My Peace I Give You

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to the Gospel of John, chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

The words will also be on the screen, so you can follow along there.

There's also Bibles in the seats in front of you.

That's the black book.

Some of you have been here through the whole journey that we've been making through the Gospel of John.

Others of you have caught pieces of it, and some of you, this is totally new.

So I'm going to just take a minute to remind you of what's happening in the story here in John, chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples.

It's the evening of his betrayal and arrest.

They've just partaken of the Last Supper together, and Judas, the betrayer, has left the building to put his plan into motion.

And so now Jesus has been telling his disciples what's soon to happen, and he's been giving them words of comfort and offering them hope.

They are troubled.

We'll pick up the conversation in John, chapter 14, verse 25.

John 14:25

Jesus says,

All this I have spoken while still with you.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things,

and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

We talked about this a couple weeks ago.

It's as though Jesus is saying, yes, I am going to be leaving you, but there's no need to worry or be anxious.

Everything's taken care of.

You're not going to be left all by yourselves just to figure this out on your own.

God, my Father, will send his Holy Spirit, and he will be to you like I have been to you.

A counselor.

A teacher.

And you won't have to worry about forgetting any of the things that I've said to you,

because when he comes to you, he will remind you of everything that I said.

Jesus goes on in verse 27 and says,

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.

Jesus speaks of giving them peace.

Now, peace can mean many different things depending on the context.

So what kind of peace is Jesus talking about here?

Well, it seems clear enough from the context that he's not talking about the kind of peace between nations,

like a peace treaty,

or the ceasing of hostility or conflict,

like happens in relationships,

the next thing that Jesus says is,

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

And do not be afraid.

And so this context suggests that Jesus is talking about inward peace.

Peace for the heart.

And for the mind.

It's obvious that the disciples are deeply troubled.

And worried.

They're afraid.

As we've talked about before,

Jesus is about to leave them.

And so this is on their minds.

They're also thinking about how they're going to face the hostility of the religious leaders

with Jesus gone.

They're troubled about this.

How is this all going to go?

They have uncertainties.

And it's pretty obvious that they're quite worried about this,

because this is now the second time in the same evening that Jesus has said these very words.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

He said that right at the beginning in verse 1.

What is it that the disciples need here and now?

This very night as they watch and witness Jesus being torn away from them

and abused and slandered.

What they need is peace of heart.

They need a settled confidence that God is in control.

They need a deep assurance deep in here

that everything is going to go as it should

and that it will turn out for good.

Peace of heart.

Peace of mind.

Now where does that come from?

How do we get that in moments like these?

Jesus tells the disciples that the world offers peace.

He doesn't go into details about what kind of peace the world offers,

but I think we kind of know, we have a sense of that from our own experience,

from our own lives.

The world has its comforts and promises

which are aimed at settling our fears

and quieting the troubles of our hearts.

But the problem with the peace that the world offers

is that it doesn't work.

It doesn't really settle our hearts

and quiet our fears.

When the world's peace comes in the form of entertainment

or experience,

it may distract us from the trouble

or the fear or the worry temporarily.

Or when it comes in the form of a pill

or a drink,

it may alter the hormonal balance in our bodies

and affect how we feel temporarily.

But eventually these forms of peace wear off.

And the deep troubles and fears of the soul are still there.

It's like putting a band-aid on an infectious sore.

Or like sticking our head in the sands,

trying to forget the real troubles that are going on all around us

and pretend for a moment that they're not there.

At other times our world offers peace in the form of a promise.

Maybe you've heard somebody say something like this to you.

Don't worry.

Everything's going to be all right.

The problem with this promise is that it has no basis.

It has no foundation.

How do you know if it's going to be all right?

What does it even mean for things to be all right?

Does it mean that nothing bad is going to happen to me?

Does it mean that you won't go through suffering

or pain or hardship?

And if so, how do you know that?

These promises of peace that the world gives

ring hollow and empty.

And we kind of know that when people say things like this to us,

you know, don't worry.

Everything's going to be all right.

We know that many say it just to make us feel better.

If they really believe that nothing bad is going to happen,

we kind of know that they can't really be sure of that.

They're not in control of all the factors of our lives.

Jesus says,

I do not give you peace like the world gives.

I'm not offering you empty and hollow promises

or just mere wishful thinking,

temporary distractions,

medication to alter your feelings.

Jesus says,

my peace,

I give you.

It's a different kind.

What do you mean, Jesus?

How does Jesus give peace to the men here in this room this night?

Inward peace.

When we hear this,

we might be tempted to kind of fill in the details of the story,

the rest of it with our imaginations.

We imagine maybe Jesus saying,

my peace,

I give you.

