The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace” (Hebrews 7:2b NLT).

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Last year, I was preparing to speak to a group of women on the subject of peace. Interested to see what “peace” means to most people, I googled, “What do most people think of when they think of peace?” The AI overview summarized: “When people think of peace, they generally picture two main concepts: inner serenity and external harmony.” It went on to define inner serenity as “a calm mind, relief from stress, and contentment,” while external harmony was explained as “the absence of conflict, war or violence.” I thought it was interesting, but a nudge in my Spirit kept telling me to dig further, so I spent hours reading through the different ideas and periods of peace throughout history – both in ancient and modern cultures – and came across stuff that blew my mind. I couldn’t stop talking about it with anyone who would listen, and inevitably re-wrote everything I’d originally planned to say.

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While I’d heard of the Pax Romana before, it had never really sparked an interest in me. This time, I couldn’t get enough. Pax Romana means “Roman Peace,” and was considered a thriving period of relative stability characterized by prosperity, cultural expansion and architectural developments under the Roman Empire. This is where it gets even more fascinating…the founder of the Pax Romana was Caesar Augustus. Jesus was born while Rome was under his reign. That means Jesus was born in a time that was, and still is, known as the time of Roman Peace. In the heart of Pax Romana, when the world thought they’d figured it all out, God sent His Son into the world, called Him the Prince of Peace, and flipped the script.  

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Isaiah 9:6-7 says,  

“For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end” (NLT, emphasis added).

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That’s why, when I read in Hebrews 7 that Melchizedek, which means “king of justice,” was king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” bells started ringing in my head that what I’d learned about Jesus last summer meant something right here in Hebrews, too.  

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Rome thought they’d discovered the secret to peace, but the Bible says true peace comes through Jesus Christ who came to bring us restoration with God (Rom. 5:1-2). Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came into this world for the purpose of ultimate peace…the hope of glory…willing to be despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, stricken, wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, carrying the punishment for our peace so that by His stripes we are healed (paraphrase of Isa. 53:3-5). The cost of our peace came at the price of His stripes.  

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Rome had the following saying during the Pax Romana: “Si vu pacem, para bellum,” which means, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” That’s what Jesus did for us. He went to war for our souls. Through His blood shed on the cross, He bridged the gap between our depravity and God’s holiness. He became our sacrifice, and paid our sin debt once and for all, thus becoming our High Priest forever (Heb. 7:27-28). That is our Prince of Peace. Not just a random guy who came full of promises to give us tranquility and a facade of peace, but the Savior of the World who came and laid down His life to give us life.  

It’s easy to get caught up in the world’s definition of peace and forget we serve a counter-cultural God. There isn’t a single instance in Scripture where Jesus neglects to spread the gospel for the sake of “keeping the peace,” but we do see Him sharing truth with a heart moved by love, mercy and compassion. Jesus brought peace by engaging with culture. He didn’t just call Himself compassionate, but He loved people enough to act in compassion by teaching truth and meeting their tangible needs. He has called us to do the same thing. You cannot sit on the fence, friends. If you are a believer, John 14:27 says, “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” (NKJV). Peace resides within our hearts and is ours to give to those around us – not simply the absence of chaos, but the assurance of knowing who holds the victory.  

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If you know Jesus, you know who holds the victory, and you can be a peacemaker in this generation. Are you willing to go to war for the souls around you so that they, too, can experience the peace of Jesus? We know who holds the final victory, so the time to decide whose side you’re on is now. Like the Romans, we live in a culture that believes it has the answers we need to achieve peace, but God has placed you here to be a messenger of true peace to the world around you. It’s time to put on the full Armor of God and go to war against the spiritual darkness of our time.