'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid.'—JOHN xiv. 27.
'Peace be unto you!' was, and is, the common Eastern salutation, both
in meeting and in parting. It carries us back to a state of society in
which every stranger might be an enemy. It is a confession of the deep
unrest of the human heart. Christ was about closing His discourse, and
the common word of leave-taking came naturally to His lips; just as
when He first met His followers after the Resurrection, He soothed
their fears by the calm and familiar greeting, 'Peace be unto you!' But
common words deepen their force and meaning when He uses them. In Him
'all things become new,' and on His lips the conventional threadbare
salutation changes into a tender and mysterious communication of a real
gift. His words are deeds, and His wishes for His disciples fulfil
themselves.