Lessons Jesus Taught His Disciples
Lesson Six • Peace
James Mann
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.” John 14:27-30
1. The passage above heavily relies on this concept of peace. When you think of peace, how would you describe it?
2. Outside of our relationship with Jesus, where do you find moments of peace in your life?
One of the most peaceful activities I enjoy is lying in a hammock in the middle of the woods. To experience the smells, sounds, and nature coming to life right before my eyes is just so relaxing and away from the world. I will typically turn the cellular off on my phone and just read the day away in complete and utter silence from the world. I bring this up because this is my earthly concept of what peace is. I often think in those moments how there is nothing in the world that could ruin this moment of peace and relaxation. Even in this moment of peace that I am describing, there are still flaws. There are still deer flies swarming me nonstop. My back begins to hurt after a couple of hours. Ultimately, this peace ends at some point when I have to make my way back home.
3. What usually ruins the peace that you find in your life?
The two worst things about the peace we find here on Earth are that it is imperfect and only lasts for moments. Eventually, we must go back to the stressful, nonstop, go-go-go of life. We have family, work, and other responsibilities in our daily lives that require our peace to only be momentary. Many of us work extremely hard throughout our lives because we have this idea of retirement at the end of the road, but even that peace has flaws.
During this Easter season, I am normally moving at a thousand miles an hour. I have church events, family events, and schoolwork to get done. Many of you can relate to the stress that comes with the holiday season. I do not believe that is what Jesus intended for this day. Jesus puts heavy emphasis on peace.
4. What is this peace that Jesus is talking about in the passage?
I believe there are many implications of the peace that He is discussing. There is a past, present, future, and eternal aspect going on.
The past peace is discussing that we no longer need to worry about the wrongs we have done in the past. So many of us are hung up on these ideas, and they sometimes stop us in our tracks while we stand there like deer in the headlights. These ideas can be crippling. It becomes baggage that we carry around everywhere we go. The Bible tells us that we are running a race in this life, but so many of us allow this baggage to slow us down.
5. What things in your past cause you to struggle with peace?
The present peace is discussing that we should not be stressing over our day-to-day lives. We are so focused on pleasing everyone around us that we let it consume us. So many people lie awake at night filled with anxiety about the life they will wake up to. We constantly have deadlines on our minds, and it is causing us to not live in the here and now. Many times, this lack of peace causes us to miss what God has put in front of us.
6. What present things cause you to struggle with peace?
The future peace is discussing that we should not be stressing over the things to come down the road. This is my biggest struggle. I am constantly trying to plan out what my life looks like. I am constantly stressing about how my life will look in five years. The truth is, God has a plan for what my life will look like in five years, and He is going to make His plan happen no matter what I do.
7. What things about the future cause you to struggle with peace?
The eternal peace discusses the afterlife. It discusses when we take our last breath here on Earth and what happens next. I do not know how a non-believer goes through their daily lives thinking that someday they are going to die, and that is it - black screen. Let the credits roll. That is terrifyingly haunting to me.
In this Easter season, I pray that you take a moment to evaluate your life. Jesus tells us in John chapter 14 that He is going to give us peace that is unlike the peace that this world can provide for us. It is better than any hammock in the woods. It is perfect and eternal peace. It is the peace in our soul knowing that when we take our last breath on Earth, our next one is in the presence of our Father. Easter is about remembering that the ruler of this world, Satan, has no power over Jesus, which He proved by rising from the grave.
8. Do you know without a doubt that you have this eternal peace?
John 15:13-15 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Jesus calls us friends. He tells us that what He has done shows us just how much He loves us. His love for us is greater than any other love you could possibly imagine. It is because of this love that He died for us. It is because of this love that we can have peace. Jesus tells us that one day He will return for us. Make sure you are not letting the stress of this world distract you from that fact. Meditate on the peace and reassurance that our Savior is coming to bring us home.
1. The passage above heavily relies on this concept of peace. When you think of peace, how would you describe it?
2. Outside of our relationship with Jesus, where do you find moments of peace in your life?
One of the most peaceful activities I enjoy is lying in a hammock in the middle of the woods. To experience the smells, sounds, and nature coming to life right before my eyes is just so relaxing and away from the world. I will typically turn the cellular off on my phone and just read the day away in complete and utter silence from the world. I bring this up because this is my earthly concept of what peace is. I often think in those moments how there is nothing in the world that could ruin this moment of peace and relaxation. Even in this moment of peace that I am describing, there are still flaws. There are still deer flies swarming me nonstop. My back begins to hurt after a couple of hours. Ultimately, this peace ends at some point when I have to make my way back home.
3. What usually ruins the peace that you find in your life?
The two worst things about the peace we find here on Earth are that it is imperfect and only lasts for moments. Eventually, we must go back to the stressful, nonstop, go-go-go of life. We have family, work, and other responsibilities in our daily lives that require our peace to only be momentary. Many of us work extremely hard throughout our lives because we have this idea of retirement at the end of the road, but even that peace has flaws.
During this Easter season, I am normally moving at a thousand miles an hour. I have church events, family events, and schoolwork to get done. Many of you can relate to the stress that comes with the holiday season. I do not believe that is what Jesus intended for this day. Jesus puts heavy emphasis on peace.
4. What is this peace that Jesus is talking about in the passage?
I believe there are many implications of the peace that He is discussing. There is a past, present, future, and eternal aspect going on.
The past peace is discussing that we no longer need to worry about the wrongs we have done in the past. So many of us are hung up on these ideas, and they sometimes stop us in our tracks while we stand there like deer in the headlights. These ideas can be crippling. It becomes baggage that we carry around everywhere we go. The Bible tells us that we are running a race in this life, but so many of us allow this baggage to slow us down.
5. What things in your past cause you to struggle with peace?
The present peace is discussing that we should not be stressing over our day-to-day lives. We are so focused on pleasing everyone around us that we let it consume us. So many people lie awake at night filled with anxiety about the life they will wake up to. We constantly have deadlines on our minds, and it is causing us to not live in the here and now. Many times, this lack of peace causes us to miss what God has put in front of us.
6. What present things cause you to struggle with peace?
The future peace is discussing that we should not be stressing over the things to come down the road. This is my biggest struggle. I am constantly trying to plan out what my life looks like. I am constantly stressing about how my life will look in five years. The truth is, God has a plan for what my life will look like in five years, and He is going to make His plan happen no matter what I do.
7. What things about the future cause you to struggle with peace?
The eternal peace discusses the afterlife. It discusses when we take our last breath here on Earth and what happens next. I do not know how a non-believer goes through their daily lives thinking that someday they are going to die, and that is it - black screen. Let the credits roll. That is terrifyingly haunting to me.
In this Easter season, I pray that you take a moment to evaluate your life. Jesus tells us in John chapter 14 that He is going to give us peace that is unlike the peace that this world can provide for us. It is better than any hammock in the woods. It is perfect and eternal peace. It is the peace in our soul knowing that when we take our last breath on Earth, our next one is in the presence of our Father. Easter is about remembering that the ruler of this world, Satan, has no power over Jesus, which He proved by rising from the grave.
8. Do you know without a doubt that you have this eternal peace?
John 15:13-15 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Jesus calls us friends. He tells us that what He has done shows us just how much He loves us. His love for us is greater than any other love you could possibly imagine. It is because of this love that He died for us. It is because of this love that we can have peace. Jesus tells us that one day He will return for us. Make sure you are not letting the stress of this world distract you from that fact. Meditate on the peace and reassurance that our Savior is coming to bring us home.