And He Shall Be Called || Prince of Peace
Growing up with the same best friend for your entire life brings back some really amazing memories. Here are a few:
-- waking up from a nap on the couch to my best friend bringing me matching “Best Friend” necklaces and giving me the “Best” because “I deserved it.” (awww)
-- our moms noticing we were being quiet and found us covering each other in stickers
-- riding in our grandparents’ cars after Safety School in our bike helmets
-- “playing” NHL on the Playstation in college and literally just fighting each other instead of playing hockey
-- spending more time in band messing with the freshman that was more worthy of our first and second chair spots that both of us combined
All of this to say, after 27 years, we’ve spent a lot of time together. And in those 27 years, we’ve spent a lot of birthdays together.
I remember the coolest present she ever got. I mean the girl was (and still really is) into the color orange. While my parents were lining my bedroom with a dolphin border, her parents were decorating her room with anything and everything orange.
One particular birthday, her dad unveiled the coolest present she ever got. There it was...painted bright orange. It was handcrafted in wood by her dad. We all stared in amazement. She got….a giant orange peace sign!
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Look, at the time I didn’t think there was a more perfect gift for anyone. But, as expected, I was wrong. I mean look at what Isaiah has promised so far - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father.
But Isaiah prophesied one last characteristic of Jesus - Prince of Peace.
If you have never watched anything by the Bible Project - you are missing out. They published an advent plan this year and they had a whole video on peace. And I want to share what I learned...with some of my commentary of course.
In simple terms, peace is the absence of war. Think hippies protesting.
But Paul tells us that the war we fight isn’t against flesh and blood, but is a spiritual warfare (see Eph 6:10-18).
So, then, my question is: are we ever truly at peace?
The Bible Project summarizes peace like this:
The meaning of peace is the absence of war, but…
The Biblical meaning of peace means that something better is in its place.
So in the Old Testament, we see the word peace through the word shalom. Shalom means complete or whole. It could mean an object (like a block or a wall or a city) or it could mean a person (something more emotional or spiritual). When used as a verb shalom means to complete something or to bring wholeness.
When Isaiah says, “Prince of Peace,” he’s really saying, “Prince of Shalom.”
Prince of Shalom -
The Prince absent of war
The Prince of wholeness
The Prince of completeness
The Prince whose reign brings endless shalom - endless peace and endless wholeness.
But God doesn’t stop there….
In the New Testament, the word peace is translated from Eirene. The Bible Project states that the birth of Jesus was announced as the arrival of Eirene.
The arrival of Eirene -
The arrival of peace
The arrival of wholeness
The arrival of completeness
John tells us that Jesus left us the gift of Eirene (see John 14:27)
Paul tells us that Jesus himself is Eirene - He embodies peace itself (see Ephesians 2:14).
Paul reminds us that Jesus settled the war and restored Eirene (see Colossians 1:19-20)
From what I can see the answer is yes to the question of are we ever truly at peace. Eirene has arrived. Eirene has restored peace. Eriene has made us whole.
Think about the devastation across Europe after WWII. The war was over. And if the war was over that must mean that there was peace. But think about the beautiful cities left in ruins.
Remember that True Peace isn’t just the absence of war (conflict).
True Peace takes brokenness and restores it into wholeness.
