And His Name Shall Be Called: Prince of Peace

Introduction

If you have your Bible with you today, please turn with me to Isaiah 9.

At this time of year, no story outside of Scripture has quite stirred my spirit like Charles Dickens’ classic novella A Christmas Carol.

I love the story.

I love the characters.

I love the way words and phrases are so memorably strung together.

It is nostalgically Christmas.

And, before you think, “Man… Ben is super cultured!” Let me make a explain something to you.

We received the best possible adaptation in 1992 when Jim Henson’s company gave us the gem that is The Muppet Christmas Carol.

I will go to the grave defending this as the best telling of the story outside of the original manuscript.

When I hear the name Charles Dickens, I don’t visualize a Victorian gentleman. I see Gonzo.

Kermit the Frog is Bob Cratchit

Michael Caine is Ebenezer Scrooge

And this film must be viewed in my home at least once every Christmas season.

But, as you look past the initial “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner” known as Ebenezer Scrooge, the themes of redemption and the pursuit of peace are clearly conveyed.

Scrooge finally finds this peace through self-reflection and the lessons of thanksgiving, “Christmas joy” (however you define it), and generosity taught by the three Christmas Spirits.

He comes to terms with his past regrets, present neglect, and potential future despair.

And the promise found buried in this story is that if you can lock into these sentiments, you will truly understand the “spirit of Christmas” and have true peace.

While I love Dickens, his understanding of true peace is deeply flawed.

As we look at our text this morning we will see what God has to say about peace.

We continue on our march through the prophesied titles our Savior was given approximately 700 years before He stepped into the world.

We started by seeing how our Wonderful Counselor listens to us, guides us, and dwells in us.

We’ve examined how our Mighty God was born of a virgin, clothed in flesh, and is constantly participating in the mysteriously divine relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit known as the Trinity.

We’ve explored the providence, protection, and security that we have in our Everlasting Father.

Today we shift our attention to the final, and climactic, title.

“Prince of Peace”

If you are able, please stand in honor of God’s Word.

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, as we spend time in Your Word today, enter our hearts and so fill us with your love, that, forsaking all evil desires, we may embrace you, our only good. Show us, for your mercies’ sake, O Lord our God, what you are to us. Say to our souls, “I am your salvation.” Speak that we may hear. Our hearts are before you; open our ears; let us hasten after your voice and take hold of you. Amen.

Augustine (adapted and modernized)

Please be seated

Exposition

As we read our passage, we are reminded that the Jewish world that Isaiah is speaking into is not in a time of peace.

There is spiritual and political upheaval as the Israelites are not remaining faithful to the covenant that God made with them.

Enemies are literally crouching at the gates.

And God is promising to hand them over to be carted away from their home, the very land that He promised to give them and led them to conquer.

However, the description of burdens and oppressors, boots of warriors and blood-soaked garments shifts dramatically in verse 6

As we dig deeper this morning we are going to explore several aspects of Christ being our Prince of Peace.

We are going to see Who He is...

The Prince of Peace is a Ruler

The Prince of Peace is a Mediator

The Prince of Peace is an Offering

Before seeing what He does...

The Prince Brings Peace to Our Souls

The Prince Brings Peace to Our Minds

The Prince Will Bring Peace to Our World

The Prince Beckons Us to Live By His Example

The peace of Christ is like music.

Pitch, rhythm, harmony, intonation, tempo, and more work together to make a beautifully glorious whole.

Like music, each of these roles that Christ plays in our lives highlights a facet of the glorious peace that He has to offer.

The first two descriptions speak to Christ as Prince while the third accentuates the peace that he brings.

First, we see that...

The Prince of Peace is a Ruler

It’s literally in the title.

A prince is royalty.

But we find connections between nobility and peace throughout Scripture.

Back in Genesis 14, the Lord offered His people a sign-post that people in Isaiah’s day could point back to when they heard this title while Isaiah intentionally pointed forward to Christ.

After successfully leading his own personal team of elite soldiers against the forces of 4 kings in an effort to liberate his nephew, Abraham runs into a very interesting character by the name of Melchizedek.

Genesis 14:17–20 ESV

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

So, in this passage, very little detail is actually given about Melchizedek.

But one thing that we see is that he is a King.

Not only is he a king, but he is the king of Salem.

The term “Salem” shares roots and definition with the Hebrew word “shalom”, meaning peace.

Melchizedek is the king of peace, a direct correlation to Isaiah’s prophecy.

This is a fact that the New Testament author of Hebrews uses to further link him to Christ.

Hebrews 7:1–3 ESV

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

And here is where Scripture interprets itself!

We are not left to figure it out on our own.

Whereas Genesis did not blatantly wave a flag and say, “Hey! Remember this! Remember this person who appears in two verses!”, Hebrews draws out connections.

As Melchizedek has no written genealogy or record of death, Jesus’ pedigree cannot be traced strictly on an earthly family tree and his reign is forever.

As Melchizedek was the king of Salem (the king of peace), so Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

Like Melchizedek, our Prince of Peace is also the King of Righteousness.

But this is not where similarities end.