And then Jesus went around the room to each person

and laid his hand on their heart.

And there was a glowing flash of light

that emanated from his hand as he did so.

And one by one,

Jesus gave his peace

to each person there in the room.

Is that what John records?

No.

That's not what happened.

The peace of Jesus is not something

that just comes through some magical touch

or through the laying on of hands.

How does Jesus give his peace to them?

How does he give his peace to us?

Where does that settledness of heart

that we long for in the midst of trials come from?

What is it that really silences the whispers

that we hear from our fears?

Jesus' peace comes to them in this way.

He gives it to them

by reminding them of the truth,

by giving them promises

that aren't empty but certain.

And he gives it to them

by reminding them of who really is in control,

of their lives,

of all the factors in the story.

Let's see this as we read what Jesus says next.

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.

You heard me say,

I am going away

and I am coming back to you.

Jesus tells them the truth.

We talked about this a couple weeks back.

He said, I am going away

but I am coming back.

Jesus doesn't say,

don't worry, I am not going anywhere.

I am not leaving.

He tells them the truth.

I am leaving.

But with the truth,

he gives them the certain,

the sure promise.

I am going away

but I am coming back.

Don't forget that I said that.

That is the certain truth.

That is the promise

that you can hold on to.

That will silence those lying whispers

rising up inside of you

as you sit there and think,

he is going to abandon us.

Or as you look up and see,

he is dead.

They killed him.

Maybe he wasn't the Messiah after all.

Jesus' peace is given.

It comes through believing his promise

that yes,

he will come back to them.

It is trusting that.

It is embracing that.

That silences the fears

and settles the hearts.

What else does Jesus say here?

He says,

if you loved me,

you would be glad

that I am going to the Father.

For the Father is greater than I.

I have told you now

before it happens

so that when it does happen,

you will believe.

I will not say much more to you.

For the Prince of this world is coming.

He has no hold over me.

But he comes

so that the world may learn

that I love the Father

and do exactly

what my Father has commanded me.

Now there's lots in there

and I know that

some of these words

raise some other questions for us.

But before we get to those,

I just want you to notice

the overall sense

that Jesus gives here

of what's going to happen.

I'm going to the Father,

he says.

And it's a good thing.

It's a right thing.

It's an appropriate thing.

It's something that you can be glad about.

And I'm telling you this now

before it happens

so that when it does happen,

you will believe.

When you see me going to the Father,

you're going to look back

on this conversation.

You're going to see that it happened

just as I told you it would.

So my telling you now,

ahead of time,

I'm doing it on purpose.

I'm trying to give you confidence.

I'm showing you

that you can trust my word,

that I keep my promises.

It's going to help you believe.

And then Jesus goes on

to tell them about

how the prince of this world

is coming.

But he reassures them

that the prince of this world,

he has no hold over me.

In fact,

the prince of this world

is coming

so that

for a divine purpose,

says Jesus,

so that the world

may learn something

about me.

Now just the way

that Jesus

says all this,

it speaks loud

and clear

that God

is in control

of the whole situation.

None of what's about

to happen tonight,

later on in the garden,

or tomorrow,

or in the days ahead

is a surprise to me

or to my father.

says Jesus.

It's all part of the plan.

And it's what's fitting.

It's what's right.

Even the scary part

about this coming prince,

it's not as though

Jesus or the father

will be caught off guard here.

The sense we get

is that this prince

will be permitted

by God to come

and to do what he will

with Jesus

so that the very plan

and purpose of God

will be fulfilled.

So this is another way

that Jesus gives

his kind of peace

to his disciples.

It's kind of implied

in everything

that he says here.

Look,

God is in control.

This is all happening

according to his plan

and his purpose.

He is in control.

He is in control.

He is in control.

He is working out

his plan.

He is going to bring

about something good

through all this.

peace.

This is one of the

big differences

between the peace

that Jesus gives

and the kind of peace

that the world offers.

Jesus doesn't say,

don't worry,

nothing bad

is going to happen.

That's often

the kind of peace

that the world offers.

You know,

be optimistic.

Think positively

and it will come true

for you.

No,

Jesus speaks the truth.

There is something bad.

There is something dark

coming.

The prince of this world

is coming.

That's the devil.

But Jesus' peace comes

when we believe

the truth

that God is in control

and working

even through

the bad stuff

that comes.

it's going to look

for a moment

like the devil

has triumphed

and won.

Jesus,

the son of God,

will be hanging there

dead on the cross.

His body will be lying there

lifeless in the tomb.

But Jesus says,

rest assured,

the coming prince

has no hold

over me.

I love the way

Jesus says this.

Quite literally,

it reads,

on me,

he has nothing.

