The Way of Peace

For those sins we have committed against you – some with a high hand, some unintentional, some simply from living among sinful men – and yet all is unclean before you. We confess that. Forgive us, we pray, as we face our sins squarely and mourn. We place our only hope in the perfect sacrifice of Christ, and cling to his promises – cleanse us. Wash us free. Remind us of our baptism, that our sins are washed away, separated from us as far as the east is from the west.

Assurance

Romans 5:1–2 NKJV

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Scripture

Isaiah 11:1–10 NKJV

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Prayer

Gracious father

We thank you that you remember that we are dust, that we also fade and die like the flowers of the field. But even though this life is fleeting and fades away, your are our rock; your word is forever settled in the heavens, and we are safe in you and in your love for us.

Teach us then to number our days, and hallow and magnify your name. Teach us to exalt you. To declare your marvelous works to the universe. Teach us that even though we are weak, you are strong. Even though we are fading, you are eternal. Even though we age and falter and stumble, you are a rock and your promises never fade away.

Father we long for your kingdom. We long to be faithful citizens of that kingdom, so govern us by your word and spirit that we might submit ourselves to you more and more. Bless the proclamation of your word today. Destroy the works of the devil, and everyone who seeks to overthrow your word. Destroy the false shepherds leading your people astray, and raise up in their place faithful men to proclaim your word, so that we might not be confounded. That we might be firmly established in faith and patience as we wait for the fullness of thy kingdom.

We thank you for your provision for us, and pray that you will continue to provide what is necessary for our bodies, that we might render those bodies as living sacrifices to you. Give health, we pray. For all of those suffering from the ailments of living in a cursed world, we do not even know how to pray, so we leave it in your hands. Grant patience, faith, and trust – that even when our bodies fade, we might look to you and not falter in this cursed world.

Give health to Jessica and to Roger, Bud and Hugo, and Steve. Be merciful to Ronda and give her doctors success in treating her.

Father, we pray that you would give us a fragrance of life and draw your people in, wherever they might be. May we be a light in the darkness and hope in despair. Send your light and send peace.

Keep our feet free from wandering and our tongues from sinning against you.

How often we travel this world with the dust on our feet, the infirmities that still cling to us, the warfare of the flesh – and so we cling to your promises. Not by works which we have done, for they are all defiled by sin – but by your grace we are saved.

Thank you for the blood of Christ that washes away all of our sins. Thank you for your love and your care and your faithfulness to each of us over this past year. There have been many snares. Many difficulties. Many hard issues. There have been anxious worries, restless nights, loneliness and fears – but you have walked with us through them all. And you have never left us.

Teach us then to be kind and generous, forgiving and loving. Open our hearts wide that we might be good children of our heavenly father, patient, kind, forgiving, forbearing – that the world may see that we serve a holy and just and merciful Father.

And Father, the world, the flesh and the devil assail us without ceasing. Lift us on our feet; clothe us with your armor – your word and your spirit, faith and hope – that we might make firm stand against our enemies.

Gather the wandering and the outcast; forgive those who have gone astray; give strength to the weak, patience to the sick; health to the bones; courage to the fearful; deliverance to the captive; freedom for the oppressed, and peace to the unquiet heart

And together

Psalm 19:14 NKJV

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Text

Luke 19:28–44 NKJV

28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” 41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Sermon

In April of this year, I preached on the triumphant entry from the gospel of Matthew.

The first thing to remind ourselves of is that Jesus entered riding on a colt. This was a profound statement of Jesus as the rightful king of Jerusalem, worthy of honor. No one rode into Jerusalem. Everyone, from Alexander the Great to the peasants, walked.

Also, riding into Jerusalem on a colt was a reminder to the last king to do so - Solomon.

David put his son Solomon on a colt to put his stamp of authenticity on his choice of heir. All Jerusalem understood that.

Mark tells us that Jesus entered while all Jerusalem welcomed him as the king. But then he went into the temple, looked around, saw that it was getting late, and went back to Bethany to stay at his friends’ home.

The cleansing of the temple took place the next day.

The reason I am pointing this out is here:

Jesus is indeed the rightful heir to the throne of David. He is the king of kings and Lord of Lords.

He was received as king, he did not correct any of them. He accepted their praise and worship as a king, and he chose to make a huge statement when he rode into Jerusalem.

