Messiah! - Peace Was Born!

Introduction

Luke Chapter 2 includes the song of the angels, sung to shepherds in the fields...

Luke 2:8–15 CSB

8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

[pray]

I. Peace on Earth

As I was contemplating the birth of Jesus Christ and the reason that he came to earth, I began to think about the coming new year. The coming of a new year fills people with trepidation in times where we’ve experienced worldwide pandemics, supply chain failures, wars and rumors of war, as well as runaway inflation. People are afraid because they don’t know how 2023 will challenge them.

However, we still have a living hope when Christmas time rolls around...

Luke 2:14 CSB

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

At least most of us do. Some of us struggle more at this time of year than any other because of lost loved ones, irrevocable changes, and general upheaval in our comfortable way of living.

As I contemplated this verse I couldn’t help but think how we fail to live up to the sentiment of this passage...

…peace on earth...

...the incongruity struck me.

We don’t live in a world that seems to have learned anything at all about peace.

NASB: And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.

CSB: …and peace on earth to people he favors!

KJV: on earth peace, good-will toward man - how many of us grew up hearing it.

We have the same problem with tranlations in the Spanish language.

There is some difficulty here in the way this verse is translated… That’s because the words of this heavenly song are somewhat difficult to translate into modern day English. I’ll get to that, but my mind started contemplating the idea of peace on earth.

We don’t seem to have found this peace that the angels sang about on that night so long ago. For all the talk about peace and love at Christmas, our world suffers from a lack of peace that Christmas just cannot seem to heal.

When we think of Luke 2:14 our collective culture points our mind to think of worldwide peace. This is why we see presidents seeking to bring peace in the Middle East. But we also see in the Bible that there will be no worldwide peace until Jesus’ return. Peace is not what the baby lying in the manger brought into the world on that silent night so long ago.

Faith in God brings us peace during difficult times. I am reminded of the most tragic events in my own life and in the lives of others who are close to me. Those who have faith in God turn to Him in the time of their deepest distress.

We all go through tragedies in life. This is part of living in a fallen world. We lose loved ones. We experience death. We (some of us) have experienced the loss of love or gone through the divorce of parents or spouses.

I have an aunt who within the space of a year lost her husband to cancer, lost a son-in-law to cancer, lost his daughter to heart attack leaving her spouse and 2 young children behind. Finally my aunt and her daughter survived the total loss of her home to fire. But my aunt and her family have great faith in God and turned to Him for comfort and peace.

When we look to the Greek manuscripts for Luke 2:14, the original phrase is a bit cryptic and cannot be translated literally into English or Spanish...

Greek: “And on earth peace among men pleased”

Many Bible scholars take the word “peace” as a reference to the Prince of Peace, the baby born, the Christ, the long awaited Messiah of Israel...

New Testament theologian, John Noland, speaks of this moment as a beginning place for peace. Noland translates this phrase “on earth there is peace among the people whom God has favored.” [Nolland, John (1989). Luke 1:1–9:20 (Vol. 35A, p. 97). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.]

That phrase in the NASB is translated as “among men with whom He is pleased” ... I take issue with that translation. While it is certainly one possible meaning, I don’t think by any stretch can we determine that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live on earth as a human and die on a cross because He was pleased with us or even because He was pleased with Israel.

On the contrary, He sent Jesus because we were in dire straits and we needed a redeemer more than ever. God sent the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) as an act of goodwill toward man. He sent His son to save us because we could not save ourselves and were completely beyond hope.

That baby born on earth so long ago was not born to overturn governments during his lifetime. However, he was a seed of peace planted on the earth and in the hearts of men. For in that baby, we place our hope of heaven and our hope for a new earth.

In Jesus peace was born. But not necessarily peace as in a cessation of war and conflict… at least not yet.

The peace that Jesus brings is a beginning to peace with God. It’s a “starting point.”

We know from scripture that God desires an intimate relationship with His creation. But that intimacy has been rejected and scorned by man ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin.

God sent Jesus to earth in order to provide a way to set that relationship right with mankind. By sending Jesus, God is offering the olive branch of peace to mankind and it is up to mankind to accept it or reject the offer of peace.

Christ is the only thing that can reconcile our sin before God.

However, even those of us who call ourselves Christian can find that we sometimes lack peace in our lives.

