Jesus Will Bring Peace

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. ISAIAH 2:4

God promised that one day there will be peace on earth—crime, violence, and wars will cease. A world of wars will give way to a world of love. That day will come. When?

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples. (Isa. 2:4)

The Bible refers to this as the day of the Lord. So, when Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth,” He was saying, “The day of the Lord has not yet come. I did not come into the world to judge between nations and decide disputes for people.” If Jesus had come to judge between nations, He would have appeared in a blaze of glory, surrounded by an army of angels; not in a manger, surrounded by lowly shepherds.

The earth shook when God came down on Mount Sinai to give the Ten Commandments, so if Jesus had come into the world to judge, the whole planet would have been shaken. The Roman Empire would have collapsed in a moment and King Herod would have been brought to justice.

So, here we come to the simplest and most basic question about Christmas: Why was Jesus born as a baby? “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47). This is why Jesus was born into the world as a baby and why He went to the cross.

Peace will come when Jesus judges the world. But when He came into the world on that first Christmas, He did not come to judge, He came to save. He came to make a way in which sinners like us—who would never be qualified to enter the world of peace and righteousness that He will establish—might be saved.

Is it clear to you how Jesus will bring about peace in the world?