But he is a king unlike any other. Even the Romans, who would have been very aware of the commotion at the East Gate, watched him and understood that he was not a threat. At least not a threat in the traditional sense of the word.

But he was the prince of peace.

Isaiah spoke of the king in these words.

Isaiah 9:6–7 NKJV

6 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. 7 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.

The prince of peace.

And at his birth, the angels sang, Peace on earth.

Here in his entry as the king of kings, the crowds sing “Peace in heaven”

Peace

The concept of peace in the bible is far greater than simply the cessation of hostility. It, of course, includes that - but so much more.

It means wholeness, soundness, harmony, contentment.

It means to fit in, to be accepted. To be loved and to love.

To know and to be known. To live in harmony, each part fitting together, glorious diversity blending together into beautiful unity.

It is when the barn is full and the children are in bed and the wine is opened and you are sitting on the porch with your spouse and the snow starts to fall on Christmas Eve...

It is when your enemies have lost their power and can no longer touch you, when the cold and frost are safely outside and the fire is crackling and you have plenty of wood for the winter.

It is when your work pays off and your efforts prosper, your crops grow and multiply 100 fold, and the aphids are under control.

It is what we all long for. It is how we were created. It is the garden without the thorns and thistles, love without the shame, companionship without the blameshifting, walking with God without being afraid of his voice, no fear of death, or the futility of life, or the uselessness of riches, or the vanity of youth and beauty.

Peace is when we walk with God without fear. Peace is when we have communion with one another without fear and without condemnation.

Peace is when our bodies are fit and healthy and contented and calm, our stomachs aren’t in knots, our sweat isn’t pouring down, our hearts aren’t racing. We aren’t afraid of threats, our traumas are healed, our tears are wiped away...

It is what we all long for. And on this earth, we can find glimpses. We can do things that bring about a shadow of this peace.

We can eat healthy and exercise. We can breathe and learn to quiet our thoughts. We can go to therapy to learn how to deal with trauma.

We can reconcile with our neighbor, we can learn to watch red flags, we can buy security systems and work hard to have to give to others.

We can fight for justice, and give a voice to the voiceless and strive after equity and truth.

All these things can bring about a shadow of the peace that we long for.

But then the bodies start to hurt. The old traumas resurface. Friends betray. Slander shatters reputations, and kings once welcomed as liberators become tyrants, die, and give birth to fools.

Because when you strip away all of the complexities of wholeness, peace, health, salvation -

when you strip away all of longings of the heart, peel back the layers and look at what we lost and what we long for...

There is only one problem with mankind.

From where do you know your misery?

Out of the law of God.

What does God require of us?

Love.

What do we do instead?

We are prone by nature to hate God and our neighbor.

Unless God intervenes and shows us the way of peace, it is far from us. Every garden still has aphids and thorns. Every body is born already dying. The default of all of creation is war.

War between nations, war between spouses, war between people, between the sexes, with creation, with our bodies

War.

All of it because when Adam ate the fruit, he declared war on God, and we all followed suit. We made a covenant with death, the way of peace we have not known, equity and justice are far off from us. We have all come short of the glory of God.

And all of mankind for the whole of history has struggled to bring peace, to overcome the curse, and still there is death, war, injustice, poverty, hatred

The way of peace we do not know.

The way of peace

The angels sang “Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men” - and many, this time of year, are wondering what happened to peace on earth.

The nation of Israel in Jesus day had the same questions.

If Jesus is the promised anointed one, the king and prophet promised by the law and the prophets, then where was the peace that was promised?

The nation welcomed him as the king, but could not conceive of a king without their concept of kingdom.

A kingdom, where everyone sat under their vine and their fig tree. Like David had it...

Except for all the people sick, dying, plagued, fighting, abused and outcast during David’s reign.

The problem with looking for a king just like David is that David becomes a larger-than-life, almost mythological character. They expected Jesus to be just like David, destroying the enemies and bringing peace all around…but that David didn’t exist except in their own minds.

David’s kingdom was wonderful - unless you were the woman next door, or the daughter of the king, or part of the harem…or part of the forced labor that made the bricks...

So when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds welcomed him, thinking that he would be on their side, run the others out, bring about peace and prosperity to the right sort of people.