He comes

to fulfill

God's purpose.

It's almost like

he's saying,

he's just a pawn

the prince

of this world.

In fact,

his coming

is going to glorify

Jesus.

It's going to show

the whole world

just how much

Jesus loves

the father

and how far

the son

is willing

to go

to obey

his father.

It's like

the devil's plan

to take Jesus

out is just

going to backfire

and instead

he's going

to find

that all

along

he's played

the role

of a spotlight

that illuminates

the worthiness

of the true

king

of the world.

So true peace,

it doesn't come

from empty promises

that everything's

going to be okay

or that nothing

bad's going

to happen.

True peace,

the peace

of Jesus

comes when

we believe,

when we

trust Jesus,

when we

trust God.

when we

put our faith

in him

that when

the bad

things happen,

God is at

work for good

through them.

When we

trust that

in the end

he will

triumph,

he will

bring

something

wonderful

out of

the heartache,

the pain,

the loss,

the struggle,

the struggle,

people.

So how

do we

receive this

peace of

Jesus,

this peace

that he

offers?

It's not

a crazy

magical formula,

it's not a

hard thing,

it's not

always easy

to do,

but it is

simple.

We receive

it simply

by believing

the truth

that Jesus

speaks,

the word

of God.

by trusting

the truth

that he

has spoken,

the promises

that he's

given us,

that specific

truth that

God is in

control,

it's when we

believe that,

it's when we

trust that,

that that

unsettledness

melts away.

It can't

stand.

Now one of

the questions

that sometimes

comes up here

in this passage

and I don't

want to skip

over it

completely,

we've been

trying to

work through

and capture

as much

as we can

here in

the gospel

of John,

comes from

verse 28,

Jesus says

this,

I'm going

to the

father for

the father

is greater

than I.

Why does

Jesus say

that the

father is

greater than

him?

Some of you

may have

wondered that

when you get

to this

place.

if Jesus

is God,

isn't he

equal to

the father?

There's been

all kinds of

discussion and

debate over

this back in

the first

centuries of

church history.

People pointed

to this verse

and said,

see,

Jesus wasn't

God.

He even

acknowledged that

God was

greater than

he was.

He was just

a man.

Well,

I'm going to,

I could probably

preach a whole

sermon on this,

but I'm going to

try to condense it

down into a

couple minutes

here,

give you the

short answer.

Jesus was

most certainly

God.

He is the

divine son.

He claimed to

be one with

the father.

We saw that

in John.

He claimed to

have the father

in him and

to himself be

in the father.

We heard that

in John.

He took the

name of God

upon his own

lips.

He said,

before Abraham

was,

I am.

And there

are many other

passages which

point clearly to

the truth that

Jesus is God.

So why does

he,

being God,

claim that the

father is

greater?

In what sense

is the father

greater than

the son?

I can think

of two senses.

Number one,

the father is

greater than

the son with

regard to the

son's humanity.

Jesus was

truly God,

man.

But also,

at the same

time,

he was truly

man,

truly human.

The divine

word,

as we read

back at the

beginning,

took upon

himself a

human nature

and became

a man.

And God

is greater

than man.

God is the

creator.

Man is the

creature.

God is the

ruler of all

and man's

role in all

of that is to

be subservient

to him under

his good

authority.

And so,

with regard to

Jesus'

humanity,

God is

greater than

Jesus.

Maybe you've

read that in

1 Peter where

it talks about

Jesus,

refers to God

as the God

and father of

our Lord

Jesus.

He is the

God of

Jesus too.

Jesus'

true

humanness

stands in

contrast to

God's divine

nature.

So that's the

first way.

The second

way that the

father is

greater than

Jesus has to

do with the

humble and

lowly role

or state

that Jesus

is in.

It's not

just that

Jesus is

human.

The Bible

tells us that

Christ was in

very nature

God and yet

he chose

to lower

himself,

to humble

himself,

to lay

down or

put aside

some of

his glory.

We'll see in

John 17.

Some of his

divine rights

and privileges.

And so,

even though

Jesus is

equally worthy

of glory,

along with

God the

Father,

he has

taken up

for a time

this lowly

position.

He has

come to

serve the

very ones

that he

created.

And this

position does

not allow

him to

exalt and

glorify

himself.

That's why

we read that

it's the

Father who

must glorify

and exalt

the Son.

It's the

Father who

gives authority

to the

Son.

So,

the Father is

greater than

the Son

with regard to

role or

status for

the time

being.

This is

why Jesus

speaks in

verse 31

of the

Father

commanding

him to

do

things

and of

himself as

obeying

those commands.

Jesus

himself said

it this way

back in

John 13

John 13:16

verse 16.