Continuing to mirror Melchizedek, Hebrews 7 indicates that Christ is not only our King, but He is also our Mediator.

The Prince of Peace is a Mediator

What does a mediator do?

Well, a mediator stands between 2 parties and helps them resolve conflict.

From the moment that sin entered this world, mankind has been at war with God.

Satan convinced Adam and Eve to commit an act of spiritual war by disobeying a direct command.

And we have all seen the effects of this decision.

We continue to reject the Lord’s design for creation and life.

We continue to mock His name.

We continue to mistreat those formed in His image.

We continue attempting to thwart His plans.

And no matter how we seek to distance ourselves from this rebellion, we are still linked to it through, not only our past actions, but our birth in a line of traitors.

We are guilty.

Imagine yourself in a courtroom.

You are standing trial for treason against the United States of America.

Fill in the blank with the charges. I don’t know!

Maybe you sold secrets to Russia.

Maybe you harbored spies or terrorists.

Maybe it’s discovered that you used TikTok.

But consider that you had a change of heart and went dark after carrying out the act.

You’ve had no further contact.

You have perpetrated no other dubious deeds.

Instead you have been living the life of a model citizen with the hope that you will never be sentenced for your crimes.

But, it’s all caught up to you.

Regardless of your current state, the prosecutors have you dead to rights and the jury is filing back in.

There is nothing that you can say or do.

You’ve transgressed the law.

You are undeniably linked to your treason.

The same can be said of your sin.

R.C. Sproul actually used this exact language to describe our sin.

Sin is cosmic treason.

Treason against the Almighty God of the universe.

And any infraction makes us guilty of sin.

James 2:10 ESV

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

You have done the deed and it is on your record.

And this is where our Prince of Peace came in.

He cleared our name from conflict and reconciled us to the Father.

He brokered peace in what seemed to be an impossible situation.

Now, in Isaiah’s time, the role of spiritual mediation was specifically delegated to the priests.

God was very clear.

Only those Israelites from the line of Levi, and more specifically Aaron, were allowed to conduct the sacrifices and offerings that would atone for the sins of God’s people and appease His justified, righteous wrath.

There was a distinct separation between the responsibilities of a king and the responsibilities of a priest.

Kings were to rule and the priests were to mediate between God and His people.

In fact, those kings who took priestly duties into their own hands were met with debilitating punishment.

King Uzziah, one of the godly kings that ruled Israel during the time of Isaiah, was stricken with leprosy because he attempted to offer incense in the temple after the rite of the priesthood in 2 Chronicles 26.

King Saul had the kingdom wrenched from his grasp after he conducted sacrifices instructed to be carried out by Samuel the priest in 1 Samuel 13.

Now going back to Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7 though, Melchizedek and Christ are the only exceptions to this rule found in Scripture.

This is where Jesus’ unique nature shines through yet again!

Our Prince of Peace is our Priest King.

He rules and mediates.

He stands in the gap between us and God the Father.

He continually offers prayers on our behalf.

As a mediator, we see both Christ’s nature and His role.

He is peace while pursuing peace on our behalf.

But peace comes with a price.

Our Prince of Peace is not only a ruler and a mediator.

He, Himself, is the offering.

The Prince of Peace is an Offering

The cost of reconciliation with God is blood.

It was that way from the moment Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden.

God clothed them in the skins of an animal to cover their shame.

Blood had to be shed,

life had to be lost to cover the offense.

Nothing has changed.

Romans 6:23 says....

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death pays the toll.

Life is spent for atonement.

And not just any life.

Unblemished life.

Later in his writing, in chapter 53, Isaiah once again refers to our Prince of Peace.

This time, not in foretelling his birth.

But prophesying His life and tortuous, substitutionary, redemptive death.

Isaiah 53:2–5 ESV

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Our Priest King brought us peace by taking the just wrath of God that was rightly designated for you and for me upon Himself.

“Upon HIM was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.”

And this is where the beauty of Christmas is set on display!

By our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace taking humanity upon Himself, He sympathizes with our weakness.

As Hebrews 4:15 says, He has experienced the totality of anything that we could ever experience.

Temptation, heart-ache, pain, anger, hunger, thirst, fatigue...

And yet without sin.

Our Ruler, our Mediator, became our offering.

Our Priest King, who created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, stepped into our darkness because we could never step into His light of our own accord.

He offers us peace at the price of His blood.

Application

But what does that mean for us?

How does Christ’s roles as King, Mediator, and Offering impact you as you prepare to walk out into another week?

Well, first...

The Prince brings peace to our souls

Apart from Christ our souls are active combatants against His will and reign.

But He made a way for us to defect from the camp of sin and self, so that we could pledge our allegiance to a new master.

Through Christ, our hearts that are dead in sin,

in stone hard opposition to His glory and goodness,

are restored to full communion with God.

Romans 5...

Romans 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Through His sacrifice, our souls can know peace with Him for eternity.

This spiritual peace realizes His primary goal of glory.

Without spiritual peace between God and man, the glory that is rightly reserved for God is distributed incorrectly.

