²⁷ “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Surprisingly, this is the first time the word “peace” is used in the Gospel of John. He uses it one other time in the Upper Room in 16:33, but not again until after the resurrection where Jesus speaks peace to the disciples, again in a room (ostensibly the Upper Room). Other large-concept words abound in this gospel account like life, love and light. Emphasis can come with the vastness of repetition (as is the case of Luke’s chronicle which records “peace” numerous times), but emphasis can also come in an understated way. In the midst of the Gospel of life, love and light, the idea of peace stands out subtly, yet starkly.

Probably for the first time do we see that the disciples’ spiritual high of walking with Jesus gets shaken to the core. Yes, there were times of fear before, as when struggling against the storms – the stories of which abound in Matthew, Mark and Luke. And Jesus spoke peace to them then. But their fears at those times concerned earthly things. But in the Upper Room a different kind of fear was descending on them, the loss of their beloved Master, the One for whom they had given up everything to follow, the One in whom all their hopes rested. They were about to discover the depths to which their fears would be realized.

Jesus knew what it was like to be troubled. It is how He felt when He saw the people grieving for Lazarus at his tomb (John 11:33). He experienced a “troubled” spirit when He prayed to the Father in anticipation of His death on the cross (12:27). And the thought of one of the disciples betraying Him brought on this same feeling (13:21). So Jesus knows whereof He speaks, so He knows their need of a supernatural peace.

This peace He was offering them (and us) would be a supernatural harmony of soul and spirit, not just the assurance of personal well-being or even just an emotional sense of well-being. There are times when God seems silent, His promises seem distance. Times when our faith is shaken to the core, our hope wavers. Precisely at those times, when it seems God is simply not there, when we are tempted to feel that all we have lived and sacrificed for in believing in and following Christ is for nothing, that is when this promise of peace gets us through. It is at times like that when we hold on to the promise of Jesus’ peace, which the apostle Paul describes as, “… the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension [which] will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

Lord, I cling to Your promise of peace, and rest in it no matter the storm.