Who thinks about greetings? Are we taught the proper way to greet someone or is it automatic and can be said without any thought at all? But did you know that greetings convey a message? For example, “Hello” is polite and formal and is used when meeting a stranger. It acknowledges to the person that “you are here but I’m not going to engage in a conversation with you.” Whereas, “Hi” indicates friendship, and when said with a smile invites a conversation like “Let’s sit down and talk.”
Some of the more common greetings are: “Hey! How’s it going?” “Howdy.” “Good Morning.” “Mornin’.” “Long time no see!” “Yo! What’s up?” “Greetings” which is usually used in Christmas cards. “Good morning is formal and more likely to be used by older adults, but “Yo! What’s up?” is informal and is used by the younger crowd. Technically, they mean the same thing.
Greetings can be categorized into three groups of opposites like proper and slang, young and old, and formal and informal. Greetings around the world fall into one of these styles of greeting. In Mexico, Buenos Dias is formal and means Good Morning. Hola is informal and means hello or hi and is the most commonly used greeting. In Israel “shalom” is used in greeting or parting and is either formal or informal.
When reading the Bible, have you noticed that Jesus greeted only His disciples? Three times. And only after His resurrection. He greeted them saying, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:21) Then He said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” This same greeting is also found in Luke 34:36 and John 20:19.
We in the 21st century are also sent by Jesus to make disciples in the world. The question is, “What is your specific mission?”
Writers of the New Testament said these phrases in greeting: “Grace to you from our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ;” “Grace, mercy, and peace be with you;” “Grace to you and peace be multiplied to you.”
So, what makes Jesus’ greeting of peace so powerful and unique such as, “My peace I give to you.” Jesus’ greeting always included His desire to give His peace.
It is evident that non-believers are dependent on worldly methods to find their elusive peace from either within themselves or from resources around them. At best, it is only a temporary fix. However, with Jesus’ peace, there is no reason to ever fear. Jesus says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The peace that Jesus gives banishes all fear and dread from our hearts.
So, what does the peace of God mean? It means having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Believers will stand before God, and He will declare us “not guilty.”
And that is what Jesus meant in His greeting of peace to His disciples and it applies to us today. Shalom