now grants that to us as His followers, as we trust His promises.
Do you have that kind of peace?
There are many, many other portions of Scripture that talk about peace, and we don’t have time to look at them all, but let’s end with a passage that I think many of you are familiar with:
3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
Perfect peace - the restoration of all our brokenness - comes as we fix our minds on God. As we focus on Him and trust Him.
We must stop looking to our circumstances, to people or possessions for the security and peace we need. True peace is found only as we trust God and His promises, which are fully and perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
And because the LORD is the Rock eternal, we can always trust Him. He is a strong and sure foundation, and He never changes.
Practically, how do we keep our minds focused on God?
By getting to know Him and fellowshipping with Him in His Word.
If you wonder why there is so much chaos and disorder and brokenness left in your life, it’s because you’re not spending the time you need to in God’s Word, humbly seeking Him and listening to His voice.
Perhaps as we approach a new year, it would be good to begin thinking about setting goals regarding Bible reading and make sure you are prioritizing time with the Lord.
One hour on Sundays will not keep your mind focused on God, and you will not have much peace.
Be intentional to set aside time to read, meditate on, memorize, and study your Bible. Get to know God and what He has promised you. Trust His promises, and you’ll have His peace.
And if you’ve never had this kind of peace, I urge you to come to Christ today. Trust in Him as the only sufficient Savior for your sin and give your life to Him.
Through Christ, Peace has come to earth. Has it come to you?
