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 Today, for the last Sunday of Advent, we lit the candle of Peace. With our country at war, once again as it was here in the 1960’s, peace has become political. Yet, it is not this kind of peace that Jesus came to end. A political peace is always temporary, because as Jesus warned us that in the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars. As much as we want to turn Jesus into a flower child, Jesus also told us that He came to earth to turn fathers against sons and daughters against mothers. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry until the present time, He has always been a controversial figure. With this in mind, is it not hypocritical for us to label Jesus as the Prince of Peace?
In our Old Testament reading for today, the prophet Micah describes the Son of God in these words as translated from Peterson’s The Message,
“But you, Bethlehem, David's country, the runt of the litter—From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He'll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished. Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes until the birth pangs are over and the child is born, and the scattered brothers come back home to the family of Israel. He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God's strength, centered in the majesty of God-Revealed. And the people will have a good and safe home, for the whole world will hold him in respect— Peacemaker of the world!”
So how does this polarizing person, Jesus the Christ, become the “Peacemaker of the world!”? The Jews at the time of Jesus’ birth were looking for a king who would deliver them from the oppression of the Romans. Even King Herod was on alert for this king’s appearance, which is why Herod had all of the children under the age of two years slaughtered in Bethlehem when the Wise Men from the East did not report back to him on where to find Jesus. Many years later, when Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, to be killed; Pilate asked Jesus if Jesus was the King of the Jews. Jesus’ response is crucial in understanding who Jesus is. From The Message, we read in the ‘Gospel of John’, "
My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn't consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. But I'm not that kind of king, not the world's kind of king." So if Jesus is “not the world's kind of king." Then what kind of king is Jesus? And again, how is He the “Peacemaker of the world!”,
when Jesus described Himself as a person, who would cause dissension, even in people’s families? What exactly was Jesus’ mission on earth? Why did God send us His Only Begotten Son? Going back to the prophet Micah, let’s look at these words that Micah wrote concerning the birth of the Messiah,
“But you, Bethlehem, David's country, the runt of the litter—from you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He'll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished. Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes until the birth pangs are over and the child is born, and the scattered brothers come back home to the family of Israel.”
From Micah’s words, we are told that the Messiah will be born in the small town of Bethlehem, because He will be descended from the House of David; which is a distinguished lineage for the People of Israel, who fondly remember their shepherd-king David. As we know from the Holy Scriptures, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in compliance to a degree sent out by the Roman Emperor. The degree commanded that everyone in the Roman Empire was to be taxed. Just to make sure the Romans got their taxes from all the people under their rule, the head of each household had to return with their family to their place of birth. For Mary and Joseph, this meant that Joseph had to leave Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem. Since Mary was Joseph’s betrothed, she also had to go to Bethlehem, which is where Jesus the Messiah, Mary’s son, was born.
In order to have Jesus born in Bethlehem, God worked through the Roman Emperor, the chief oppressor of the People of Israel, to cause Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. Not only did God work through the Roman Emperor to put into motion a degree that would send Joseph to Bethlehem with Mary, God’s timing was also perfect. For the scriptures tell us that Mary was pregnant and her due date for giving birth was soon. Considering Mary’s condition through our modern lenses, we are at a loss as to why Mary didn’t just stay home in Nazareth and wait for Joseph. Pregnant women of today are often warned by their doctors to not go on long trips or even fly especially near their due dates. So for us, it seems reasonable and even wise for Mary to have stayed with her parents at this time. At least for the child’s sake, it seems like it would have been a much better decision.
Instead, in compliance to the emperor’s degree, Mary and Joseph headed for Bethlehem. Tradition has Mary riding on a donkey and Joseph walking. Yet, the scriptures do not give us these details. These have been handed down to us from the customs of those times. A woman in Mary’s stage of pregnancy would not have been expected to have walked such a long way. Considering Joseph’s vocation, as a lowly carpenter, he would have been lucky to have had one donkey. Having been told in a dream by an angel that the baby Mary carried was the Son of God, Joseph would have made sure that Mary didn’t have to walk all the way to Bethlehem, which would have placed Joseph on foot.
As generous a gift as that was from Joseph, Mary would have still had a difficult journey. The roads were not all paved. There were no rest areas like we have today. Being poor, the couple would have had to have taken all of their food for the journey with them. Because they had very little money, they could not afford to pay to stay in any inns along the way. Unless they had relatives, who lived along the way, Mary and Joseph would have slept on the ground under the stars along the road.
As you can see, just fulfilling Micah’s first part of his prophecy was not an easy task. Yet, the Lord God sent His angels to protect the poor couple. Mary and Joseph didn’t have it easy, but they had all they needed to make the journey to Bethlehem; thus fulfilling the Word of the Lord. After Micah establishes the Messiah’s lineage and place of birth, he writes these perplexing words,
“Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes until the birth pangs are over and the child is born, and the scattered brothers come back home to the family of Israel.”
Although there were Jews at the time of Jesus’ birth that lived in other countries, they had not been forced to leave their native home. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans. Only one wall of the Temple built by King Herod was left standing. Out of fear of the Romans, the Jews fled from their homeland. The Jews were scattered throughout the entire world. In 1947, the nation of Israel was formed by the United Nations as a safe place for the Jews. This was done in response to Hitler’s Holocaust of the Jews in which over 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis. In 1948, Israel became an independent nation; thus, fulfilling Micah’s prophetic words concerning the dispersion and the return of the Jews to their homeland. The child that Micah is referring to in this verse “until the birth pangs are over and the child is born” is the birthing of the Body of Christ, the Church Universal throughout the world.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus prophesizes about what would take place after He left the earth to return to the Father God. Matthew writes,
“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt.24:4-8 NIV).
The Body of Christ has now been waiting for nearly two thousand years for Jesus’ return to earth. During this time of waiting, there have been many earthquakes, many wars and many false prophets. Yet, Jesus has not come back. We are still waiting for the Prince of Peace to come and establish His Kingdom. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” With those very words we are asking God to bring His kingdom of heaven down to earth.
In heaven, there are no wars, no earthquakes and no false prophets. Instead of turmoil, there is the peace that only Christ can bring. One day, Jesus will return to earth and fulfill Micah’s prophetic words that come next,
“He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God's strength, centered in the majesty of God-Revealed. And the people will have a good and safe home, for the whole world will hold him in respect— Peacemaker of the world!”
Until that Day comes, the only real peace the world will know is the peace which we as Christians allow the Prince of Peace to flow through us.
Like Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, we the Church are not promised a luxurious ride. Instead, Jesus has promised us hardship and great difficulties. Yet, within those warnings, Jesus also promised to be with us always. In human form, Jesus traveled in Mary’s womb to Bethlehem to begin His mission on earth to bring humanity back into relationship with the Father God. Now each member of the Body of Christ carries the Prince of Peace within our hearts. Until Jesus returns, unlike Mary and Joseph, our journey continues; yet, with these words of promise, “The Peace of the Lord be with you.”
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