Tomorrow at First Love Church. Go to firstlovechurch.net for details, location and other cool stuff. PRINCE OF PEACE? MATTHEW 10:34-39 PASTOR PETE CROPSEY / FIRST LOVE CHURCH 8/18/13 Seven hundred years before His birth Isaiah said this about Jesus. Isaiah 9:6 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. The question that arises is, if Jesus is the prince of peace then why does it seem as His whole time on earth was filled with conflict. I mean the very people who were considered to have the keys to the kingdom of God, the Jews sought to kill him from very early on. In fact the entire New Testament tells of frequent conflict in the form of persecution of believers by the governments and the religious leaders of the day. Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem for a Jewish feast and as He entered the city by the Sheep Gate He came to a pool called Bethesda. There Jesus came across a man who was paralyzed. The story was that at certain times an angel would stir the water and whoever got in the water first would be healed of whatever affliction they had. Jesus saw the man and asked him if he wanted to be made well. The man said, supposing that Jesus was referring to the water, “I am paralyzed and there is no one who will help me get in the water first. If I am able to get there someone has already beat me to it. Jesus heals the man and he leaves carrying his bed. The Pharisees stop him because it is the Sabbath and he is carrying his bed. It takes a while but it finally comes out that Jesus healed him and then John tells it like this; John 5:15-18 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Further on after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus we find that the desire to kill preachers is still bound up in the hearts of religious folks. Right after Paul’s conversion he goes to Damascus as per the instructions of Jesus and he waits for his marching orders. Jesus sends a man named Ananias to minister to Paul. Acts 9:17-25 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. 20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. 23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. As you read through the book of Acts you find this hatred for the people of The Way continues and in fact every single one of the apostles except John was brutally murdered and they tried to kill him too but God had another plan. So how is it then that we call Jesus the Prince of Peace? In our text for this morning Jesus Himself says some disturbing things about peace or the lack of it so let’s look into this and see if we can’t make sense of the conundrum. I love that word it means a perplexity or a challenge or a difficult problem. So let’s continue in our study of Matthew’s gospel chapter 10, beginning in verse 34 and reading through verse 39. Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” The Prince of peace making the statement that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. As we push into this conundrum let’s bear in mind a scripture verse from the writer of Hebrews. Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Is this the sword that Jesus is referring to, the Word of God? Reading these two verses one would think so because so very many people would find this very intrusive and offensive. The idea that the thoughts and intents of my heart might be brought out into the open and that nothing I think is hidden, that all my secrets are naked before God. For most people that is horrifying and the reason it is horrifying is because of sin. So it is sin that is the cause of these relational divisions that Jesus talks about. Remember in Acts 29 what Luke said in verses 22-23? Acts 9:22-23 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. 23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. Jesus and a confrontation with the truth of who He is causes either a strong desire to know Him or an irrational reaction of hating Him and it is because of what the writer of Hebrews said about the two edged sword, the truth of the Word of God. What is that? That it exposes the truth about us. Lets break it down even further, wanna? Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. As I already explained the sword that Jesus brings is the truth and people are not okay with the truth. People generally want to hide from the truth. The truth causes us to have to see parts of ourselves that we don’t want to see. In the program there are steps and these steps are a part of a process. The result of the process is that it brings about a paradigm shift in the understanding of who we are. Many people never get past the inventory part of the process and so they never gain victory over themselves and the end is that they remain stuck on stupid. It is very much the same with the Christian life. In it there is a process as well and it as well calls for an inventory a, self examination and we make this self examination by holding our secret places up to the light of scripture. Scripture is the barometer, the bar, the standard and the benchmark by which we determine our spiritual condition. It is also the guide for modifying aberrant styles of living that are displeasing to God and thereby disqualify us from the deepest of His blessings. The sword that Jesus brings wants to sever us from ourselves, from our self-centeredness, our ego and our pride and this is something most folks aggressively avoid and quite often without even realizing that is what they are doing. The conjure up all manner of arguments against Jesus the list of which goes on ad infinitum but at the center of it all is a massive addiction to self and what self wants to the exclusion of everything else. So when Jesus says; Matthew 10: 35-36 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ When Jesus makes this statement we need to understand that the reason so much contention arises so close to home is that it is those intimate relationships which really put us under the magnifying glass. Let me tell you a story about a guy I knew when I owned a treatment center. Let’s call him Wally. Wally was a real addict, he took his addiction to the very edge and then jumped over without a parachute. Wally’s family was very well to do and they had spent millions trying to get Wally clean. Wally once told me that if they had just given him the money instead he probably would have killed himself with it and the problem would have been solved. That statement kind of gave be a chill. Wally had a brother, we’ll call him Steve. Steve was a heart surgeon. Wally was forty when he came to us and Steve was thirty eight. Wally’s parents had been paying to get Wally clean for twelve years. For twelve years Steve had been making huge inroads into his career and was making bank. Wally hated Steve with a vehemence that was almost pathological. Why? Because every time Wally saw Steve or even thought about Steve he was confronted with truth about himself. If Steve would have just been a guy that Wally knew in school or a neighbor kid that had done well Wally wouldn’t have given a hoot but the intimacy was cause for a comparison that was very painful to Wally. Wally got clean at our place and he never became a heart surgeon like Steve but he put himself through nursing school and he is a top OR nurse today. You see when Wally finally had that paradigm shift his brother went from hated adversary to example and that is what we need to stand on when we are confronted with fierce persecution from those who are closest to us. We need to pray and continue to be that example. Matthew 10: 35-36 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ When confronted with the character of Christ it reveals the truth about ourselves and if that confrontation comes through some one who is very close to us then the reaction is often going to be emotionally violent. Let’s move on in our passage to; Matthew 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Jesus wants us to make an evaluation of our priorities. Is the disfavor, the animosity or the contention that faith in Him causes going to strengthen our faith in Him, steady our resolve or weaken our commitment. I think this is a real problem in that so many people come and hear the Word and yet the pressure for them in their close relationships is too great and they fold. Jesus teaches a parable concerning four different types of soil representing the conditions of the heart and their ability to bring a seed to life, the seed representing the Word of God. Matthew 13:18-23 Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” It is not in frothy emotional reactions or waves of bliss that pour over us in worship that are going to hold us fast and cause us to bear much fruit, it is in hearing and understanding the WORD OF GOD that we will be able to stand steadfast in the face of persecution. Remember Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. That sword is the Word of God. Matthew 10:38-39 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Close with commentary in the Lord, invitation and prayer.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 14:20:44 +0000