Prince of Peace

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  […..] Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Of all the single verse names of Christ, Prince of Peace is probably the best known. It’s seen frequently on Christmas cards, heard in Handel’s Messiah and always found in lists of the titles of the Lord Jesus. Most Americans have heard the title but not everyone understands what it means.

All around us are wars, rumors of wars, terrorism, and even Christians tortured and killed for their faith. If you look at history it gets worse. World history is nothing but a series of wars, oppression, revolution, and civil unrest; church history focuses on the persecution of the church and divisions between those who call themselves Christians. An honest man would have to ask himself, “So where’s the peace?”

On the global scale, the peace hasn’t come yet. Our planet is the battleground between the forces of holiness and the forces of evil; between God’s people and Satan’s. They don’t peacefully co-exist. Jesus tried to explain this: “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three” (Luke 12:51,52).

However, on a personal level, things are totally different. Christ told His followers: “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). The world’s definition of peace is the absence of conflict. How the Prince of Peace defines it is calmness and the absence of fear in the midst of conflict.

When people get tired and desperate from the consequences of sin and fighting against God, life seems hopeless even when things seem to be going well. They want the peace that passes understanding which only comes from the Prince of Peace.