Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good evening, dear ones.

The daylight has disappeared. It’s dark outside. It seems to cause my old man head to think it’s time to sleep. Maybe that’s because it didn’t get its old man nap today. Lots of other stuff got in the way. I made some popcorn and am munching here to assist my focus.

Please bear in mind that I’m asking you to give me a simple note if you wish to continue receiving these little devotional essays after December 5. On that date I’ll rebuild the recipient list accordingly.

Have a good night. Peace be with you.

Love, Dad/Ray.

“Hi, Ray. How are you?” Of course I seldom tell how things really are even though I may be facing a tough circumstance at the time. “Fine.” We all recognize this typical greeting as a kind of rote traditional formality where the one asking may actually be void of any real interest in knowing how we really are. So is Jesus’ greeting of “Peace be with you!” in that vein—just a traditional formality—even though He scares the peace out of them by popping into their presence unannounced with no regard for the locked door?

Question: Did Jesus ever display emotional stress? Did He ever show Himself to not be at peace in the way we typically understand peace? Time’s up. I’ll offer my answer while you’re still thinking: YES INDEED! To begin with, He certainly wasn’t the soft and calm type when He made a whip and singlehandedly turned the Temple market place up-side-down, shouting (I presume), “’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:13, quoting from Isaiah 56:7). Then consider that event on a Sabbath where the Jewish legalists were watching Jesus closely to see if He would be so disrespectful of their religious bondage so as to heal a man on that holy day—giving them reason to accuse Jesus of being a law breaker. It says, “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” (Mark 3:5). Let’s also recall Jesus’ pre-trial and pre-crucifixion experiences of deep emotion when He pronounced His woes over Jerusalem and their religious bondage—followed by His psycho-spiritual agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). They are not scenes of what we would regard as peaceful. In fact, be reminded that Jesus Himself declared, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division” (Luke 12:51-52).

So why would Jesus say, “Peace be with you!”? And what in the world is meant by the well-known words of Paul when he announces, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7)? Right there is a significant clue—IN CHRIST JESUS. Another clue is this phrase from Paul’s letter to Ephesus: “For he himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Do you get it? Jesus IS the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Therefore, when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He was saying, “I’m here! Side with Me, believe in Me, trust in Me, abide in Me, and I’ve got you covered from here through eternity!” In other words, “If the LORD is my Shepherd, I have everything I need” (Psalm 23:1).

Listen again to what Jesus said earlier in regards to peace: “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” (John 14:27).

I’m drawing this general conclusion: The ideal peace that Jesus offers is Himself—a quality of peace not necessarily void of emotional stress and struggle. I think a bumper sticker I’ve seen got it right: “NO CHRIST—NO PEACE. KNOW CHRIST—KNOW PEACE.”