He said,

no servant

is greater

than his

master,

nor is a

messenger

greater than

the one

who sent

him.

In other

words,

the master

is greater

than the

servant,

and the

one who

sends the

messenger is

greater than

the messenger.

Well,

we know from

the story of

the Gospels

that Jesus

has come

both to

be the

servant of

his master,

the Father,

and the

messenger of

the one who

has sent

him,

his Father.

So,

these are

two ways

that the

Father is

greater than

Jesus.

And,

you know,

we might be

tempted to

think,

well,

who really

needs to

know this?

Except theologians

and Bible

scholars and

pastors.

This all

sounds kind

of heady and

quite mysterious.

But notice

what Jesus

says right

here in

John chapter

John 14:31

14,

verse 31.

He says,

the prince of

this world is

coming so

that the

world may

learn that

I love the

Father and

do exactly

what my

Father has

commanded me.

God wants

not just the

Bible scholars

and theologians,

he wants

the whole

world to

understand this

subservient

role and

relationship that

Jesus has had

with his

Father as a

man.

This is part

of the plan

of God to

bring glory

to his

son Jesus.

It may not

be fully

apparent now

how that will

all work,

but one day

it will be.

He wants the

whole world to

see this

about Jesus,

that Jesus

in both

his deity

and in

his humanity

is worthy

of glory

and honor

and praise,

is worthy

to be exalted,

is worthy

to wear the

crown and

be the king

of the whole

world over

all the

nations.

So yes,

the Father is

greater than

Jesus,

and no,

it doesn't

diminish his

divinity.

humanity,

it's just

the reality

of his

true humanity

and his

humble role

and service

that he has

come to

offer.

So what

can we take

from all

this part

of the story

here in

John for

ourselves

today?

Well, I

want to come

back to the

talk of

peace.

Maybe you

are going

through something

right now.

in your

life where

you can

honestly say,

I feel

troubled in

heart,

or I'm

afraid,

or I'm

worried about

something,

struggling.

Maybe you've

been wrestling

in your

heart,

not just a

little bit,

but for a

while.

Maybe you've

been looking

for that

inward peace

that Jesus

offers here

to his

disciples.

A true

peace that

will just

settle it.

Maybe you've

been trying

some of the

world's offers

of peace,

and you've

been finding

that they are

empty,

and they don't

last,

they don't

deliver on

what they

promise.

whatever it

is that

you're going

through today,

Jesus

offers you

his peace.

How do we

receive that?

believe.

Believe.

Trust him.

Look again

on his

words.

Look again

at his

promises.

promises.

It's there

that we

find our

hearts truly

settle, and

fears dissipate.

When we see

again that God

is in control,

that he has a

plan, that he's

going to bring

good, that the

end of this

story is triumph,

for Jesus and

his people.

Let me remind

you of that.

Same thing

that Jesus

said to his

disciples.

Jesus is

coming back.

And again,

there will be a

showdown between

the prince of

this world and

the Lord Jesus.

And again,

it will be seen

that the

prince of this

world has no

hold over

Jesus.

With these

things in view,

let me encourage

you with whatever

you're going

through, do

not let your

hearts be

troubled.

Do not be

afraid.

lastly, I want

to point you to

one thing that

we notice about

Jesus here that

really blessed me

this week.

You know, it's

easy for us to

think of Jesus as

the commanding

king.

Just like we

read back up in

verse 15, if you

love me, keep my

commands.

And Jesus is a

commanding king.

But do you see

in these verses

just how tender

and gentle

and sensitive

Jesus is

towards his

disciples?

He doesn't beat

them down.

He doesn't say,

just stop worrying

already.

Enough.

Get over it.

He's gentle.

He's tender.

He sees their

state of mind,

their state of

heart, and he

calls them out of

it to trust, to

believe.

He wants them to

have peace in

their hearts.

I mean, think

about that.

Jesus cares about

how you feel.

that matters to

him.

He's not just a

commanding king.

He is also a

sympathetic brother.

He knows our

weakness, our

frailty.

He sees those

worries and fears

that we carry.

And he has the

antidote.

He has what we

long for.

true, lasting,

inward peace.

So come to

him and find

that in him.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we

bow before you and

we offer up our

hearts to you.

We offer up the

struggles.

We offer up the

worries.

peace.

We ask that you

would come deep

into our hearts

and give us

peace.

Remind us of the

specific truths,

each one of us,

that we need to

know from you

today.

Thank you that you

are a wonderful and

compassionate Savior.

thank you for dying

on the cross for

us, for taking

care of all of

our sin and our

guilt, and that

one day we get to

look forward to

your glorious

kingdom and life

with you and with

each other forever.

To your name be the

glory.

Amen.