PREJUDICE AND THE "PRINCE OF PEACE"

Prejudice is not peculiar (distinctive) to any people, whether we speak of race, ethnic or religious groups. It can be found among all. Prejudice is defined as follows: “An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. Any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable, unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group” (Dictionary.Com). A person is not born with prejudice in his/her heart toward any persons. Prejudice is learned by being taught by someone; or, one learns to be prejudiced against other persons by being influenced by his/her environment or by association. My wife and I entered a mall in a nearby city on one occasion when our precious granddaughter, age 2-3 years old, was with us. Our granddaughter saw two black children about her age and immediately ran up to them and began hugging their necks. I think the mothers were amazed as we were. We thought, how wonderful it would be if adults acted in their hearts as these precious children did toward one another. There was a person who was even prejudiced against Jesus because He came from a certain town. It was Philip who “found Nathanael and said to him, “”We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45, 46). Nathanael did become a believer in Jesus, the Son of God. He was of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was an Israelite, in other words, a Jew. The Jews were despised by non-Jews. In like manner, the Jews were greatly prejudiced against the Samaritans and the Greeks. In traveling from Judea to the religion of Galilee, the Jews would cross over the Jordan River and travel on the eastern side until they passed the country of Samaria, and then they would cross back over the River of Jordan and continue their trip. In the gospel of John, chapter 4, you can read the story of Jesus, while passing through Samaria with his disciples, He spoke to a Samaritan woman and talked with her of the “living water”. As we might say, this was unheard of, that is, a Jewish man speaking to a woman who was a Samaritan! But, Jesus was not prejudiced against others simply because they were not a Jew. To be like Christ, we will not harbor prejudice and/or hatred in our hearts against people who are of a different race or ethnic group. In the book of Isaiah 9:6, the messianic prophet wrote of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as being the “Prince of Peace”. The apostle Paul, wrote “To the saints who are in Ephesus” ( Ephesians.1:1), that Jesus “Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His Flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the father.” (Ephesians 2:14-18). That which separated the Jews and Gentiles had been abolished and now the Jews and Gentiles could be reconciled in Jesus Christ and His body, which is His church (1:22,23). This was made possible when Jesus shed his precious blood on Calvary’s cross (2:13). Jesus, the “Prince of Peace”, preached peace that prevents persons from having prejudice in one’s heart toward people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. The apostle Paul explains it clearly that we all can be united in Jesus Christ as found in Galatians 3:26-29: “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”