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Our Peace

Writer's picture: Pastor Nathan NassPastor Nathan Nass

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace…” (Micah 5:2-5a NIV)

I have a confession to make: I made it through the Christmas season without watching a single Christmas movie. I’m not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed! I do wish I could have seen my favorite—“It’s a Wonderful Life.” Did you watch that one this year? It’s a black-and-white classic that fits well with 2020. “It’s a Wonderful Life” tells the story of George Bailey. It goes like this: Everything went wrong. In fact, George’s life got so bad, there’s a scene where George throws up a prayer to God. With tears streaming down his face, he says, “I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope.”

I learned something recently about that powerful scene. He wasn’t supposed to cry. The actor—Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart—wasn’t supposed to cry. It wasn’t in the script. The tears were real. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was filmed in 1946, right after World War II. That actor—Jimmy Stewart—had just spent three years as a pilot in the Air Force. He flew 20 combat missions, lost a number of his men, and even had the floor blown out of his own plane. When he came back from the war, he was almost unrecognizable. Today, we’d call it PTSD. So when he came to that powerful scene in the movie, he couldn’t help but cry. He later described it, “As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing.” The tears were real. The struggle was real.

There’s this truth in life: You don’t have to fake tears. Real tears are always right below the surface, aren’t they? Isn’t it amazing how sometimes the happiest moments can turn just like that? You can go from being the happiest person at the party to feeling like the most worthless person in the world based on just one comment from someone else. One moment, you can be reflecting on all of God’s blessings to you, and then somehow the heartache takes over. Tears come so naturally to us. We fake smiles. We fake excitement. But you don’t have to fake tears.

That didn’t start with Jimmy Stewart. The Israelites long ago didn’t have to fake tears either. In Micah’s day, people seemed happy on the outside. But there was no real peace in here. So they tried to surround themselves with prophets who only said good things. Micah said, “If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people!” (Micah 2:11). Sound familiar? Lots of beer. The prosperity gospel. That’s what people wanted to hear! But that’s not what Micah preached. He preached a message of war. Cities like Samaria and Jerusalem were going to be made heaps of rubble (Micah 3:12). Can you imagine that? War here at home? The Israelites weren’t going to have to fake any tears.

But those wars that were coming were nothing compared to the war that was already on. Do you know whom their greatest battle was against? God! God said, “All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel” (Micah 1:5). This is what sin is: War with God! How bad was it? “Lately my people have risen up like an enemy,” God said (Micah 2:8). They were enemies of God! With their sins, the Israelites had waged war against God himself. All their physical struggles were just outward signs of their struggle with God. If WWII brought fighter pilots and Academy Award winning actors to tears, imagine war with God!

It’s just that you don’t have to imagine that. We’ve been at war with God too. The Bible spells out how by nature we were enemies of God. If that sounds harsh, just think about how we think. We don’t want what God wants. We want what we want. We don’t do what God asks. We do what feels good. We don’t live for God’s glory. We live for our glory. Every sin is a shot fired at God. Every disobedience is another missile fired his way. How many of those tears are because you haven’t gotten your way? How many of those tears are because you’ve refused to follow God’s will? I know that my tears show how little peace I have in my heart and how often I war against God and his will for my life. There are no fake tears. But peace? How do we find it?

Well, right after he said that Jerusalem would be destroyed, God made a promise: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” While we warred against God with our sins, God planned to send peace. What grace! In an unlikely place: Bethlehem. In those days, Bethlehem was a little town six miles south of Jerusalem. It was so insignificant that in one place in the Old Testament, 100 towns in Judah are mentioned, and Bethlehem didn’t even make the list (Joshua 15)! God promised peace in an unexpected place.

But Bethlehem had one thing going for it. It was the hometown of another king. Do you know who? David. King David grew up in Bethlehem. Have you heard how David was chosen as king of Israel? God sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to a man named Jesse. Jesse’s oldest son Eliab was tall and handsome. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7). That’s a clue about God’s peace: It’s in the heart. David—the eighth son of Jesse—was caring for the sheep. God had Samuel anoint him king. God’s peace in unexpected places is focused on our hearts.

Now another King was going to come from Bethlehem. But not right away. God’s timing is different than ours, isn’t it? In fact, Micah’s prophecy continued like this, “Therefore Israel will be abandoned….” What terrifying words! Abandoned? How many tears that must have caused! But only for a time: “Until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.” Who was going to bring peace to God’s people? A Baby. A Son. Who was that prophecy about? Jesus! At the same time, Isaiah prophesied, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Life was going to be hard. God’s people were going to feel like they had been abandoned. But one day in the little town of Bethlehem a woman would give birth to a Son. And that Son “will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace…” Remember what David’s job was before being king? A shepherd. A shepherd-king. That’s Jesus. He knows about wandering sheep. He knows about helpless sheep. He knows how to lead them home. He knows how to save them. He—Jesus—will be our peace!

No words have brought more peace that what David wrote about our Shepherd in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

He will be our peace.” Peace on earth is the most basic message of Christmas. It was the angel’s message: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). But note this important phrase: “Peace to those.” Not “peace among those.” “To those.” Peace at Christmas comes from God to those who trust in his grace. It’s not peace among people. It’s not peace among nations. It’s peace with God through Jesus. The Bible says, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The war with God is over. Your sins are forgiven. Jesus is our peace.

Remember those tears we talked about? There are lots of reasons why they are always right below the surface. For each, Jesus brings peace with God. Are your tears because you feel little in God’s eyes? Like that little town of Bethlehem? That’s not true. Jesus died for you! Are your tears because you feel like your life is out of control? That’s not true. There is a Ruler—Jesus!—whose greatness reaches to the ends of the earth. Are your tears because you feel abandoned? That’s not true. You have a Good Shepherd leading you every step of the way. Are your tears because of your sin? That is true. But’s it’s all forgiven! Do you know what the result is? Peace.

One of our members shared a story with me after one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight services. We ended that service by singing “Silent Night”—“Sleep in heavenly peace!” This man said, “Every time I sing that song, I think back to 52 years ago. I was a soldier in Vietnam. On Christmas Eve, Bob Hope came and did a concert for 15,000 soldiers at our base. And we all sang ‘Silent Night’ together.” Can you imagine that? Silent Night with 15,000 soldiers? That’s something you’d never forget! But he added another detail: “As we were singing, helicopter after helicopter flew overhead. We knew what they were doing. They were transporting wounded soldiers from battle. It was so bittersweet—singing ‘Silent Night’ in the middle of a war.”

When I heard that story, I couldn’t help but think: That’s exactly the peace that Jesus gives. Peace in the middle of a war. Not war with God. That war ended when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose to give us eternal life. But life in this world is still a battlefield. You see the casualties. You feel the attacks. Peace from Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll have peace with your spouse. Peace doesn’t mean China won’t attack the U.S. Peace doesn’t mean the stock market is only going up this year. Peace doesn’t mean you won’t get sick and die from COVID. But in the middle of all those things, you have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I bet you still won’t ever have to fake tears in 2021. There will still be plenty of tears. But when helicopters transport the sick over your head, Jesus will be our peace. When that dreaded phone call comes, Jesus will be our peace. When it doesn’t get better, Jesus will be our peace. When the tears stream down your cheeks and you don’t even know why, Jesus will be our peace. When the devil reminds you of your sins, Jesus will be our peace. When death is at your door, Jesus will be our peace. Even if you end up on a battlefield on Christmas Eve 2021, Jesus will be our peace. The tears are real. The struggle is real. But so is our Savior. “He will be our peace!

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