Peace I Leave With You

Peace I Leave With You.  Forewarning does not always prepare us for loss, insulate us from pain, or isolate us from anxiety. Yet we commonly feel that if we had known a major trial were soon arriving then we would be more ready to face it. Eh, maybe/maybe not. For the disciples, ample forewarning did not galvanize them against the reality of Jesus’ departure. Christ had told them at least three times directly that he was going to die and how it would happen (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33). Yet mere hours before it happened, they were still not ready for it (John 13:37). However, which of us is truly ready for death, departure of a loved one, grim diagnosis, or sharp disparity between what we think should happen with what is about to happen? None of us is ever completely ready, but Christ is completely aware of our frailty. Therefore, it was wise and indicative of his entire ministry that Christ, even though he had given his disciples information about his end, at the last breath before the big plunge instead gave them peace. “Peace I leave with you” (John 14:27a). Christ knows that in the crucible of our confusion, even more than an antidote, explanation, or resolution to pain, what we need most is peace.

Ever the teacher, Christ adds a clarifying comment about the peace that he is leaving with them, and with us by extension. It was his peace and, therefore, his gift to give. “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27b). His peace is not one of the many counterfeits of peace that infiltrate the world’s operating system: diversions, distractions, and denials. Christ’s peace does not dilute our pain or trick the brain for half an hour that pain doesn’t matter. Christ’s peace wiggles past our armor, joins us inside our pain, and pays the bitter entrance fee. “Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27c). He does not shame us about our fear but assures us through our fear that a Day awaits that will be far better than any day that ever was. Because on that Day, he will abolish all loss, pain, and anxiety. “I am going away, and I will come to you” (John 14:28), so that “you may believe” (John 14:29). By faith, pain is an opportunity for increased faith when the peace of Christ is present.