II. Keys to Personal Peace

When I think of personal peace, I go immediately to Philippians 4:4-9. Philippians is a letter, written by Paul to the early church at Philippi. This church was suffering in the midst of great persecution and suffering. Earlier in the letter, Paul warns the Christians of Philippi to remain firm in their faith. The image he invokes is that they are like a herd of wild horses, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.

Paul gives his final counsel in this letter in chapter 4...

Philippians 4:4–9 CSB

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

I look at this section as Paul’s personal advice to the Christians in Philippi for how to maintain their peace in the Lord while they continue in their struggle. And I think that modern day Christians can learn from it and apply it to their own lives, as they struggle with living in this difficult world.

1. Rejoice in the Lord - v 4

Philippians 4:4 CSB

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Paul’s letter to the Philippians beats a rhythm of rejoicing. He talks of it again and again throughout the letter.

What is Joy?

There’s that word “Joy” again! We talked about this back at the beginning of our series on the Fruit of the Spirit.

rejoice - xαίρετε - chairete

Rejoicing here carries with it a feeling of joy, cheerfulness, and happiness. Rejoicing is something that you may feel internally but is also apparent to others.

By rejoicing “in the Lord” one can say that we choose to have joy because of the Lord and because we are in the Lord (and the Lord dwells in us).

Paul repeats his command to rejoice (16 times) as a way to reinforce and emphasize its importance.

Paul had many reasons to give up rejoicing. He was most likely under house arrest during the time that this epistle was written. He certainly was restricted in his travel and unable to join the church at Philippi in person.

Yet, Paul had come to the conclusion that there is no life situation that is out of God’s reach. He believed that God was in control and directly involved in the life of the saints.

That’s where most of us fail in keeping our joy in the Lord. We just can’t be really sure inside that God’s got our back. So we let joy slip out of our grasp.

Joy is a characteristic of the Christian life (Fruit of the Spirit-Gal 5:22): Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self-Control

TRUTH If you don’t have joy in your life then something is wrong that needs to be addressed.

2. Be Gentle - v 5

Philippians 4:5 CSB

5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

This word translated “graciousness” here (or “gentleness” in other translations) is ἐπιεικὲς - epi-ay-kays - there’s no good English translation for this word, but we can get the sense of it.

Our best sense of the word is: gentle, moderate, lenient, reasonable, tolerant, considerate, yielding, patient, fair, kind, suitable, accommodating, generous. [whew]

If you used all of these together to describe one person, you'd have an understanding of what it means to “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.”

We seem to constantly be picking fights and waging war these days. Particularly on social media, but also in daily conversations and situations, it seems that we always have a need to:

correct others by letting them know where they are wrong and we are right (grammar nazis anyone?)

argue incessantly over political and social views

Abraham Lincoln said “When arguing with a fool, make sure the opponent isn’t doing the exact same thing.”

The word ἐπιεικὲς (epee-ay-kays) carries with it an element of selflessness. A gentle person does not insist upon his own rights. The heart of the Christian acts contrary to common practice.

I believe that when we lack gentleness and meekness, we have a tendency to be more harsh with others and more harsh with ourselves. This harshness with others leads us toward an attitude of arrogance and disrupts many of the Fruit of the Spirit within us.

When we are harsh towards ourselves, we tend toward anxiety and depression. But also we can have these reactions when others are hard on us as well.

3. Don’t Be Anxious, But Pray about Everything - v 6

Philippians 4:6 CSB

6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Don’t Worry - v 6a

This key is not something that we should include in our lives, but something we should avoid.

Anxiety is not the same as, but is closely associated with depression.

Nervousness

Irritability

Difficulty sleeping

Eating problems (too much, too little, stomach trouble)

Difficulty concentrating

Negative thought patterns

We live in a fast paced, mobile world that we voraciously consume at a rapidly increasing rate. We often take on more and more stress without taking the time to properly deal with that stress and decompress our ever straining spirits.

Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28–30 CSB

28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Battle Anxiety with Prayer - v 6b

Philippians 4:6 CSB

6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Paul tells us exactly what we need to curb anxiety in our lives: God's divine peace (you know, the one that passes all understanding).

This is not something we can white knuckle to achieve on our own strength of will.

This is not a situation that depends on some change of circumstances to achieve. (Even though that is exactly what we beg God for.)

God’s peace is something that only He can give us.

