Christ's Peace

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. – John 14:37a (NET)

We find this statement from Jesus in the midst of what is considered to be part of His “parting words” to His disciples, before beginning His arduous trek to the cross and the grave. What would Jesus’ disciples have heard Him telling them with these words? To what was Jesus referring to when He spoke here of “peace,” and what did He mean when He said that He would give it to them, but not “as the world does”?

“Peace” would not necessarily have been used here as some type of existential term, denoting a certain way of feeling. The immediate context for its use would have been the way it was understood in that day. The peace of the day was the “pax romana,” or the “Roman peace.” It was a day in which “peace and security” were heralded. That peace and security, however, was brought about through Rome’s military might. It was a peace achieved through violent conflict and bloodshed. This understanding of “peace” would have been lurking in the background.

In that day, there was a great desire held by many Jews, to rid their land of the hated Romans; and many were looking to the miracle-worker and food-provider called Jesus of Nazareth to lead the revolution that would bring peace to their land in the form of the expulsion of their subjugating enemies. Not only would Jesus not bring this supposed form of peace to His people, saying that “I do not give it to you as the world does,” but He was intent on bringing a different type of peace, which would still have the effect of allowing all of His people---the ones that He said that the Father had given to Him---to overcome the subjugation of their greatest enemy, which was the one with which they would do constant battle, bearing the name of “death.”

We can see further evidence that Jesus might very well have been thinking of “peace” in such a context when He appears before Pilate. While standing before the man who represented Rome and its might, and having been questioned as to whether or not He was “the King of the Jews” (John 18:34), Jesus replied by saying, “My kingdom is not from this world” (18:36a). He was not going to establish His kingdom as the world does. He continued on to say, “If My kingdom were from this world, My servants would be fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities” (18:36b). Had they fought, then the “peace” of Jesus’ kingdom would have been achieved in the same way as the Roman peace had been achieved. This peace, as we can see as we look through the history of the Roman empire, was not terribly peaceful outside of the city of Rome itself, as the years at which Rome was not at war our putting down rebellions in order to extend or preserve its peace were few and far between.

Finally, Jesus adds, “But as it is, My kingdom is not from here” (18:36c). With this, He reinforces the point that He has just made, saying, “As you can see, I have no servants fighting for Me. So yes, though I am a King, as you have said, My kingdom is dramatically different from any that has come before, is going to be established and inaugurated in a radically different way than you could possibly imagine, and it will be extended through the foolish means of telling people about the fact that I was crucified and raised up from the grave.”

After His Resurrection, when Jesus appears to His disciples, He says, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (20:21). Could this not have served as a reminder of words that He had spoken to them previously in regards to the peace that He was leaving with them and giving to them? His crucifixion had just taken place at the hands of the Romans, so it would have been quite natural for His disciples to be harboring a substantial measure of hostility towards them. Jesus came and reminded them that His kingdom was to be established according to His means. He came and reminded them that they were to extend the knowledge of God, and of God in Christ, to the peoples of all nations, including those very Roman soldiers that had nailed Him to His cross. Indeed, the disciples would have had the very example that Jesus had provided them, not only in remembrance of His daily course of life in which He routinely engaged with Gentiles, but in that He had asked the Father to forgive those that were involved in the terrible ordeal.

How could they do this? How could they extend His peace? They were fearful of the Jews and angry at the Romans. Clearly, Jesus was special. Sure, it was easy for Him to say that they needed to put aside their fear and their anger, and to go out of that place with Jesus’ mindset of “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” For them, doing this was going to be a bit more difficult. Jesus knew that, so “after He said this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.” (20:22) By that, His disciples were empowered to carry the Gospel message of Jesus as Lord, of peaceful submission to Him and His claim to rule. This would stand in stark contrast to the Caesar of Rome’s demand, at the point of the sword, to bow the knee in exchange for peace.