John 16:33 NIV
[33] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

What could Jesus have said to His disciples in this moment of crisis? He knew that He would never have time with them alone again before He went to the cross. How could He reassure them that all was well and that, despite the way things seemed to be heading, everything would also turn out well for them?

Peace! They needed a peace that would hold them steady in every situation, no matter what happened. He had already bequeathed to them His love, joy, and peace, the most priceless gifts He could ever give them in a world of chaos and turmoil.

John 15:9 NIV
[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:11 NIV
[11] “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 14:27 NIV
[27] “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Uncertainty, insecurity, fear gripped them like the tentacles of a clinging vine. How would they be able to navigate the next few hours and the days to follow when He spoke repeatedly of leaving them? For years they had walked in His shadow, secure and protected by His presence and wisdom. What now?

Let’s examine the peace of which He spoke. What is Jeaus’ peace?

Google says…

“The peace Jesus gave his disciples was his own “inner peace” and spiritual tranquility, not the absence of conflict or worldly problems. It was a powerful, internal calm that provided reassurance and freedom from fear, even amidst turmoil and impending suffering. This divine peace is unconditional, permanent, and rooted in a relationship with God, offering assurance of salvation and eternal life, unlike the temporary and conditional peace of the world.”

How could Jesus experience this peace despite everything He endured as a man? “I have overcome the world.”

For Jesus, “the world” implied all the forces of evil in the world system over which His arch enemy had control that attempted to destroy the unity between Him and the Father. The one thing that could break that unity was sin, i.e., acting independently of the Father.

Jesus treasured and guarded this unity even to the shedding of His blood in obedience to the Father. Since He never sinned, His peace remained intact through every temptation, the assurance that He and the Father were always in complete harmony.

So, He offered the possibility of experiencing the same tranquility of heart and mind to His disciples in their current circumstances. Having this peace, to steady them always, depended on two responses…

1. Faith in Him to remove the sin barrier between themselves and God. Only Jesus could forgive their sin by paying their debt. Once their sin had been forgiven and removed, God was free to accept them as His own children.

Romans 5:1 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Peace with God! All barriers removed! Fully accepted by the Father!

This part of His peace was a once-for-all reality when they were made alive and transferred, through the power of the Holy Spirit, out of the realm of darkness into the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:2 NIV
[2] “… through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

…a standing in grace!

This means, that God was free to provide for them, (and us), because of His grace…His goodwill and favour towards them…everything they needed to live godly lives.

1. Faith in Him to carry them through every trial and test. Anxiety and fear are the two great monsters that rise up in daily experience to threaten His peace.

The key is to trade anxieties for His peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And THE PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So, Jesus assured them that He had taken care of their victory as well as His own, by holding steady against all the onslaughtss of the world. Since He had overcome, they could also overcome through His power in them and maintain the trust in Him that assured them of peace.

As long as they held fast to their trust in Him with gratitude for His unfailing goodness, His peace would act as a referee, only blowing the whistle when they trespassed outside the truth that held them steady. Truth and peace go hand-in-hand, peace in the heart always confirming truth in the mind.

So, despite outward turbulence, inward peace was His legacy to keep them from falling apart when their world spun out of control.