And we can have that peace simply by connecting with God and relating with Him and handing our requests over to Him one by one. We do that with prayer.

Prayer is the best antidote for worry that there ever was.

Prayer centers our thoughts on God rather than on the subject of our anxiety.

Prayer connects us with God’s thoughts.

Prayer can actually correct your stinking thinking and remind you to think about things like God does.

Prayer can restore peace in a time of worry.

4. Let Peace Guard Your Heart - v 7

Philippians 4:7 CSB

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

In the Old Testament it is called:

OT: שָׁלוֹם - shalom - completeness, soundness, well-being

Translated as εἰρήνη - eirēnē in the Septuagint LXX (the Greek version of the Old Testament).

This peace of God is the very same peace that the baby in the manger brought us on that silent night.

In the New Testament we are introduced to a new messianic peace, which primarily refers to a reconciled relationship with God through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Let me just first say that if you are not saved by the gracious work that Jesus Christ completed on the cross, then you can never experience the Peace of God. You can have peace… you can experience a peaceful day hiking in the woods or fishing along the shore. But you cannot have the deep peace of God that only comes through Christ and is bestowed by a saving relationship with Christ.

The Peace of God - v 7

... comes only from God through Christ

… surpasses all understanding

… will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Surpasses All Understanding - 7a

This phrase (“and the peace of God is greater than the entire mind”) simply put, we human’s can never fully grasp the peace of God. But we certainly feel the effects of the lack of God’s peace in our lives.

The Peace of God Guards Your Heart - v 7b

Philippians 4:7 CSB

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

God puts a fortress of peace around our hearts to guard it like a treasure. But the enemy is assaulting this wall all day every day in order to steal our peace.

We constantly have to stand guard against the enemy’s attacks.

The Peace of God Guards Your Mind - v 7c

Philippians 4:7 CSB

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

The Bible actually promises us that it has the ability to guard not only our heart (our emotions), but also our thoughts.

We see a perfect example of God’s peace guarding Jesus’ mind in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13) when he answered the enemy’s temptations with a response from Scripture.

We can play an active part in guarding both our heart and minds by studying and understanding God’s Word and by staying “in Christ Jesus.”

Paul said it a different way in 2 Corinthians 10:5:

2 Corinthians 10:5 CSB

5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Here’s a little formula I use to restore peace when it gets disrupted:

Catch your negative thought patterns - recognize them - realize that you are being negative.

Redirect your thoughts - replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. (more on that next)

Pray for the Peace of God - prayer has the power to center your mind on the things of God. It redirects your patterns of thinking.

This formula will literally rewire the neurons in your brains and help you to form more positive, more productive ways of thinking about life.

5. Dwell On These Things - v 8

Philippians 4:8 CSB

8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.

The idea here is to exercise discipline by focusing your mind on good things rather than allowing it to run to the negative thought patterns that we all have by default.

These are the things that you fill your mind with after you’ve taken your thoughts captive:

Keep your thoughts on...

what is true

what is honorable

what is right

what is pure

what is lovely

what is good

anything excellent

what is praise worth

When you lose sight of these good things, your mind will return to the anxiety and worry that dominates your thoughts.

You can think of your mind like a cup in this instance. If you take out the worrisome things, you have to fill the cup with good stuff to keep the worrisome things from flooding back in like water.

6. Practice Makes Peaceful - v 9

Philippians 4:9 CSB

9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

And finally we are to practice these things that Paul teaches us in order to maintain the peace of God.

We can’t expect to get this right the first time. Just like dieting and keeping your family on a budget, this will take some trial and error to get it right.

This is because we are creatures of habit. Once we develop a poor habit of doubting and being anxious, it is a difficult pattern to break.

It will take some discipline and some failure. But every time we fall, we must do what?

We’ll only succeed in this if we can get back up.

III. My Peace I Give to You

Finally we have a promise from Jesus Christ.

John 14:27 CSB

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

Conclusion

Rejoice in the Lord

Be Gentle

Don’t Be Anxious, But Pray about Everything

Let Peace Guard Your Heart

Dwell On These Things

Practice Makes Peaceful

The birth of Jesus Christ did not bring peace as the world thinks of it in a cessation of international conflict and strife, but brought to us peace with God.

The times may be troubled, and I can promise you that they will stay that way. However, we do experience God’s favor through our salvation in Jesus Christ and the peace that it brings to us as we continuously seek to live