The Sixth Sunday After Easter
Psalm 67; Micah 4:1-4; Rev. 21:22-22:5; John 14:22-29
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I.
This morning, I would like to examine with you the “peace” spoken of John in 14:27, providentially a fitting topic for Memorial Day.
“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.”
The word peace is used several times in our Sunday service. We begin our Sunday gathering by “passing the peace of Christ.” How much thought have you given to what that means?
We conclude the service with a benediction. The one I use begins like this, “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding….” What is the peace of God?
The short answer to that question is that I am quoting St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
In saying that the peace of God passes all understanding, Paul is saying we can’t understand fully what God’s peace is, not that we can’t understand God’s peace at all.
In fact, God’s peace plays an active part in restraining our hearts and minds. God’s peace is meant to keep our hearts and minds in one place, in the place where they belong, which is in Christ Jesus.
The longer answer is that the peace that Christ gives is fundamentally different than the peace the world gives.
You could almost say that it is the antithesis of what the world calls peace.
The slogan “World Peace,” and the peace of Christ which we pass to each other, and which passes all understanding, are fundamentally at odds.
We will look at three things in this sermon.
First, we will define what the Bible means by peace.
Second, we will examine what Jesus means when He says, “not as the world gives do I give to you.” This is the antithesis to which I just referred. God’s peace and the world’s peace are opposite and opposed.
Third, we will look at why this is so. The peace of God surpasses all understanding. The peace of the world contains the seeds of its own destruction. Why?
Finally, we will try to grasp the meaning of “passing the peace” and of receiving “the peace of God” during the benediction at the close of our worship. I will try to show you that seeds are once again being sown, but seeds of eternal life, not destruction.
II.
Micah gives us a vivid image of the peace of God in this morning’s reading.
The prophet describes peace in these words: “every man under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.”
The first part, “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” is a figure of speech. It was used throughout the Old Testament. When it was used, it meant that God’s peace had settled on His people. A few examples will show you what I mean.
1 Kings 4:25 tells us that “...Judah and Israel dwelt in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.”
Zechariah has a vision of the Messianic kingdom in which he describes not only peace, but a prosperity that leads to abundance, which makes hospitality possible:
“In that day, says the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.”
I want you to think about that for a moment. Isn’t the coffee hour we have after church each Sunday a symbol of God’s peace?
We would not be able to do that if we did not have a time of rest on Sunday morning to gather and had gained enough from our work during the week to share.
Yet this peace is threatened.
Sunday once had the force of law behind it, to make it a collective day of rest.
The hollowing out of our economy has made prosperity harder to come by.
Now, look at the second part of Zechariah’s vision: “and none shall make them afraid.” This means that Judah and Israel are not threatened by any external enemies. It also means that they are not under God’s judgment.
That is the meaning of Jesus’ words in today’s gospel, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
If we know that we face God’s judgment without anyone to advocate for us, that will certainly trouble our hearts.
If we know that we face God’s wrath without any shield, that will certainly make our hearts afraid.
This is why it is so damning when Jesus curses the fig tree in Matthew 21. Matthew tells us that Jesus was hungry. He went to the fig tree, and found no figs on it. Why?
Because there was no peace. Jesus says to the tree, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” and it withered at once.
We know from our brief study that the fig tree was a sign that God’s peace had settled on His people.
Therefore, for Jesus to curse the fig tree meant the exact opposite, the antithesis, if you will. God’s peace is now God’s curse.
Yet Jesus uttered this curse during a time of peace. Jesus’ birth came at a time when the Gates of Janus in the City of Rome were closed.
These gates were opened when Rome was at war and shut when she was at peace.
Under Caesar Augustus, the gates were closed. The world was at peace.
Yet Jesus curses the fig tree. He curses this peace, which the Jews, His own people, had opted into. This peace, the Pax Romana, was peace “as the world gives,” and not as Jesus would give.
Fortunately, as with all of God’s curses, this curse contains the seeds of restoration.
Immediately after cursing the fig tree, Jesus tells His disciples:
“Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Faith and prayer can restore God’s peace. That was true in Old Israel and it’s true today.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”
Let’s explore why the peace that God gives is so different from the peace the world gives.
