The King Who Makes Peace

Date: Thursday, September 24, 2026

Now that you've gotten a taste for Romans, get ready for graduate-level work! This next video on the Book of Romans from the Bible Project will prepare you to study the rest of this powerful message from Paul.

Readings: Romans 5 | Psalm 72

Psalm 72 is a coronation prayer, written for a king, asking that he would defend the afflicted, rescue the needy, and reign in such a way that “all nations will be blessed through him” (72:17). It’s a beautiful prayer, and every human king who ever sat on Israel’s throne fell short of it eventually. The psalm was always reaching past its original occasion, straining forward toward a King who would actually deliver on every line of it.

Romans 5 tells us who that King turned out to be. “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). Then Paul drops the detail that makes the whole thing stagger the imagination: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8). Psalm 72’s king was supposed to rescue the needy and afflicted, but Romans 5 reveals a King who rescues people who were, by every honest measure, His enemies. He didn’t wait for us to get our act together, prove our loyalty, or earn a place in His kingdom. He secured peace for us while we were still working against Him. That is not the pattern of any earthly ruler; it is the shockingly generous pattern of grace. Psalm 72 asked for a good king. Romans 5 shows us a King who is good beyond what anyone thought to ask for.

Devotional Prompts:

• Psalm 72 longs for a king who cares for the poor and needy. In what ways does Jesus fulfill that ancient hope?
• Romans 5:8 says Christ died for us “while we were still sinners.” How does that timing change the way you understand grace?
• Where in your life do you need “peace with God” to move from something you believe intellectually to something you actually feel?

Prayer: King of grace and peace, You did not wait for me to become worthy before loving me completely. Let the peace You secured on the cross settle every anxious, striving part of my heart. Reign in me today as the good King You truly are. Amen.