Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27 NKJV)

Hundreds of years before the Baby whose arrival we celebrate at Christmas time, Isaiah declared about Him:

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV)

There’s much to be said about the deep meaning contained in these prophetic words. But today I want to focus on the name, “Prince of Peace.” It sounds so nice… and in the context of the Nativity, where we imagine a “Silent Night” of tranquility as a newborn baby sleeps in a manger, it’s easy to attach the words “Prince of Peace” to a meek, humble and lowly figure who walked the earth 2,000 years ago.

But that’s where I believe we miss the point. Yes… Jesus was meek and humble and certainly lowered Himself to interact with mankind. But we miss the deeper, more powerful and even violent nature of the Prince of Peace.

“Violent?!”

Yes… violent.

You see, through the economic turmoil of the last few years, if there’s one area that has been shaken in the lives of believers… and shaken hard, it’s in this area of peace. You may have lost a business, lost a job, lost a home, maybe your marriage… or perhaps you’ve danced dangerously close to the brink of one or more of these. No one may know the level of anxiety, distress or perhaps even despair you may have felt. You may even yet be feeling it right now.

I had lunch a year or so ago with a friend and client who had been on a visit to Israel. He wasn’t going to see the “Holy Land,” per se. Rather, as a Jewish physician, he was visiting not as a tourist but as someone who has a deep connection to the inhabitants of Israel. He told me about his visit to a border town called S’derot. This city is situated 1 kilometer from Gaza and has been constantly bombarded by rocket fire for years. He told me something that really shocked me: virtually every child living in S’derot suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I’m no expert on the topic of PTSD, although my father and other veterans have told me plenty about it. One thing I know to be true — it affects every part of your life. Your brain is re-wired and your life is spent trying to protect yourself from whatever might come next. You quite literally live waiting for another bomb to go off.

If you’ve experienced or come close to experiencing a life-altering event in the last few years… or even if your life has merely been disrupted by the fast-paced level of change in our society, then you may know something about living under extreme stress. Perhaps you’re living the way those Israeli children live: shell-shocked and waiting for the next bomb to go off in your life.

I certainly don’t mean to trivialize the experience of people who live in a real war zone, but I believe that many of us who have faced a disruption in our livelihoods or have been on the brink (or over the brink) of disaster find ourselves in desperate need of what Jesus told His disciples He was leaving with them: peace.

It was clear He was leaving them with a tangible gift. It wasn’t just a nice fuzzy feeling as they sang “Silent Night.” Rather… something they could use to overwhelm the difficult circumstances He was telling them were on the way. I urge you to take some time to read John 14-16 and see the entire context. Jesus was telling the disciples that their lives were going to be in jeopardy. Not only was He leaving, but after perpetrating a brutal execution on Jesus Himself, the rulers of the synagogues were going to be coming after them. And it began to take place only a few weeks later (in the book of Acts).

Jesus used the words, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” repeatedly. He made it clear that they were not to permit their real, tangible internal peace to be rocked regardless of what was coming.

What kind of real peace can overwhelm circumstances that would shake anyone to the core? What could rise up inside a person and cause them to be able to keep their heart from being troubled when not just livelihood or lifestyle, but actual life and limb are being threatened?

That, my friend, is what Jesus gave to us.

This time of year, we frequently quote the prophecy concerning the birth of Our Lord which was immortalized in song by George Frideric Handel in The Messiah.  The passage, lifted from the first few verses of Isaiah Chapter 9, reads:

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)

This passage is rich with meaning, and I’m sure that, like me, you’ve heard many explorations of its depth.  But one aspect that I’ve not heard explored nearly so significantly has to do with the unique terminology used only in these two verses regarding His “government.”

Digging one layer deep into the Hebrew, you’ll find that Isaiah used a word we’ve translated “government” that occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament.  I’m no Hebrew scholar, nor do I claim to be.  However, based upon my research, some might argue that translators would’ve hit closer to their mark if they had used the English word “empire” to represent this word.  I’m also enough of a student of the Bible to know that any time you find a word in the original languages that is used only a twice – in this case, the two occurrences are only a sentence apart – there’s something worth searching out.

Additionally of interest is the fact that this Hebrew word comes from another rarely-used word: a verb meaning, “to struggle, prevail, have power over.”  This verb is only used of one person in the entire Bible: Jacob.  It is used only to describe Jacob’s wrestling match with God wherein he struggled and ultimately prevailed.

The Struggle

This is a powerful picture of the nature of the Kingdom which the Lord Jesus Himself came to earth to establish.  It is a Kingdom – an empire – which is governed and ruled by the One True King, but which is only established – whether in the heart of a person or in the sphere of influence wielded by a person – through a process of struggle.  From the time of the arrival of the Babe in the womb of Mary until now, the Kingdom meets with resistance everywhere it goes.  From the struggle faced by Joseph at the discovery of his espoused wife’s pregnancy, to the ruthless destruction of human lives by Herod in an attempt to eradicate the young Boy… and on throughout history, the Lordship of Christ is realized in the face of resistance.

Perhaps you recognize the struggle in your own life… the one that occurs as you willfully choose to subject yourself to the King.  It can be a painful journey as we continually recognize and honor the authority of the King.

And yet, the outcome of this struggle is that the Kingdom expands.  The territory ruled by the King has been increasing its borders since the time that Jesus announced that it was, in fact, at hand.  He taught us the nature of this Kingdom through the parables.  He charged His disciples – His trainees – with declaring it and securing new territory for it to govern.

To the loyal subjects of the King… those who seek to expand the borders of His Kingdom through your labor and work in the business world, allow me to encourage you afresh and anew with the words of Isaiah’s prophecy:

You face resistance.  There is struggle.  Just as Joshua and the Nation of Israel had to battle giants and powerful enemies as they “possessed” the Promised Land, you and I will engage a variety of enemies in our mission.

“Of The Increase… There Shall Be No End”

This Kingdom is, however, destined to increase.  In fact, it is an ever-expanding entity.  We who labor at the edges of its borders – where the battle can be the hottest – are just the latest in a long succession of those who have been challenged and honored with the call to expand it.  I’m thrilled to know that at no point will the King call “retreat.”  At no time will He have said, “…it’s large enough, you can quit.”  Or, “You’ve failed miserably, get out of there.”  He has commanded that it will increase unendingly.

“The Zeal of the LORD of Hosts Will Perform This.”

And how refreshing it is to know that a powerful force bolsters us – the very zeal and passion of the King who longs to bring His Goodness, His Majestic Greatness and His Peace to bear over His created order.  And there can be no question that it will be accomplished.  May it be accomplished in and through you!

Where ever the battle may find you today, know that you are not alone, but instead are part of a victorious army called and commissioned by the very King of Heaven.  Relish the struggle and the battles – they are part of your training.  You are built for them!

For King and Kingdom!