Prince of Peace
Jesus, our Prince of Peace, brings good news of great joy for all people, not just the ones we like.
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
The prophet Isaiah tells us that Jesus is our Prince of Peace.
Now, the Bible uses two words for peace:
שָׁלוֹם (Shalom) in Hebrew carries the idea of welfare, prosperity, wholeness, and the absence of hostility.
εἰρήνη (Eirēnē) in Greek has the underlying theme of pulling things together that have been separated.
So let’s think about this.
Isaiah promised that one day a messiah would come and He would be the Prince of Peace; He would be the Prince of Shalom, the Prince of Eirēnē. He would bring welfare and prosperity, wholeness, and the absence of hostility; He would pull things together that have been separated.
This helps us grasp what the angel meant when he declared, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…” (Luke 2:10) and then again when the heavenly host sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!” (Luke 2:14)
Jesus, our Prince of Peace, brings good news of great joy for all people.
Not just some people.
Not just people we like or people who are like us.
Jesus brings good news of great joy for all people. And He does this partly by bringing peace on Earth through those He favors, or you could say “those He throws His grace on.”
Our culture is as discouraged and angry and divided as I’ve ever seen it. Friends have become enemies. Generations can’t see eye to eye. We live in the same community, but it’s almost like we speak different languages and live in different snow-globes.
At the core of much of our division is what used to be called (back in the day) a “holier than thou” attitude, the self-righteous presumption that we alone have it all figured out, and if only everyone thought like us, all would be right in the world.
Jesus' solution is to level the playing field. His life and words declare that everyone needs forgiveness. None of us is better than anyone else. We are all just searching for answers.
And yes, Christians believe Jesus IS the ultimate answer.
But we can’t be self-righteous because we are not the object of that belief. We are not the one who saves, but we are the conduit of something our world desperately needs.
Peace.
This is how we declare the good news of great joy that is for all people.
Each one of us brings our messed-up selves to Jesus, and He gives us peace. And as He changes us from the inside out, He transforms our relationships with other people. And in doing so, He brings peace on Earth.
Jesus is the Prince of THAT.
Merry Christmas!