What is the Peace that Jesus Promised?

Peace and prosperity are feverishly sought for throughout the world. This all-out search consumes men and women irrespective of cultural heritage or ethnicity. According to Jesus, all efforts at achieving true peace outside of Him are in vain. Jesus promised to give true peace to His disciples, His followers.

What is this peace that Jesus promised to give those that believe on Him? How did it apply to me yesterday when I was dominated by auto-immune pain all weekend and had a Sunday filled with ministry, including preaching? What about my wife this morning when she smacked her knee on the foot rest on my moped, giving her pain and hindering her walking? And how does it apply today when she has begun yet another round of three-day migraines? What does the peace of Jesus mean for every day life?

Jesus taught about peace in His extended sermon with closest disciples the night before His crucifixion.

In John 16:33, Jesus said,“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Some fundamental truths are necessary to understand Jesus’ words.

1. The origin of all suffering and death in this world is because of sin. The curse of sin brings every kind of suffering that exists in this world today (Genesis 3).
2. All mankind, including all believers in God, have participated in bringing sin into this world. Because of this, no one can escape suffering and death in this life (Romans). Jesus taught clearly:
   “In this world you will have tribulation.” Only Jesus, born of a virgin and sinless as the Son of God, did not deserve to experience the curse of sin and death.

There is a strong temptation to misrepresent God.

Even though the Bible clearly teaches that suffering and death are inescapable in this life, believers in Jesus are often tempted to assume differently. They expect that, if they walk in faithful obedience to God, they will escape hardship and suffering. The temptation to believe that they can somehow earn a pass to escape life’s difficulties leads them to misinterpret and misapply God’s Word. This is true even when God’s Word so obviously and continually teaches that “in this world you will have tribulation.”

Those who succumb to this temptation and believe that God must somehow allow them a comfortable and easy life if they are faithful, when they do face suffering—and they will–they become devastated. Eventually, they become angry with God. Sometimes their faith in Christ is shaken to such a degree that it takes years to recover.

This discouragement and anger toward God comes from misunderstanding. We must not allow ourselves to be mistaken about God’s promises in this life. Jesus clearly taught us:
“In this world you will have trouble (NIV)/many trials and sorrows (NLT).”

All of God’s people throughout history have suffered.

There is not a single believer in God in the Old Testament or a follower of Jesus Christ in the New Testament who escaped suffering in this life. Even the most righteous believers have suffered.
Do we understand this important reality?

Consider some of the testimonies of God’s people through history. Think about all of the difficulties, trials, and hardships they endured and how they are representative of all believers whose testimonies are recorded in Scripture.

• Noah, King David, the prophet Daniel. They, like us, experienced numerous hardships.
• Moses, Job, those believers during the time when the Babylonian empire destroyed Jerusalem (Lamentations). They, like (and probably way more than most) us,experienced suffering:
• Abraham and Sarah, those believers among the multitude of unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness, Isaac. All faced times of trials and testing.
• Abel, the prophet Jeremiah, Stephen, the apostle James, the apostle Peter, the apostle John. Almost all endured persecution in some way, many even to the death.
• Lazarus (in the story with the unnamed rich man), those believers in Jerusalem and Macedonia in the days of the apostles, the many widows and orphans among God’s people, etc. Poverty was never lifted for most of them.
• Asaph, the prophet Elijah, the apostle Paul. So many are shown to have endured times of great physical, spiritual, and emotional exhaustion.
• Joseph, Jacob, Leah, Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband). Time after time we read of believers who were greatly wronged by others in ways that caused great pain and sorrow.
• Aaron, Moses, King David, King Uzziah. Often believers experienced suffering due to the consequences of their sinful choices and actions.
• The apostle Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus. Everyone experienced illness, even wonderful servants of the Lord.
• King David, Jonathan, believers who lived under wicked kings. Many of God’s people suffered much because of the sins of other people against them, or because of the sins of other people affecting them somehow.

Did this great multitude of examples in Scripture somehow miss out on God’s promises? Was God unfaithful to them, not delivering according to His Word?

We Must Understand The Peace That Jesus Gives.

Again, in John 16:33 Jesus said,“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The peace that our Lord refers to here is peace that is for believers, His people, those that have been reconciled to God (made right with God). Those who have not yet repented and believed on Jesus are still counted by God as His enemies, the wicked who cannot know peace with Him until they do (Isaiah 57:21).

The Promise

God’s promise here is that believers can have peace right now because Jesus has already overcome the world. But what is this peace? So, what is this peace?

Earlier that evening, Jesus said in John 14:27, “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.”

Two Aspects of Christ’s Peace:

1. The peace that comes when we trust in God who is present with us.

The result or genuine faith and trust in the Lord regarding our life’s circumstances gives an inner peace that drives away anxiety and fear. We all know the crippling effect of worry and fear. Jesus takes this away when we learn to trust Him.

What about the false peace that the world promises? Counterfeit peace is easily lost, dependent upon circumstances being favorable. The world’s “peace” is temporary.
When someone dies without God, they lost all and face eternal suffering in hell. Jesus gives a peace that is “not as the world gives.”

2. The peace that comes when we place our hope on heaven and eternal life with Him.

Jesus also said in John 14:1–6,
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also …Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

There, in heaven, with Christ Jesus, we will know an eternity with God and without sin, suffering, and death. This is our hope and expectation because of what Jesus has done for us! This is what truly calms the troubled heart when difficult circumstances remain unchanged.

Peace Now is Not the Absence of Suffering.

Knowing the peace that Jesus gives in this life does not mean the absence of suffering and hardship. Peace is the inner rest and contentment that comes from trusting in our good and faithful God who is present with us, regardless of life’s circumstances. The peace of Jesus is the calm of the soul that comes from setting our hope in what is to come, not endlessly striving for that elusive peace prosperity as pursued by the world.

Consider this article about how so many travel the world looking for peace of soul: Globe-trekkers and the Elusiveness of Peace and Contentment, or this one: Anxious? Here’s What My Anxiety Taught Me About Worship.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV® Bible.