Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 KJV
Context and Charge:
Imagine the frustration, uncertainty, hurt and pain in the minds and hearts of the disciples as they contemplated a life without Jesus in the flesh with them. They had gone to all places with Him, and they had seen him perform some amazing miracles. They had listened to Him challenge the authorities of his day and made them look like fools. They had listened to His teachings as he laid out a new way of living that was supported by the grace and mercy of God. Then He had to leave. He was to die a terrible death, and it was hard to imagine the One they had come to know as the Son of the Living God being subjected to such ignoble death. It was a lot to process, and of course, it was hard to have peace in the circumstances. But then, God has never done anything logically or reasonably. If it were so, then maybe God would not be God.
In the midst of all the uncertainties, and the many troubles in the minds of the disciples, the sure word of Jesus to them was PEACE. That was all He needed the disciples to have as they faced the world. As it was then, so is it now. We need God's sure word of peace for the times we are in now. Nations are at war, both within themselves, as well as with other nations around them. Any nation today that appears to have "world peace" must either be a superpower, or it has no resources or minerals that the superpowers want. The world cannot give you what it does not have; it cannot fake that which it did not originate. If I am looking for peace that is not first about the physical, but about the inner comfort and peace that come from God, then the world is not the place to look for it. Don't go looking for peace in a world that is in turmoil.
Conviction and Conclusion:
Jesus calls it 'my peace', because it is peace that only a connection with Jesus can birth and sustain. You can't get this version outside of Jesus, so if you are yet to have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, whatever it is that you have, and which gives you confidence, is not the peace Jesus speaks about here. He gives it freely to all who come to Him, without cost to them. The world has nothing free to give, and it would rather take what you have from you. If Jesus has Indeed spoken his peace, there is nothing the world can do to disrupt it. It is peace that the earth cannot limit, because its reality is in eternity with God. This is the cause for joy; this is why my heart need not be troubled or afraid. It has found a resting place in Christ, and it will go on until it finds fulfilment in eternity. God's time of favour is here.
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