"...and his name shalle be called...
Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6-7
This fourth and final name description designated for this child to be born (Jesus) helps identify one of the primary purposes of His coming on our behalf: to bring us peace.
A prince is one who has been given ownership of something and the one who distributes it to those whom he is pleased. Jesus Himself IS Peace. He is the Giver and Bringer of Peace. He grants peace to all whom God has given Him.
Consider these passages that permeate the birth narrative of Jesus:
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...'"
Luke 1:46-47
"And you, child (Zechariah speaking of John the Baptist), will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Luke 1:76-79
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased."
Luke 2:14
"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."
Luke 2:29-32
He brought peace when He came and He came to bring peace to those who would believe on Him.
But this begs a question doesn't it? What kind of peace? Or better yet, why do we need peace? This really gets at the heart of why He came and why we so desperately needed Him to come. Left to ourselves we simply cannot have peace with God. We are at odds with our Maker. We are, by nature, objects of divine wrath following the ways of our father the devil (see Ephesians 2:1-3). We deserve punishment from God because of our countless sins against Him. Regardless of how many good things we do or try to do it will not be enough. We are still sinful, evil vessels that cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. This is why we need Jesus! This is why we must shout aloud of praise and thanksgiving with all of our might that He is the Prince of Peace! He came to take on the punishment we deserve for our sins! He came to be the mediator between us and God! He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived a perfect life of righteousness (which is what we cannot do) that becomes transferred to us when we believe on Jesus. He also went to the cross and shed His own blood in our place as the sacrifice/punishment we deserved for sin. He was punished by God for us so that we would not have to be. We could not undergo the punishment. Even if we could have (which there is no way a mere man could have) we would not have been a sufficient sacrifice because our lives are blemished with sin. Jesus is our Prince of Peace because He did what was necessary to make right what was made wrong between us and God due to our sins.
He is Peace. He brought Peace. He still gives Peace. He is the Prince of Peace.
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
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