The Price of Peace

Remember

Jesus is again reminding them that the time was short. His betrayer would soon come and His teaching ministry would end. He would die and leave them, for a time. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit would come as His emissary, in His name.

Emissary — A person sent on a special mission.

As the emissary of Jesus, we see one of the most comforting ministries of the Holy Spirit to believers in Christ: Peace.

But first Jesus tells them of another ministry the Holy Spirit would bring to them...

Remind them — The Holy Spirit would remind the disciples of Jesus’ teaching and help them to grasp the significance of His resurrection.

This is a monumental teaching....it enables us to have complete confidence in the Scriptures because we know the Holy Spirit was guiding the minds of the writers. What they wrote about the ministry and teachings of Jesus they did according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

In a recent survey by George Barna, four in 10 millennial Christians state they believe the Bible is divinely inspired and has no errors.

an additional four in 10 agree it is divinely inspired and has no errors, though “some verses are meant to be symbolic rather than literal” (39%

We believe that the Bible is inerrant. It is without any error. How could this be? This is the view of orthodox Christianity. The only possible way is that the words which Jesus spoke in the passage were recorded by the writers of the Bible perfectly

The Bible was divinely orchestrated and preserved accordingly.

This teaching also gives us confidence in that when we are concerned about what to say in any given situation where we are ministering to others or sharing the Gospel, the Holy Spirit will call to our mind what we are to say. He will remind us of the teaching of Jesus and minister a word of knowledge to us.

Peace

Now to the second ministry of the Holy Spirit mentioned here…Peace

The disciples were still afraid. Nothing was going according to their plans. They still held to the hope that Jesus would be a military and political savior of the nation Israel.

His death was not part of their plan. They never considered there would be a moment of seperation from Him.

But Jesus tells the disciples He is going to leave but that He would leave them with peace.

Did you ever think that when Christ was dying on the cross he made a will? Perhaps you have thought that no one ever remembered you in a will. If you are in the kingdom Christ remembered you in His will. He willed His body to Joseph of Arimathea; He willed His Mother to John, the son of Zebedee; and He willed His spirit back to His Father. But to His disciples He said: "My peace, I leave that with you; that is My legacy. My joy, I give that to you."

Did you ever think that when Christ was dying on the cross he made a will? Perhaps you have thought that no one ever remembered you in a will. If you are in the kingdom Christ remembered you in His will. He willed His body to Joseph of Arimathea; He willed His Mother to John, the son of Zebedee; and He willed His spirit back to His Father. But to His disciples He said: "My peace, I leave that with you; that is My legacy. My joy, I give that to you."

This is not merely the absence of war or trouble. Jesus was soon to promise them trouble in this world Each of these men would face severe persecution, torture and with the exception of John, a martyr’s death. This peace would be something far more significant than absence of war, trouble or conflict.

John 16:33 NASB95

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Worldly peace — Is defined in terms of hope. I hope for the absence of trouble. Jesus does not offer such an insecure kind of peace. The peace of Jesus isn’t dependent upon outward circumstances of our life.

Peace of Jesus — The peace Jesus gives is a right and blessed relationship with God. We are no longer at war with Him, no longer His enemy, no longer damned. Through Jesus we are reconciled to the Father. The knowledge of this reconciliation allows the believer in Christ to be free of a troubled heart and not be afraid.

Whatever our circumstance we know that we are in right standing with God. All is truly right with our world even if the rest of the world be against us. Even if the circumstances of our life be tragic.

We can have a sense of personal well-being because we are right with God, He loves us, He controls eternity and He is preparing a place for us…our world does not end in the tragedy of present circumstance.

Illustration of Martyr here

No matter what happens in this life, if we KNOW that we are right with God…we can have peace.

So we need not be troubled and we need not be afraid!

“This peace secures composure in the midst of trouble and dissolves fear. This peace garrisons our hearts and mind against the invasion of anxiety.”

Philippians 4:7 NASB95

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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He is Departing

In order for these things to happen Jesus would need to carry out the plan of the Father and this involved His departure…but that’s ok.

