“For to us, a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace.”
– Isaiah 9:6
Oh, let’s think about that last name for this child, this son, who will be born, will be given the government upon his shoulder. So the one who rules and reigns over all is the Prince of peace. This is good news. This is such good news here in Isaiah 9:6. In a world of turmoil, and a world of not peace, and a world of wars, and strife, and division, and enmity, and hatred, and hurt, and pain, and sorrow Jesus is the Prince of peace. He is the ruler whose reign brings peace in the hearts of all who trust in him.
Experiencing Peace in Christ
Jesus has made peace with God on our behalf. In Christ, we will experience peace, joy, justice and righteousness forever.
This is such a contrast between earthly kings who cannot be trusted to bring perfect righteousness, perfect justice, and perfect peace. But Jesus can. There is no ruler, there is no king like him. There is no prince like him in all the history of the world. This son, this child born, that we celebrated Christmas is the Prince of peace. And one day he will bring total peace to all who trust in him. No more war with sin and no more sorrow in our hearts. No more hurt, no more pain, no more despair, no more strife, no more enmity between God and man. He will bring all who trust in him into full and final reconciliation with God, to experience eternal, peace, joy, justice, and righteousness with him. Oh, Jesus, we praise you. You are the Prince of peace.
Isaiah 9:6 Calls for Peace and an End to Suffering
When we look around us in the world, I just think about wars in the world right now. God, in Yemen, just the horrible hurting, suffering happening in Yemen. That have happened in Syria. God, the threats of wars in this way or that way. Jesus, you are the Prince of peace. You bring an end to all wars, enmity, divisions, strife. And ultimately you bring an end to the separation from the Father that is wrought by sin in our hearts.
Jesus, we praise you for paying the price for our sin, for making it possible for us to have peace with God, to enjoy peace with God for all of eternity. So we look forward. We look forward to the fulfillment of your perfect peace. And a new heaven and a new earth where all wrongs will be made right. And your justice and righteousness and peace will reign.
Isaiah 9:6 Thanks God for Being the Prince of Peace
And at the same time we praise you that we don’t have to wait for that day to experience peace in our hearts. We praise you that today, because you have come we have peace with God. Jesus, we pray that you would help us to introduce others to this peace. God, especially here at Christmas. God today, please help us to point others to the peace that’s found in you. People are longing for peace all around us. So, God, we pray you’d help us to point them to you as the Prince of peace. God, not just right around us, but all around the world, because I don’t think it’s a coincidence that even praying for different unreached people groups that today we would pray for the Alawites in Syria, where there has been such a lack of peace.
So God, may the peace of Jesus be made known among the Muslim Alawites in Syria. Please God, please help them to know your peace. The peace that’s found through Jesus in reconciliation with you. That peace in our hearts, that we can have here on this earth, that supersedes even war, and suffering, and pain, and hurt. All glory be to your name, Jesus. You are the Prince of peace. May your peace spread through our lives right around us to the ends of the earth to the Alawites in Syria. That you might be known, and worshiped, and praised, and experienced as the Prince of peace in more, and more, and more hearts, even as we experience your peace in deeper and deeper ways in our lives, and our families, as your church. In your name, the name of the Prince of peace, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