III.
The peace of God is the antithesis of what the world calls peace.
I’ve used this word antithesis a few times in this sermon already. You have probably already understood that it is another way of saying “the opposite” of something.
It’s a word that tends to be used in arguments. Someone will state the thesis, what he is for, and then his opponent will state the antithesis, the opposite, or what he is against.
Let’s look at two examples of this antithesis as it relates to the peace of God.
The first example is Adam’s call to keep the peace of God in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:15-17 we read:
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’”
The man is put in the garden of Eden to “till it and keep it.” That is the thesis. Man is a tiller and a keeper, a farmer and a warrior.
Implied in the word keep is the idea of a military defense, like a castle. In fact, another word for castle is keep.
Even in his primal, unfallen state, man was to be a king, and all kings must prepare to do battle.
The command to keep the garden was a warning. God knew there was an enemy already lurking in its midst. This enemy threatened the peace of God.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is itself another example of the thesis and the antithesis. Knowledge of good is the thesis. Knowledge of evil, its opposite, is the antithesis.
It is the fruit of this tree that the serpent uses to tempt Eve. She and her husband were called to obey God’s word. He tempts her to disobey God’s word.
Satan wants to overthrow God’s peace and establish his own earthly peace. We know from Revelation 20:2, that the serpent is a creature that was already under God’s judgment.
Satan has no peace with God, so he spends his days in restless anxiety, trying to make peace with himself.
But peace as the world gives only ensnares others in the Devil’s folly.
That is what happened to Eve.
When Eve was created, Adam declared her to be on his side—literally from his side: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” She is part of his thesis.
After the fall, he blames her. She becomes his antithesis. “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Perhaps Adam was only trying to keep the peace with his wife when he joined her in eating the fruit, but their peace as husband and wife—and with God—was shattered.
Adam’s job was to keep the peace of God against any adversary.
That battle could only be won by faith in and obedience to God’s word. That word forbade him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
On the day he did, he experienced the opposite of life, the antithesis called death.
That is the first example. God’s peace and the world’s peace are opposed. The first gives life, the second, death.
Another example is the Church’s call to keep the peace of God. She does this by showing obedience to God’s word and by opposing false doctrine in the Church, and the lies and falsehoods of the world.
Peter tells the Church in 1 Peter to “be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I [God] am holy.’”
Holiness is the thesis of the Church. Yet in every age a demonic antithesis fights against the holiness of the Church, trying to destroy her peace. Often, it succeeds.
Many times, the attack on the Church’s doctrine comes from within. Other times, it comes from outside of the Church.
Paul explains the internal attack in Romans 9:6, “it is not as though the word of God had failed,” he writes, “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.”
In other words, there is no fault in the word, no error in the pure doctrine of Christ causes this breach of God’s peace in the Church.
The breach of peace is caused by the Church’s enemies, from within and without.
“Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.” There are some who are imposters and pretenders. They are the opposite of all that Israel is supposed to be. These are enemies from within.
Jesus explains this in the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13, “‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’” These are enemies from without.
Yet the Church has a weapon she can use against her enemies. It’s called the peace of God.
It is the same peace Christ leaves and gives to His Church. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”
Whenever the Church preaches sound doctrine, wherever she rightly administers the sacraments, she wields the peace of God.
IV.
In contrast, the world has no “weapon” of peace it can wield. When the world establishes peace, it’s at the point of a gun.
Paul writes in Romans 13:3, “rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad,” and continues in verse four, “for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer.”
The world wields its peace by terror and the sword. “Not as the world gives do I give to you.” This is the difference between the law of Moses and the Sermon on the Mount.
The law can punish you for murder. It can punish you for adultery. If the penalty is severe enough and widely applied, the law can more or less stamp out these behaviors.
I certainly argue that this is the right use of the law. I often hear people, even devout Christians, say, “You can’t legislate morality.”
But that is not true. You most certainly can legislate morality. You can even use the police powers of the state to enforce morality. This is exactly what Paul is saying.
However, while the law can restrain evil and compel good behavior, it cannot regenerate the heart.
