Matthew 10:32-39
In Isaiah 9:6, it was prophesied that a
child would be born, “and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end.”
Jesus was expected to establish His kingdom
and overthrow the Roman rule from the backs of the Israelite people. He was
expected to restore the land to the glories of David and Solomon so they might once
again live in peace and prosperity. Jesus Himself would make statements like “live in peace with one another.” Jesus would tell more than one individual “Go, in peace”. As He was preparing to leave the disciples behind He told them, “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.”
When the apostle Paul wrote about Jesus and the gospel, he called it a gospel of peace…He would say later that we are to follow after things that lead to peace.
The book of Ephesians says He is our peace, that by His blood He made peace and that He came and preached peace. In Luke 19 we read of Jesus standing on a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem. He stood there and wept over the city because he knew of the violence she would experience in the future. He saw the day when Titus the Roman emperor in AD 70 would ransack Jerusalem and kill nearly a half million Jews…Perhaps he even looked way into the future of violence today and He said, “Jerusalem, if you could only see this day and if you only knew what would bring you peace”.
He was saying - “I am the agent of peace”…yet in this scripture Jesus says very clearly, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, for I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!”
Was Jesus confused? How was it that the Prince of peace, who came preaching peace, encouraging His people to live in peace, in fact purchasing peace with His own blood, say here that He did not come to bring peace, but instead He came to bring a sword? What does the sword have to do with Christ’s work of redemption…or peace?
To be sure, Jesus wants us to be peaceable people. It is a fruit of the Spirit after all. When you and I are walking in the Spirit, the peace of God will naturally be manifested in our life. But being peaceable people and thinking that He doesn’t want us doing or saying anything that rocks the boat or disturbs anyone are two different things. “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” It says just before this verse. He did not say that He was sending us out as sheep to hang out with other sheep in a quiet peaceful pasture. He sends His followers out as His representatives of him-self in a hostile and indifferent world that is in need of the message we bear. And what message is that? It is the message that men are sinful; that without Christ man is separated from God.
We can go out and declare that man needs God, and no one seems to mind, most believe there is a God, but, that has always been the case…The Romans had gods. The Greeks and the Persians and everyone else had gods. People today have gods, and they seem to be fine if you leave them alone with their religion, but to go out and tell them that they need Jesus is a different thing.
You see, we are to declare that Jesus is the way – the one and only way -and that’s the rub. So long as we tolerate everyone’s ideas about how to get to heaven or how to be saved we are O.K…but once you tell them that there is only one truth and every-thing else is a lie you cross the line. You tell people that they are lost in their sin and the only way to enter heaven is to confess their sin and trust in the work of Christ on the cross and you immediately find out that no matter how peaceable you are you will not be at peace with them!
I think it is important to understand that what Jesus is saying here is that the peace he brings to the earth is not an external peace…that will come in the end… but not until “all things are brought under one head” in God’s eternal kingdom. What Jesus brings is peace with God and the peace of God into our lives, so we can live life to the full, without fear.
Well, let me give you just three things that I have found that this scripture says about the cost of following Jesus:
The first thing that Jesus notes is that following him will bring...Division - vv. 35-36 "For I have come to turn ’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and so on…A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’"
Jesus reaches back to the prophecy of Micah to show that even families will be divided over him. If you look back over the years, his message has always brought great division…not only in families but It divided the Jews and Christians. To this very day, Jews refuse to believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.
The message of Christ divides. Why? Because Jesus brought a message that isn’t always so popular. The Apostle Paul called it “a stumbling block” for the Jews. That’s because although the Gospel is good news, it is preceded by some very bad news, the news that we are all sinful and need a savior.
You see the need for a savior isn’t always a popular thought. For me to accept a savior I must confess my own moral failure…And there is something in the human spirit that is offended by that thought. There is something within us that wants a God who affirms that we are good enough as we are, a God who will say, your life balances to the good. “O, you did the best that you could…come on in!”…But Jesus doesn’t say that, He says your life is messed up and you can’t fix it, so I’ll fix it for you.
Our profession of faith in Jesus as our Savior does not make us popular with everyone. They seem to see our claim of being a Christian, or our faithfulness in church as saying there’s something wrong with them. Of course they don’t understand that we are also saying there’s something wrong with us too, something that only Jesus can fix. Part of the cost of discipleship is division.
The next dimension of the cost of following him is that it forces you to make a...Decision - v. 37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
Here the point is not just that your choice to follow Jesus causes your loved ones to pull away from you, but that you must make a priority choice between Jesus and those people and things you care about. God calls on us to make a decision about priorities in our life that places him first. Above career, above comfort, above ourselves and our personal hopes and dreams, above, yes, even father and mother, son and daughter… and grandchildren…and in my case that is a very hard decision.
Now does that mean that we’re being called to neglect family responsibility in the name of spirituality? No of course not, The Apostle Paul wrote that the one who does not care for his own family is worse than an unbeliever. Caring for and loving your family is a priority, but it cannot and must not ever take priority over your love and dedication to God. The cost of discipleship often calls for a Decision.
One more thing, following Jesus requires... Determination -v. 38 "...and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Ouch, that hurts! The cross was an instrument of torture…This is not the greatest selling point for gaining followers…But Jesus says if you’re going to follow me, it’s going to take that kind of Determination. A willingness to follow whatever the cost. Even though Christ paid for our salvation with His own blood and it’s a free gift that we can’t add anything too, he makes it clear that it will cost us something, that something is nothing less than our lives…all we are and all we have.
Life without Jesus is shallow and empty. When we give our lives to him our heart finds its true home. We were created to be in relationship with Him. We have life and more abundantly-- real life, life the way it’s supposed to be. So by giving ourselves to him we don’t lose our life but find real life. And, even though his Word is like a “double-edged sword” that brings Division and calls for a Decision, and takes complete Determination; it really does also bring Peace!...
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