He is glorified by His purchased peace because our faith testifies alongside His work of His splendid majesty!

His glory brings you peace and your peace brings Him glory!

This is exactly what we were created for!

But, He not only brings eternal peace for our souls...

The Prince brings peace to our minds

Peace for the soul may seem great long-term, but this is where Christ’s peace impacts us here and now.

By being joined to Him, the mental, emotional, psychological war that rages between our ears can be put to rest.

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

There can be no peace in our minds while we focus on our sin or the corruption of the world all around us.

We must consciously dwell on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

We must raise our eyes to Christ, our Prince of Peace who embodied all of those things!

When we are not consumed by the minutiae of...

social media,

entertainment,

workplace drama,

or who is running this country

and instead our thoughts are on Christ, His Word, His church, and His work

We are able to know true peace in the here and now!

Isaiah 26:3 ESV

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Is your mind stayed on Him?

Are you reveling on Christ becoming flesh this Christmas season?

Or are you stumbling through the holidays, barely hanging on as you bounce from one thing to the next?

True peace requires thought and intentionality.

Stay your thoughts, stay your mind on the Prince of Peace.

And one day this spiritual and mental peace will become physical reality...

The Prince will bring peace to our world

Just like in Isaiah’s day, our world has no promise of universal peace in the immediate future.

There is still plenty of turmoil, strife, and conflict all around us...

But peace WILL reign. (Context of Isaiah 9:6-7)

There is coming a day when he will bear the entire governing authority of this world upon His shoulder.

What strength!

What might!

The early church father Tertullian said...

What king is there who bears the ensign of his dominion upon his shoulder, and not rather upon his head as a diadem, or in his hand as a scepter, or else as a mark in some royal apparel? But the one King of the new ages, Jesus Christ, carried on his shoulder both the power and the excellence of his new glory, even his cross, so that, according to our former prophecy, he might thenceforth reign from the tree as Lord.

Tertullian

Next week, Pastor Michael is going to further expound on verse 7 and we will see how the same shoulder that bore His cross will, unfaltering, bear up under the weight of absolute dominion and authority.

As we shed the self-imposed responsibility of holding up under the pressures of running our own world that was never intended for us in the first place,

and as we allow the full weight of governance to fall upon the shoulder of our Savior, we are able to bear the easy yoke and light burden that Matthew 11 speaks of.

Finally...

The Prince beckons us to live by His example

The life that Christ lived, the reconciliation He accomplished, the work He continues to do, He desires for us to participate in it all!

We find peace as we are sanctified.

As we become more and more like our Savior.

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 ESV

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

The Kingdom of the Prince of Peace is established here on earth through reconciliation and peace.

Edward Young, a professor at the prestigious Westminster Theological Seminary in the mid-90s, said it this way...

This One is a Prince, and He seeks the greatness of His kingdom and of Himself not in war, as do ordinary rulers, but in peace. He establishes peace; He seeks it and pursues it.

Edward Joseph Young

Christ pursues peace righteously.

As our Prince of Peace, His peace demands our peace.

As our King of Righteousness, His righteousness demands our righteousness.

They are two sides of the same coin.

You cannot have one without the other.

Peace without righteousness is a failing attempt at compliance.

Righteousness without peace is a pointless facade.

We are to pursue peace righteously through His power and by obediently following His example.

According to Matthew 5:9, we are blessed, and are identifiable members of His family by our active peacemaking.

Matthew 5:9 ESV

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The challenge to us today is to pursue peace and righteousness in every aspect of our lives.

That may start in this room with a brother or sister in Christ.

That might start over Christmas dinner with that relative that grinds your very last nerve.

But that also might start with submitting yourself to the rule and authority of the Prince of Peace.

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let’s pray...

Closing Prayer

I’m going to invite the musicians back to the platform to lead us in a final song as we respond to the truth that we just unpacked from God’s Word.

As they come, think on a few final things.

From what we’ve talked about today, what is peace?

Conclusion

Sadly, the peace that our Prince brings is not the peace that the world around us seeks.

It is not the peace that Dickens writes about as Scrooge turns from his money grubbing ways.

When Kermit sings of being in the jolly and joyous employment of the saints, “To spread the news about peace and to keep love alive”, that’s not the peace of Christ.

His peace is not the peace from our grown-up Christmas list.

It’s not merely the absence of war in our world or conflict in our personal lives.

True peace is reconciliation with the holy, merciful, just, righteous, and loving God of the universe.

Peace was born and laid in a manger.

Luke 2:10–14 ESV

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

As one of my favorite Christmas hymns expresses, “His law is love and His gospel is peace.”

The Gospel of Christ, the Son of God, taking on flesh so that His law could lovingly be fulfilled, observed, and satisfied is the only place that you will find peace for your soul.

Through Him, we are perfectly reconciled with our Creator.

If Christ has called your heart to Himself, and you have responded in loving obedience, than you have true peace.

He is pleased with you!

If you are hearing this for the first time, or maybe truly hearing of the peace that Christ offers for the first time, don’t sit by.

Come speak with me or Pastor Michael after the service.

Let’s stand and sing together.