Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth; for His word is truth. Amen

The Day of Pentecost (2010)

Jesus Give Us His Peace Rev. Toby Byrd

John 14:27 (ESV)

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.

Today, many congregations are celebrating The Day of Pentecost by remembering the preaching of Peter and the other apostles to the people and visitors of Jerusalem. We marvel at the miracle of the Holy Spirit who gave the apostles the ability to speak in foreign languages helping those who could not understand Hebrew, Greek, or Arabic to understand the Gospel in their own language. In the Second Reading for today, we read, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4 ESV). Effectively reversing the confusion that God introduced at Babel (Gen. 11:9), the Holy Spirit empowers the apostles to proclaim the Gospel as it was meant to be proclaimed; to one people with one language. Moreover, through this divine action, the Holy Spirit also prepares the apostles for their work of proclaiming the Gospel to Gentiles.

Blessed by hearing the Gospel preached in their own language, those in the crowd that day were overwhelmed by the message that God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, had opened a divine portal to a peace that knows no understanding. A peace that the world does not have and cannot give, a peace that only the apostles had; a peace that was theirs to share with the world as they shared the words of life eternal in Christ Jesus.

Throughout every age, humanity has been plagued with natural and manmade disasters; wars, famines, droughts, and plagues of every kind all caused by sin. Thus, ever since the sin of Adam and Eve there has been little peace between men. However, the peace our Lord speaks of is not peace between men, but the peace that exists between Him and those who believe in Him as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Our Lord’s peace carries the full weight of God’s promise from eternity while the world’s peace is based on the empty words of men, which convey no lasting treasure. Thus, let us pray that the same Holy Spirit who filled the hearts of the apostles will be among us this morning as we contemplate the Gift of Peace from our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It will help if we once more enter the Upper Room and behold our Savior speaking to the disciples. Darkness has fallen on Jerusalem and yet the shadow of the cross looms over our Lord Jesus. He is aware that His enemies wait in the darkness; gathered, plotting His death. Our Lord has unveiled His impending departure and filled with sadness and anxiety the disciples huddle around Him, saddened by the news and fearful of the approaching calamity. Thus, Jesus speaks to them in hushed tones knowing that in just a few hours fear and confusion will scatter His little band like sheep without a Shepherd. Seeing their fear, our Lord calmly says, “take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV). Our Lord comforts them with the knowledge that He is greater than the world and all who are in Him cannot be overwhelmed by the world.

Nor shall we fear the world as He speaks to us and gives Himself to us in Word and Sacrament; for through these means of grace the Holy Spirit brings us to faith and shrouds us in His divine security and peace removing all our fears and anxieties.

By nature, we are without peace or contentment. In fact, we are generally restless, disturbed, dissatisfied, and consumed by an inner unrest, which is all the result of sin. It is not uncommon that we should feel that things are not right between ourselves and God; this is the consciousness of sin and its just deserts. Our conscience continually accuses us of our undeniable conviction and accountability to God reminding us of the certainty of death and its existence beyond the grave.

Moreover, sin has disturbed our peace: the peace outside us, for the world is turned upside down by sin, and the peace within us, for the wicked has no peace. Moreover, God takes away His peace from the transgressor. Sin and peace never agree nor do they coexist. As long as we remain in our sin, we must be haunted by a bad conscience, and a bad conscience can never bring peace to our hearts.

Scripture clearly tells us that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18). Moreover, the wrath of God falls equally upon all, for “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36 ESV). Furthermore, by nature all men are the children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) and the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Eph. 5:6). However, God, the self-sufficient God, is the Source of all true peace.

As fearful as the wrath of God is, we need not fear this wrath because we all have peace with God through Jesus Christ, His one and only begotten Son. He says in the Gospel text for today, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (v. 27). Again, He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace” (John 16:33 ESV). Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Source of our peace. Moreover, He fills our hearts with peace. This peace is the truth that He has removed the cause of God’s burning wrath and therefore, our unrest, by removing the sting of death through His atoning death on the altar of the cross. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isaiah 53:5 ESV). St. Paul tells us, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19-20 ESV).

In that Upper Room on that sorrowful night, our Lord said to His disciples, “You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you” (v. 28). Our Lord was returning to the Father, and the way the Father was through the cross. This meant our Lord’s suffering, death, resurrection and ascension; this was how our Lord would perfect the redemption of the world. This was how He would bring peace between man and his Creator. Therefore, our Lord is known as the Prince of Peace. He destroyed sin, He removed the barrier which stood between us and God and therefore we have peace through Him. He paid the princely ransom of His holy and precious blood upon that accursed cross. Then, after His suffering and death were complete, He rose from the tomb and He returned to the Upper Room, meeting His disciples, greeting them once again with His words of peace.

Today, our Lord offers us this peace through the Gospel; the truth that He has fulfilled the promise of the Father, to be the propitiator of sin for all mankind. St. Paul calls this Gospel, “the Gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15) and there is no other message more glorious in all the world.

Throughout the history of mankind there have been countless peace treaties, treaties which were not worth the paper they were written on. The Treaty of Versailles and the multiple Peace Accords between the Israel and the Arabs states come quickly to mind as failed initiatives between well intentioned, but flawed men. Man must never fool himself into believing that such human efforts at peace can ever succeed. There is only one, everlasting, unbreakable peace; the peace which God purchased by the blood of Christ for all men without distinction.

God does not want to be at war with any man, but God does want that all men would come to the knowledge of that peace in Christ Jesus. Most men, however, prefer the service of sin, they prefer to be allied with the devil, and they prefer to resist God and the Holy Spirit. Man has been promised peace, but man does not desire peace with God. Christians, alone, are partakers of this peace.

It is Christians whom Jesus addresses in the words of the Gospel today, and it is Christians who receive peace by faith, as St. Paul says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 ESV). Again he says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13 ESV). Christians center all their desires, their intellect, judgment, reason, and hope in Christ. They embrace Christ with all the faculties of their heart and soul. As the eye craves light and the ear craves sound, the heart and soul of the believer craves Christ and Him crucified. We crave peace with God, however, we cannot restore that peace, only God can. Through Christ, He leads us back to Him. In Christ, we are, in fact, in God, and therefore we have peace.

Our Lord told the disciples, Not as the world gives do I give to you” (v. 27). The peace of the world is a fragile peace at best, one that is easily broken, but not so the Lord’s. Although our Lord says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34 ESV). Satan is always trying to break our Lord’s peace with us.

Disturbances and quarrels abound on account of the name of Christ, factions and disruptions are common and Christians are assailed for the Gospel’s sake, but within the heart of the Christian, there is true peace. The Christian knows, Christ has conquered the world, He is mightier than all the foes among men, and the devil cannot harm us in any way and a day will come, as St. Paul reminds us, when, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20 ESV).

How truly blessed is this peace? It is unfathomable! It is the peace of God that passes all understanding and that keeps and guards our hearts and minds. It is an eternal peace which empowers the believer with the assurance of grace that provides godly strength for every duty, courage for ever struggle, a blessing in every cross, and the joy of life eternal in death itself. With the peace that passes all understanding we can willingly say with the aged Simeon, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word” (Luke 2:29 KJV). Then, until the Last Day, our bodies shall rest in peace in our graves while our souls delight in the revelation of that peace in the joys of heaven.

When Jesus Gives Us His Peace, it is forever. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” How truly blessed we are to hear these words of Jesus and know that these words are true and everlasting, granting us an eternal peace accord with Him that will never be broken. Amen.

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.