Christians Will Have Enemies - No Doubt . . .

"Do not suppose that I have come
to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace,
but a sword."

~ Matthew 10:34

Taken all by itself and completely out of context, Matthew 10:34 surely implies that Jesus' mission on earth was one of violence -- that He was most certainly not a peacekeeper as so much theology likes to underscore.

In fact most of Matthew Chapter 10, finds Jesus proclaiming something seemingly and directly contrary to the message the angels proclaimed at His birth:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men.”

~ Luke 2:14

So were those angels misinformed? And what about Jesus' own words elsewhere in Scripture where He seems to agree with the angels and contradict Himself?

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"

~ John 14:27

. . . No sword here.

Confused?

Remember the Book of Matthew was written to all of us, but in terms of a specific audience, the Book is addressed to the Jewish people of Jesus' day. The Jewish people were expecting a Messiah who would wage war. The use of the word sword certainly fits with the image of war.

Context is everything.

But it goes further than the context of speaking to a Jewish audience. Look at the verses immediately following this idea of "a sword" where Jesus quotes a passage from Micah 7:6 having to do with mistrust and betrayal within families:

"For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'"

~ Matthew 10:35-36

Sounds very much like a passage earlier in the same Chapter:

"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child;
children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death."

~ Matthew 10:21

It seems then that the "sword" that Jesus came to bring is symbolic of the division that will occur within families and friends (and even bodies of apparent believers) as a result of His ministry. So the use of the word "sword" is typical of Jesus' figurative way of speaking. He used a sharply definitive word to convey a very disturbing reality.

The reality being: Christians will have enemies.

Look at the parallel verse in the Gospel of Luke:

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division."

~ Luke 12:51

See how Luke changes the metaphor into a factual statement?

Throughout Scripture we are confronted with the reality that Christians will have enemies. There will be division. Jesus Himself caused much division and had many enemies.

(There's an understatement!)

► Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be despised and rejected by men some 700 years before His birth. Clearly the division was foreseen. (Isaiah 53:3)

► While blessing Jesus as a very small child, Simeon prophesied that His life would indeed act as a "sword" and bring division in Israel. Clearly the division was forseen. (Luke 2:33-35)

► Judas -- one of the Twelve Disciples -- betrayed Jesus. Clearly there was division between Jesus and one of His own followers.
(Mark 14:10-11)

► The Apostle Paul instructed believers that if an unbelieving spouse chooses to leave, that we should "let them leave." Clearly being a believer can cause division in a marriage. (I Corinthians 7:15)

► In the Apostle Paul's closing words to Timothy, he warns about a man named Demas who deserted him. Paul also mentions Alexander the copper-smith, a man who opposed the message of the Gospel and did great harm to Paul. Clearly there was division between Paul and those who knew him.
(II Timothy 4:9-18)

► In Acts Chapter 5, Peter exposes the lies and piousness of Ananias and Sapphira. Clearly there was even great division in the body of Christians known as the Church. (Acts 5)

It becomes clear as we read the New Testament that Jesus considered it a given that the world would despise Him and his Church. He says, "The world . . . hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil" (John 7:7).

In other words, the world's contempt for Jesus, His Church and His followers stems not from simple differences, but from a huge chasm -- a chasm created by a refusal to accept that human ways (human thought, human behavior, human philosophies. . . ) are evil.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead
of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will
not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

~ John 3:19-20

Christian Truth will never be popular with the world. It will always divide.

Yes. . . Jesus brought peace to earth. But that peace comes as an inner peace that is available only to those who put their full faith in Him as their Savior.

Otherwise. . . His presence and His message only bring conflict. No accurate reading of Scripture can conclude anything different.

The coming of Christ did not bring the peace the Jews had hoped for. Instead it brought even greater conflict because the presence of Truth causes those who deny it to become even more enraged and evil.

Wishing and hoping for world peace is a ridiculous, hopeless and pointless task. Sin is the dominant force on this earth. The Bible tells us so. Scripturally speaking, "Peace on Earth" is reserved only for those who surrender to Him and live according to His will.

The Christian will make enemies. No doubt.

". . . but if to do the right, and to believe the true,
should cause him to lose every earthly friend,
he will count it but a small loss,
since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly,
and reveal Himself to him more graciously than ever. . . .

"Better a brief warfare and eternal rest, than false peace and everlasting torment."

~Charles H. Spurgeon

~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen

© 2010 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife