“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
The Greek world (not unlike our own) spoke about peace as nothing more than the absence of conflict.[1] But taking history into consideration, this means that world peace is, at best, fleeting or, at worst, a myth. It is fleeting in the sense that it never lasts forever. And it is a myth in the sense that when we say we're "at peace," all we're actually saying is that the major world powers aren’t at war. Even if there’s no large-scale conflict, is there not some conflict somewhere at the ground level? We haven’t stopped killing each other since Cain killed Abel.
So, when the Lord takes his peace and compares it with the kind offered by the world, he is distinguishing it in two key ways:
First, Jesus is saying that his peace is permanent. Far from being fleeting, it is eternal. It is not like the enforced but tenuous peace brought about by some military occupation (e.g., Pax Romana).[2] That sort of peace wanes as the power that established it begins to diminish. On the other hand, Christ's kingdom is a dominion without end (cf. Dan. 7:14). The peace agreement Jesus brokered for humanity transcends the mortal plain and reaches the very throne room of heaven, where it is secure forever. Though nations may rise against one another, Christians will never again be at war with God (cf. Eph. 2:11-22).
Second, Jesus is saying that his peace is legitimate. Far from being a myth, it is the crowning characteristic of the messianic age (cf. Isa. 9:6-7; 52:7; 54:13; 57:19; Ezek. 37:26; Hag. 2:9).[3] This is not the false peace of the false prophets (cf. Jer. 6:13-15). It is the hard-won triumph of Jesus Christ. God and man are genuinely reconciled through the shed blood of God's only Son (cf. Col. 1:20). No enemy can overwhelm those who are said to "overcome” the world (cf. 1 Jn. 5:5). The Christian is genuinely triumphant through Christ whereas this world is “passing away” right before our eyes (1 Jn. 2:17).
But make no mistake, the kind of peace Jesus offers is not the absence of conflict but a "resolve in the midst of discomfiting circumstances…the composure to be faithful in the face of adversity."[4] In fact, later, the Lord will say, “In the world, you will have tribulation…” (16:44).[5] So, it is not a matter of "if" his followers will have trouble but "when." Thus, Jesus' peace means experiencing tranquility even though one may be surrounded by danger. For Christians, even the worst trial is "temporal" (2 Cor. 4:17-18). That, no matter what comes our way, we can say, "This too shall pass."
What’s more, this peace was supposed to immediately affect the disciples' hearts. Right after talking about peace, Jesus said, " Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (cf. 14:1). The verbs Jesus uses are in the present tense, so it is a choice we have to make every day.
If we allow it, fear will run away with our peace. We must choose to trust in the Lord. In doing so, we will no longer be held captive by our fears. This is why the old prophet can say, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (Isa. 26:3). And this is why Paul says to the persecuted church in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice….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." (Phil 4:4-7; cf. Col. 3:15). Peace in hardship is the peace of Christ. But it is a peace we must choose to take hold of.
Fear is the only option for the world. But for the Christian, Jesus offers us peace. We do not have to fear what is happening around us. We can face an unknown future boldly because we know that, no matter what happens, we are followers of the Prince of Peace. What do we have to fear when Jesus goes with us wherever we go?
Endnotes
[1] Morris (1995), p. 584; Köstenberger (2008), p. 443.
[2] Kruse (2017), p. 359; Köstenberger (2008), p. 443, “The famous Ara Pacis (“altar of peace”), erected by Augustus to celebrate his inauguration of the age of peace, still stands in Rome as a testimony to the world’s empty messianic pretensions.”
[3] Carson (1991), p. 505.
[4] Köstenberger (2008), p. 444.
[5] Klink (2016), p. 641, explains that the peace of Christ “is an unbroken union with the Father, even in a world filled with continuous strife, persecution, humiliation, and even death.”
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