Peace

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

Wishing “peace” was a common form of ‘good-bye’ in the Ancient Near East, but Jesus use of it is very different from how it was commonly used. In Hebrew the term means prosperity, and its use in parting is the same as the old term ‘farewell’ (fair-well). The difference between Jesus wishing “peace” and everyone else using the term was the Jesus was able to actually bestow it. He tells the disciples that he does not use the word idly, but that his peace would actually be given to them. Unlike the world he meant what he said, and moreover, he had the power to institute it.

As a result he tells his disciples not to let their “hearts be troubled.” They would no longer know him in body, but they would still experience his real presence through the Spirit. They were troubled because their understanding was tied to what they experienced in this world. It is ironic that though they would remain in the world, the world could in no way provide them with “peace”; but Jesus, who would not be in the world, would give it to them.

Such are the limitations of physical relationships. We struggle to believe what we do not see and interact with, but those things we have in this world cannot give us the comfort and peace we crave. We put our faith in what we see when nothing we see is worthy of faith. We no longer see Jesus, but he works in our lives more powerfully than any person or thing we associate with in the body. Therefore we must learn to be satisfied with what he has promised and not base our satisfaction on what we want to see happen in this world. When our hope and comfort are outside of this world they are immune to its dangers. Jesus left us with peace, and that peace he is giving even at this moment, in spite of all the world is trying to tell us.