Just like every other king. The friends are rewarded, the enemies cast out, and the ones with nothing to offer are left on the street to fend for themselves.

But Jesus is the prince of peace. He did, indeed, declare peace on earth; goodwill toward men.

But the problem is the cancer of sin, the cancer of our declaration of war against God. The covenant we made with death.

Until that covenant is annulled, there can be no peace of any kind. There can only be shadows, temporary glimpses - but never lasting peace.

Jesus didn’t come to put a bandaid on the symptoms. He came to destroy the covenant of death, and bring peace with God.

This is a king like no other, doing battle like no other. His chariot is humility, his sword is his body and blood, which he will offer as a sacrifice for sin.

And through his obedience and his sacrifice, he will purchase for himself a people, an inheritance, a nation of kingly priests.

And he will govern by his word and spirit, fill us with his spirit, and cause us to walk in his statutes and judgments and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And the kingdoms of this earth will become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.

And his kingdom will be established NOT by armies, horses and chariots, but by his word and by his spirit.

Zechariah 4:6 NKJV

6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.

This is the kingdom he entered into Jerusalem to claim.

And so he not only entered as the lion of the tribe of Judah, but also as the lamb of God, coming to take away the sins of the world.

For this day was also the day when the nation of Israel was bringing their lambs into Jerusalem to be examined by the priests to ensure that they were without spot and without blemish.

And while all the other lambs were entering, the Lamb of God was entering Jerusalem as the king, the heir to the throne of David.

And when he offered himself to the judgment of God, and when he cried “it is finished”, the accuser of the brethren was cast out of heaven.

Romans 5:1 NKJV

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

And the day will come when this peace will burst forth on this age, when the king comes again in clouds of glory.

Every tear wiped away, every enemy destroyed, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

This is why the kingdom of heaven is described in terms of peace:

Isaiah 11:6–9 NKJV

6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.

But peace is only possible for those who kiss the Son, who make peace with him, who trust him and lay aside their weapons and learn to rest.

Isaiah 28:12 NKJV

12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.

“We will not have this man to rule over us”

And thus, as the scripture has declared, there is no peace for the wicked.

Unless sin is taken away, there can be no peace. Israel would have accepted Jesus on their terms. But there is only one term given.

Kiss the son, lest he be angry and ye perish from the way. Blessed are all they who put their trust in him.

The warning to Jerusalem

And so Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and warns them.

Isaiah said centuries earlier concerning the nation:

Isaiah 59:8 NKJV

8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

They haven’t known the way of peace.

And Jesus said the same thing:

Luke 19:42 NKJV

42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

They had rejected the word of the Lord over and over again, and now that way is hidden from them. The city will be destroyed by Rome.

There is no peace for the wicked.

When the people of God refuse the way of peace, that way is taken from them and their eyes are blinded.

Then the gospel goes to the outsiders - the gentiles, those on the highways and bi-ways.

Here is the way of peace -

It isn’t in reputation, in belonging, in bank accounts, in politicians, in making proper choices, in exercise and eating right,

It isn’t in the things of this world, because no matter how hard we try, moths still eat and rust still rusts.

Cancer still enters and bodies decay. Loss and enmity are the lot of this world, and thorns and thistles.

But when we embrace the Son, who was made flesh for us and for our salvation, we have peace with God.

The cancer is dealt with, and the symptoms fade and the proper time.

But when we look for that peace in anything else, we are bound to be discouraged and anxious, stirred up and restless - and like riches and happiness, it will never be enough to give rest to our souls.

Matthew 11:28 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The prince of peace has come. He has the authority, the power and the strength to give what he promises.

And he promises rest.

Only in him do we find the way to peace.

But the nation acted just like their fathers. Their fathers were told the way of peace - submit to the gentle waters of the gospel, of faith and trust.

But they would not. Instead, they looked for peace by making treaties with the world.

So they reaped the armies of Assyria, the overwhelming river that crushed them.

So also, in just a few years, the Roman army will destroy Jerusalem and tear the temple apart.

Because they looked for a human city made with bricks and mortar, when they should have looked for Abraham’s city, whose builder and maker was God.

This is the rest that we long for, and it only comes from the Prince of Peace.

So was can find rest for our souls, just as he promised.

Related Media

Related Sermons