Peace preacher
17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:17-18–ESV)
“And he came,” wrote Paul. In the mid-First Century, Paul already was speaking of Jesus in the past tense. Jesus came. He had been there. For God so loved the world, wrote John, that he sent his only son. Jesus did not wake up one day in Nazareth with an epiphany for ministry. He was born one day in Bethlehem with a purpose to preach. His birth was a coming, the beginning of the dwelling.
After three decades learning obedience in Nazareth, he came again. This time to John the Baptist. With the descent of the dove, his Palestinian preaching tour commenced. On those walks, in those sermons, in the private mentoring of his close associates he was not a bringer of self-help theories, but an announcer of God-help realities.
That is what Paul writes of when he says Jesus came; Jesus preached.
All need peace
Look what Paul said of Jesus’ audience. It was to all people both far and near. The Jew and Gentile alike were under sin having fallen short of God’s glory. One fell into self-righteousness and hypocrisy. The other in humanism and idolatry. All, like sheep, had gone astray. To these Jesus came.
While it is obvious how he preached to the Jews it may be less evident as to the Gentiles. Four or five examples come quickly to mind where Christ or his life events engaged the non-Jew during his time.
- Samaritan woman by the well whose life was off the rails (John 4)
- The Sidonian woman whose child was possessed of Matthew 15.
- The Centurion whose servant was paralyzed and suffering (Matthew 8)
- Pilate during his trial in John 19 especially down around verse 11.
- The Centurion at the foot of the cross when Christ died (Luke 23).
Maybe you can find other examples, but the point is less the list and more the lessons. Jesus came and brought truth to the world. In that truth is peace. All needed it: Gentile and Jew.
Peace is access
Through Jesus is access to God the Father. There is one spirit that is the conduit. That is the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said he would send after he returned to his Father.
He mentioned this when speaking with the Samaritan woman over the rabbit trails of where to worship. He told her the time was coming when all would worship in spirit and truth. She became confused over all this talk and gave up declaring that when the Messiah comes all would be cleared up. Then Jesus, oddly it seems to me, revealed to this half-Jew, half-Gentile that he was the Messiah.
You and I are the downstream products of the preaching of Christ. The Holy Spirit is alive and well teaching and reminding us of all things. The rooms of heaven are not filled to capacity and neither is his ability to hear our prayers and respond to them. Access to God is still open.
Sometimes I have a patient who will ask me if I am still seeing new patients. Some physicians get a docket of patients full enough that they must close the door. Some countries get filled enough that they may figure they should close their borders. Neither is so with God. He has made an offer to us of salvation. The door is open. Access to God is readily available. That is good news. The patient who can have the mother or father, spouse or child seen is relieved when I tell them I can see their family member or friend. Are we relieved when Paul tells us that access to God the Father is open and available? There is an operator standing by ready to pick up the phone and connect. He who opens the door to his heart will find a peacemaker in God ready to come in and connect. He will clean a bit as well, but you will know the cleaning as a good thing.
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