God’s plan, sometimes looks painful in the short term, makes no sense to our sensibilities and isn’t what we hope fo but in the end brings what is best for all involved…the disciples and Jesus

If you loved me you would be glad — Jesus states again that He is going away and then coming back…If they really loved Jesus they would be happy about this because ...

He was going back to the Father, the glory He left in order to be born upon the earth. The incarnation involved an acceptance of a certain subordination to the Father on the part of Jesus.

Jesus was not a created being. He had always existed in eternity past. However, the incarnate form He took to walk the earth was coming to an end. He was returning to His former glory and this was an exciting prospect…the disciples should be happy for Him.

D A Carson — “To this point the disciples have responded emotionally entirely according to their perception of their own gain or loss. If they had loved Jesus, they would have perceived that his departure to his own ‘home’ was his gain and rejoiced with him at the prospect. As it is, their grief is an index of their self-centredness.”

To this point the disciples have responded emotionally entirely according to their perception of their own gain or loss. If they had loved Jesus, they would have perceived that his departure to his own ‘home’ was his gain and rejoiced with him at the prospect. As it is, their grief is an index of their self-centredness. — D A Carson

To this point the disciples have responded emotionally entirely according to their perception of their own gain or loss. If they had loved Jesus, they would have perceived that his departure to his own ‘home’ was his gain and rejoiced with him at the prospect. As it is, their grief is an index of their self-centredness.

Isn’t this what we must remind ourselves when a loved one dies who knows Christ? We miss them and our grief is the proof of our love for them. But, should we not be happy for them.

They have gone to experience the glory of God in Paradise. They see Jesus face to face, they are free from sin, they dwell in the fullness of what it means to be redeemed, forgiven and loved. Their faith has become sight!

Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 508). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 508). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

The veil has been parted. Their eyes have been opened, they have flown from this life into the arms of everlasting life. They have laid down all of their burdens and taken up the full measure of freedom in Christ. If we love them, we are happy to see them go.

If we love Jesus, we are happy He is not still walking the earth…we are happy that He is back in the full measure of His glory in Heaven with the Father!

If we love them, we are happy to see them go. If we love Jesus, we are happy He is not still walking the earth…we are happy that He is back in the full measure of His glory in Heaven with the Father!

Jesus has again told them these things so that when the trouble comes and He is taken from them, they would understand, be reminded of His words and believe…believe to the point where they would have their fears and anxieties relieved.

The Suffering Comes

Jesus reminds these men of all these things on the precipice of the greatest horror the world has ever known. Satan is coming for the incarnate Son of God in the person of Judas Iscariot. Satan would use men to kill the Son of God.

But Satan has no hold on Jesus. He could only have a hold on Jesus if there was some justifiable charge against Jesus. He cannot come against Jesus and lay hold on Him because of anything Jesus has done.

Jesus would obey the Father’s plan and willing allow Himself to be taken and killed at the hands of Satan. This would seemingly be Satan’s triumph but in reality it would become Jesus’ victory and salvation of the world.

The obedience of Jesus to the plan of the Father is our salvation.…Jesus took our sins upon Himself, became cursed for us, took the punishment due us for our sins.

Jesus loved us but more importantly, He loved the Father and this love of the Father led Him to do exactly what the Father had planned for His life to do.

“Ironically, the very rebellion and sinful self-centredness that damns the world, that makes the world the world, is overthrown by the obedience and self-sacrificing love of the Son.” Carson, D. A. (1991).

Ironically, the very rebellion and sinful self-centredness that damns the world, that makes the world the world, is overthrown by the obedience and self-sacrificing love of the Son

The first Adam rebelled and fell. The second Adam obeyed and saved.

Romans 5:15 HCSB

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift overflowed to the many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.

Carson, D. A. (1991).

Conclusion

There is only one place in which we find salvation and genuine peace…the person and work of Jesus Christ.

There is only one place in which to find the truth of who Jesus is and how we might find salvation in Him…the Bible.

We can trust the Bible because the Holy Spirit of God reminded the writers of the life and work of Jesus…the Spirit made the collection we call the Bible 100% reliable.

Do you long for peace? Will you come to Jesus? Will you share Jesus with those who need His peace?