Jesus, the
Isaiah's title for the coming Messiah — Christ as the bringer of peace between God and humanity and ultimately among all nations.
'Prince of Peace' is one of the four throne-names Isaiah gives the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:6 — alongside Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father. The four titles together capture different dimensions of Christ's reign, with 'Prince of Peace' the climactic last. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is far richer than the English 'peace.' Shalom means wholeness, completeness, harmony — all things being as they should be. To call Christ the Prince of Peace is to claim he brings the comprehensive restoration of all things. The peace he brings has three dimensions. First, peace with God. 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:1). Apart from Christ, every human stands under God's righteous opposition to sin; in Christ, that opposition is ended and replaced with peace. The cross is the means: 'having made peace through the blood of his cross' (Colossians 1:20). Second, peace within. 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you' (John 14:27). Christ's peace is not the absence of external trouble but the presence of internal grounding — what Philippians 4:7 calls 'the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.' This peace can exist in difficult circumstances because it is anchored in God, not in conditions. Third, peace between people. Ephesians 2:14 — 'He is our peace, who hath made both one' — applies specifically to Jew and Gentile, the deepest ancient division. The cross does not just reconcile individuals to God; it reconciles enemies to each other. The peace of Christ relativizes the divisions humans build. The full consummation is yet to come. Isaiah 9:7 — 'of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end' — looks toward Christ's eternal reign. Revelation 21 pictures a city with no more crying or pain. The Prince of Peace will bring the full shalom that humanity has never seen since Eden.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.”
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Angels at Christ's birth
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.”
“He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
To call Christ the Prince of Peace is to look to him for peace your circumstances cannot give. The peace he gives is not contingent on resolution of every problem — it is his own peace, a peace 'not as the world giveth.' This is why Paul could write from prison about peace, and why martyrs have died in peace. The peace of Christ is not soft — it is sturdy enough to hold in any storm.
Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6 — 'For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' The verse is one of the most famous messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, made universally familiar through Handel's Messiah.
It means Christ is the bringer of comprehensive peace (Hebrew shalom — wholeness, restoration, all things as they should be). His peace has three dimensions: peace with God (the cross removes God's opposition to sin), peace within (the inner grounding that 'passeth all understanding'), and peace between people (Christ reconciles former enemies). The full peace will arrive at his return, when 'of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.'
Jesus gives peace in three ways. First, objectively through the cross — peace with God is accomplished, regardless of how the believer feels. 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God' (Romans 5:1). Second, subjectively through his Spirit — the Spirit produces peace as fruit (Galatians 5:22) and the 'peace of God which passeth all understanding' guards the heart (Philippians 4:7). Third, communally through reconciliation — Christ makes former enemies into one new humanity (Ephesians 2:14-15). The peace is given; the believer receives it.