What Are We Waiting For?

A little more than 2,000 years ago, a baby boy was born. His mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. Suddenly, an angel appeared to some shepherds nearby, accompanied by a celestial choir praising God with the words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men . . .”(Luke 2:14). Why would these heavenly beings announce peace? Because this baby would be the Prince of Peace of whom Isaiah spoke (Isa 9:6). 

In the first century, when Jesus was born, Israel was under the control of the Roman Empire. The region fell under Roman rule when two Hasmonean brothers welcomed Rome’s influence and support in their fight for succession. The Roman general Pompey, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, “told them, that when he came again into their country he would settle all their affairs.” After that seemingly golden opportunity, Rome never left. The peace that Jewish people had always hoped for remained elusive, and the waiting persisted. 

The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have largely struggled to find peace in this world. Believers in Jesus have found peace in this world; yet, it is not a peace of this world. The Messiah once taught, “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” (John 14:27). 

Undeniably, we, as followers of Jesus, are also still waiting for a complete peace on this earth that will only be established when Messiah returns to rule over His kingdom. This peace is described in Isaiah 52:7 (emphasis added): “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” 

This prophecy, written 700 years before Jesus was born, describes a time when peace will be the norm, happiness will abound, and the Lord will reign from Zion. We wait for that time with hope and eager anticipation. While we wait, we remember, year after year, the Prince of Peace who was born to bring peace to all of creation. 

The prophets foretold of one who would come to bring peace with him. Isaiah 9:6 is often translated passively: “His name will be called.” However, the Hebrew is active: “One will call his name.” The implication is that, at some point in the future, everyone will use the following names to refer to this promised figure: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”(Isa 9:6). But these terms describe more than just names:

In its highest use, “name” sums up character; it declares the person. The perfection of this King is seen in his qualification for ruling (Wonderful Counselor), his person and power (Mighty God), his relationship to his subjects (Everlasting Father) and the society his rule creates (Prince of Peace).

The prophet would go on to write, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom” (Isa 9:7, emphasis added). When this child is born into this world, he will be a descendant of David, sit on David’s throne, and rule over a kingdom of everlasting peace. While the world—Jewish and Gentile, believing and not-yet-believing—still awaits the establishment of the kingdom of peace, Jesus has given us a foretaste of His reign. The inner peace we have now is “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:7). Jesus left us His peace and the hope of His return, knowing there would be a lack of peace between people until He returns and establishes His throne. But what about Jewish people who do not yet know that peace? 

The prophet Jeremiah tells the story of the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah in 586 bce. The people were about to be taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, and they were terrified, saying, “We waited for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror!”(Jer 8:15). One might imagine an Israeli today crying the same words as those uttered by the Israelites of Jeremiah’s day: “We waited for peace, but behold, terror!” However, Israel is not without hope. Since the days of Jeremiah, another prophet, Ezekiel, wrote about a time of unending peace:

They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. (Ezek 37:25–27, emphasis added)

Jewish people are waiting for this eternal covenant of peace. 

Chosen People Ministries has responded to the great need for peace in Israel in numerous ways. It is encouraging to see many Israelis turning to God’s word for peace. After the horrifying attacks of October 7, the most searched Hebrew term in Israel was Tehillim (Psalms). Even the non-religious are searching the Psalms for answers. Our ministry’s Psalms of Hope campaign is an ongoing initiative in Israel that provides a digital copy of the Psalms in modern Hebrew to any Israeli who asks. Almost 2,000 Jewish Israelis have downloaded the book as of this writing. 

The book of Psalms has been a source of hope and comfort for Israelis through all these hardships and uncertainties. The psalms are full of examples of rejoicing, praising God, seeing His beauty, as well as lamenting, crying out to the Lord, and relying on Him as an anchor in times of trouble. In one extreme example, Israeli worshippers turned to the book of Psalms after being spared from a terrorist attack. A suicide-bomber was on his way to detonate a bomb in Tel Aviv, but it malfunctioned and went off early outside a small synagogue. The blast killed only the attacker and not those meeting inside the synagogue for nightly prayers. Once police arrived, the congregants went back into the synagogue and opened the Psalms to read out loud how good and merciful the Lord is to have spared their lives! 

One of our staff in Israel commented on how significant it is right now just to find a moment of safety. 

Recently, one of our missionaries spoke with a couple of different ladies who came to our ministry events. Both women said they had been to our ministry center in the past but stopped coming when the pandemic hit and never came back—until after October 7. Each woman sensed a compelling need to return to regular fellowship with believers. We are encouraged to see the Spirit of God working in their hearts and drawing them back to Himself—because only in Him and through the Risen Messiah do we have hope for the future.

Our hope for the future is peace. Yet, peace in today’s world can seem complex and nearly impossible, like the idea of a lion and a lamb peacefully coexisting. The Scripture actually references a wolf and a lamb dwelling together: “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them” (Isa 11:6). Isaiah is describing a world in which peace reigns over all creatures. Once again, a little boy is the one who brings this peace. Believers in Yeshua recognize that this time will come when He returns. However, even not-yet-believing Jewish people perceive the supernatural nature of such peace. Avinoam Rosenak of Hebrew University in Jerusalem notes that these pairs of animals in this passage “maintain their distinct natures and forms while still sharing an ultimate future of a rationale-defying peace between them.”

Only the Messiah can accomplish the kind of peace for which we all await. During the upcoming holiday season, it is critical we understand that Jewish people are waiting, hoping, and yearning for the peace promised in Scripture. It is a peace that can only come when Yeshua returns. Still, we can pray that God will provide the same foretaste now of His kingdom of peace to His chosen people around the world, and especially in Israel, by turning hearts toward Him through Jesus. That would be a truly Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!