MISUNDERSTOOD VERSES OF THE BIBLE
In John 14:27 Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Jesus said this in the Upper Room while He was preparing His disciples for the terrible events that were about to unfold. Later that same day Jesus said: “The hour is coming, indeed, it has now come, when you will all be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, my Father is with me. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:32-33).
Our question today is this: What did Jesus mean when He said: “My peace I give you,” and “in me you may have peace”? We do not usually associate peace with periods of anguish, confusion, and loss and yet that is what the disciples were about to face. Did Jesus mean that they would have a nice, warm, fuzzy, peaceful feeling in spite of all their difficulties; or did He mean something else?
I would like to suggest that the peace Jesus was talking about has very little to do with our feelings, and even less to do with our personal circumstances. The peace that Jesus offers has everything to do with certain objective facts, namely His death and resurrection. I do not know of anyone who claims to always feel at peace. I know I don’t. I am often anxious or worried or stressed. Does that mean my faith is weak? It might! But let’s be honest; Christians do feel anxious and upset from time to time. I don’t think that makes us bad Christians, and I don’t believe that is what Jesus was talking about when He said ‘my peace I give you’.
Peace with God
What Jesus had in mind was peace with God. It is possible to be stressed about your exam results, or worried about your finances, or anxious about your children, or to dread going to the dentist, while still enjoying peace with God.
Before we were saved, we were enemies of God, dead in our sin, far from God. We were not at peace with God because we sat under His judgment. You might think back to your pre-Christian days and think that is not the case. Perhaps, like me, you grew up in a Christian home and loved God from a young age. But the Bible is clear, both in the Old and New Testaments we are told that outside of Christ: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12, quoting Psalm 14:1-3).
So, outside of Christ, nobody has peace. We are all lost in sin. The Good News is that Jesus did something about this terrible situation. The things Jesus did, namely His sinless life, His death in our place, and His glorious resurrection, are all objective facts. They are historical events which don’t change according to our circumstances or feelings. Therefore, our right-standing before God, our peace with God, does not change. It is rock solid, even when we are suffering. If your peace is rooted in what Jesus did then nothing can take it away from you, not even death.
During the 10 minutes while I am sitting in the Dentist waiting room I am not at peace – at least, not with the dentist. But Jesus is still risen and I am still in right-standing before God. Even while I am trembling in my chair, I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ..
Please listen to the last verse of Romans 4, and into Romans 5. This sums up what I am trying to convey today:
“Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.“
As followers of Jesus, we may be called upon to suffer. We will face persecution, in addition to all the normal stresses and strain of living in a fallen world. But none of that can change our position in Christ. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you occasionally feel anxious, as a Christian, please don’t despair. I know we are not supposed to worry about earthly things, certainly not the everyday things. But if you get a phone call from the school principal, telling you to come to the school immediately, there’s been an accident, you are entitled to panic. Or if you have had a biopsy and you are waiting for the results. You think it might be cancer. When the phone rings, you jump because you are on edge. That’s normal. Even our Lord sweated drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving
So, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Trust Him to provide for your day-to-day needs. And whatever happens, know that your right-standing with God is secure because Jesus paid the full price for all your sins and rose again in victory.