Peace I Leave With You

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” —JESUS (John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬)

I love this passage, for not only does it speak to the heart of what peace accomplishes (dispelling afraid, troubling thoughts and feelings), it’s also one of the most applicable in our daily lives.

You see, any passage in any part of the scriptures—especially the words of Jesus—are intended to be mirrors into our own hearts and thus, are to be applied to our lives (see 2 Timothy 3:16). For this, as disciples we are called to insert ourself into the narratives.

As we look into the context of Jesus’ comforting words (“peace I leave with you”), it beckons us to look at what the disciples were actually experiencing. In other words, the encouragement of our Great Rabbi isn’t aimless rhetoric to buy time until he’s led to the place of his departure. No, these words are specific to the bewildering emotions that the disciples we’re experiencing in real time. And they can be the same for us.

So, what exactly is going on?

If we back up to chapter 13 (the passage leading up to this specific moment), we’ll encounter a scenario in which Jesus meets with his disciples to “show them the full measure of his love” John‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ ‭(TPT‬‬). That’s right: their Teacher and friend, preparing for his final days before the cross, would meet them to wash them from the dust of the journey—all to reveal the love of the Father. However, the foot-washing ceremony doesn’t go like we imagined it would. I mean, for crying out loud, Peter wrestles against Jesus’ first attempt to stoop down and cleanse him. Then, not long after, Jesus reveals that one of the disciples will openly betray him. Talk about taking a potentially beautiful moment and drowning it in negativity!

Can you imagine the amount of tension and confusion that must’ve rested on the disciples, as they were encountered with the reality of their own human frailty? Not to mention how they neared the last days of their Rabbi and Friend?

And this whole “peace” talk comes moments after such craziness. Talk about a recipe for doubt and uncertainty to set in!

SEEING OURSELVES IN THE STORY

Let’s make this applicable to our own lives: Do you ever feel like you just don’t have your stuff together? Maybe like you’re uncertain of the coming days, swimming in the waters of your own human frailty?

Well, I have good news: our Great Rabbi and dearest Friend has not given up on us (it’s just not in the realm of possibility). Instead, in the midst of uncertainty, doubt and perhaps insecurity, he’s speaking over us what he spoke over his team of bewildered disciples: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I imagine that John must’ve truly heard this call to peace, seeing that he was the one to write it down. Interestingly, he was also the one who, moments earlier in the midst of chaos and conflict, was found resting on Jesus’ chest and heart (see John 13). In fact, although he wrote the specific account, he never says a word or inserts his own opinion or agenda. Instead, he simply rests on the heart of his Friend.

Today, I encourage us to steady the pace and lean into the Fathers heart (as revealed in Jesus). In the spirit of the psalmist, may we be still (quiet) and know that he is the God of peace. It’s there, and only there, that we find what he calls “peace.” It’s there that we discover more of him!

Blessings!

Robby