PRINCE OF PEACE
The first task to reckon with when understanding the Messiah is his label as the Prince of Peace. The inconsistencies of this label with reality on the ground is hard to understand. The Bible is full of scriptures that clearly say that God is a God of peace. This imagery is reinforced with prophecies that the Messiah will bring peace, good government, healing and deliverance from the oppression or enemies. Christians, of course, believe that these prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus. Jews, on the other hand, believe that the Messiah is yet to come. The following is what Jews believe about the messiah:

The mashiach will be a great political leader descended by a pure male line from King David (Jeremiah 23,5).  The mashiach is often referred to as “mashiach ben David” (The Mashiach, son of David).  He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11,2-5).  He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example.  He will be a great military figure who will win battles for Israel, freeing the Jews of foreign domination and establishing a Torah-based kingdom in Israel.  He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33,15).  But above all, he will be a fully normal human being, not a god, demi-god, or other supernatural being.

The fact that Jews and many Christians around the world are in a constant state of conflict seems to support the Jew’s belief that the Messiah has not yet come. And yet the Christians continue to believe that he has come even though the evidence all around says that, with only a few exceptions, division and strife — not peace — is, and has been, the norm for both Jews and Christians. These contradictions strongly argue that both the Jews and Christians have interpreted scripture wrongly.

AUTHORS’ NOTE: See Peace in Faith, Grace, Mercy, Peace, Glory and Blessing for a discussion about what peace really means. Also see The Heart is the Place.

We also recommend reading these books for a thorough historical review of conflict experienced by God’s people.

• • History of Christianity by Paul Johnson
  • History of the Jews by Paul Johnson
  • Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews, A History by James Carroll

What to believe about the Messiah as the Prince of Peace is further confused by what Jesus said about himself in these scriptures:

Matthew 10:32-39: So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

Luke 12:49-53: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52 for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Given the tumultuous, even deadly history of Judaism and Christianity, Jesus would appear to have spoken in terms that better reflect the reality of conflict rather peace. But, because God does not change, we know that the problem is our ability to interpret scripture. We can blame God for making it that way if we want to, but that does not help our ability to understand. We must accept, therefore, that this is one of many Biblical mysteries that we must solve if we want to go deeper in our understanding of God and the Messiah.

So, how do we reconcile Jesus as the prince of peace with the fact that he comes with a sword to bring division? The answer complicated and includes the following truths:

This is how it was for Jesus. He heard God’s voice and spoke what he heard to anyone who would listen. Doing this made him the enemy of the religious people of his day. This also how it is