Matthew 11:28-30 ESV, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. – Isaiah 9:6-7
But will this do as an explanation? There is overt and intentional grandeur in Isaiah’s use of the title for the messiah. This messiah, the Pope would no doubt agree, is none other than Jesus Christ. Christians boldly proclaim that Jesus is the incarnate son. He reconciles the world to Himself, and in this way he brings peace. He alone is worthy of the exalted titles ascribed to him in Isaiah 9:6. These titles should be reserved for the Lord of hosts who accomplishes these things, though he accomplishes them in part through the sons and daughters he has redeemed.
John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
This is when life begins to be what God intended it to be. So this is where God brings us. We've been climbing with Paul, step by step, up a great mountain. And now we have come to the very summit: "For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." We can go no higher. Life with the Father is the most delightful of all experiences, for all that we need is provided by a Father's heart, and a Father's love. This is the way God deals with us and our hostility. What separates us from each other is our insistence that they are wrong and we are right, that there is never any reason for an admission of guilt on our part. But as soon as we admit that we are wrong in the very areas where we think we are right, and that there is no way of justifying ourselves before God in any area of our lives, other than being forgiven, then the hostility ends, and God brings us into that glorious relationship of freedom and enjoyment of life with the Father.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
A few months ago I was in another city, and a young man came up to me and said, "I want to tell you about my marriage. I haven't been married very long. After we were married I discovered that my wife was not a virgin before we were married, though I was. I had a tremendous struggle with this. I forgave her; I understood the situation, understood that she needed to be forgiven. But emotionally I continued to wrestle. Then I began to see that my behavior had been no better than hers, before God. Though she violated the external precepts of sexual morality, I had violated them also, internally, in my thoughts and attitudes. And, before God, there was no difference. I began to see that I was just as much in need of forgiveness for my failures as she was. When I saw that, then there was healing."
And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Once again, we are dealing here with a very profound psychological insight. The strength of any hostility is demand. This is what the apostle is saying. What creates hostility? Why, a self-righteous demand upon someone, a demand without any admission of guilt on the part of the one demanding, a one-sided justice, a holier-than-thou insistence. This is what creates hostility. The Jews despised the Gentiles because they considered themselves better than Gentiles. "We have the Law of Moses," they said. "The Law is right and true; it reflects the character of God. You Gentiles don't have the Law." And in their blindness and self-righteous hypocrisy, they thought they were keeping this Law because they didn't do some of the outward, external acts the Law prohibited. And so they hated and despised the Gentiles because they thought they were superior. The Gentiles, on the other hand, hated the Jews, because they knew they lived in self-righteous hypocrisy. So there was intense hostility between them. Jesus' solution is to take away the Law. Remove that from the picture -- help them to see that the Law judges both alike -- and you'll end the hostility. Put them on the same level -- so they both need grace, both need forgiveness -- and you remove hostility.
Hebrews 7:1-3 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
Apostle Tim Oluwajoba
Bibliography
"3 Reasons Why Jesus is Called the Prince of Peace" . n.p., 1 Jan. 1970.Web. 7 Feb. 2020.
"5 Reasons Jesus Is Still the Prince of Peace " Topical Studies. n.p., 1 Jan. 1970.Web. 7 Feb. 2020.
"Prince of Peace—Jesus, or Pope Francis? " The Good Book Blog .... n.p., 1 Jan. 1970.Web. 7 Feb. 2020.
"The Prince of Peace | Eph 2:13" 18 | RayStedman.org. n.p., 1 Jan. 1970.Web. 7 Feb. 2020.
"What Does the Bible Say About Prince Of Peace?" . n.p., 1 Jan. 1970.Web. 7 Feb. 2020.
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