The law can establish peace on earth, but not goodwill towards men.
That is the difference between the peace that the world gives and the peace that Christ gives.
The peace that the world gives also contains the seeds of its own destruction. Do not be fooled by the peace that God allows the world to establish, seemingly of its own unrepentant efforts.
Sometimes, God allows a Pax Romana or a Pax Americana to settle in, but this is not always evidence of God’s favor and goodness towards Rome or America.
In fact, unless our peace is grounded in the peace of God, we can be certain it is not.
What passes for “world peace” is a peace obtained by means other than obedience to God’s word. Such “times of peace” are actually quite dangerous, because, like the fig tree, during these times we are already under God’s judgment, a judgment He has chosen to suspend for the time being.
Paul writes in Romans 9:22, “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction…?”
The example to which Paul is referring is Egypt’s harsh treatment of the Israelites for hundreds of years.
However, in time, God exacted full payment for their forced labor: the blood of the Egyptian firstborn and gold and jewelry from the Egyptian wives.
For all those centuries during which Egypt slept peacefully, she was actually in the eye of God’s wrath. She just didn’t know it, and she gave Pharaoh the credit for her peace and prosperity instead.
V.
If the world’s peace contains the seeds of its own destruction, then the peace that Christ gives must contain the seeds of eternal life.
Certainly, that is the meaning of Jesus’ words in verse 23, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
As we saw from our study of Revelation, God dwelling with man is the definition of eternal life.
The thesis that obtains God’s peace is our love for Him.
That love is expressed in obedience to God’s word.
The opposite is our disobedience, which shows our contempt for God and His word. “He who does not love me does not keep my words.”
Now, it becomes clear what we are doing when we pass the peace. It is much more than saying hello to the person in the next pew over.
When you pass the peace of Christ you are declaring solidarity with your fellow Christian.
In the new creation in Christ, like Eve was to Adam, your fellow Christian is bone of your redeemed bone, flesh of your redeemed flesh.
If he proves not to be, then your peace becomes a witness against him. Pray that it will convict him and lead to his repentance.
When you pass the peace of Christ you are making your stand to defend truth and oppose falsehood.
If you pass the peace of Christ to someone you are saying, “Welcome, brother. Welcome, sister. I greet you as Christ greeted me, but if it is your purpose to bring darkness into this church, then I have put you on notice. If your intent is to practice deceit in this place, then leave. Be at peace with the world for as long as God allows it. As for me, I risk losing my peace with God if I make peace with you.”
You are wielding a very powerful and potentially dangerous weapon when you pass the peace. Like everything we do when we assemble to worship Almighty God, it should not be undertaken lightly.
Consider how you keep the peace of your own homes. Do you make peace with an intruder? Will you live under the same roof with someone who seeks to do you harm?
The peace of the Church is no different.
Finally, when you receive the peace of God as a congregation, when I say the benediction, when I pronounce those good words of God over you, “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God…,” I am using words that go all the way back to the beginning.
They are words meant to comfort and assure you. They are meant to dispel trouble and fear. They are meant to confirm you in the protection and peace of God.
Adam was to keep the garden, to protect it. He failed.
Jesus, the new Adam, the better Adam, will not likewise fail to keep you and protect you.
This is why, after giving us His peace, Jesus says clearly, in words meant as much for us as for the disciples to whom He spoke them first, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Preached on May 25, 2025 at the First Congregational Church, Woodbury, Connecticut.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
Reflection on Peace: How do you personally define “peace” in your life? How does the sermon’s description of God’s peace challenge or affirm your understanding?
Worldly vs. Divine: Can you think of modern examples of “worldly peace” that contrast with the peace of Christ? How do they fall short?
Passing the Peace: What does it mean to you to “pass the peace” during worship? How can this act become more intentional in your faith community?
Faith in Action: Jesus emphasizes faith and prayer in Matthew 21:21-22. How can we cultivate faith to experience God’s peace in challenging times?
Guarding Hearts and Minds: How does the peace of God “keep” your heart and mind in Christ Jesus? Share a time when you felt this peace amidst trouble or fear.
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