The Rev. Herbert G. Hand
Faith Anglican Church
Cordova, Tennessee
June 29, 2008
Series: Standing Strong in the Storms
Title: The Prince of Peace Brings a Sword
Text: Matthew 10:34-42
I. Dispelling the False Image of Jesus
During our mission trip to the people of Selfridge, North Dakota in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, our mission team read through the seven letters of Jesus from Revelation chapters two and three.
In the Book of Revelation Jesus is in His resurrected ascended glory:
He is 8“...the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
14His head and hair [are] white like wool, as white as snow...
His eyes [are] like blazing fire.
15His feet [are] like bronze glowing in a furnace...
His voice [is] like the sound of rushing waters.
16...out of his mouth [comes] a sharp double-edged sword.
His face [is] like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
Jesus is not the meek and week image so many have of him. He is the all-powerful second person of the Trinity.
He is not just the Prince of Peace, He’s the judge; as He told those at the church in Pergamum (in Revelation chapter two), He is the one who fights against the disobedient with, “the sword of [His] mouth.”
Revelation 2:16 (NIV)
John was so overwhelmed in the presence of the resurrected ascended Jesus, that:
17...[he] fell at his feet as though dead.
Revelation
1:8-17 (NIV)
Unfortunately, today many Christians have a skewed view of Jesus:
A God of love, but not holiness.
A God of peace, but not judgment.
A God of provision, but not demand.
II. The Prince of Peace Brings a Sword
The real Jesus – as revealed throughout Holy Scripture – is not as tame and safe as most of us who like to believe.
Mr. & Mrs. Beaver
One of my favorite stories is C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s a children’s story, but it’s also a deep theological work.
It’s a story of a magical wardrobe that leads into another world:
A world of talking animals.
Of an evil white witch.
Of a powerful lion named Aslan, the one who dies for the children and rises again. Of course Aslan represents Jesus.
One of my favorite scenes is when Lucy, Susan, Peter, and Emond meet Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver very clearly know who Alsan is, but the children have no idea.
“At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in his inside.”
Edomd, who had turned to the White Witch, “felt a sensation of mysterious horror.”
“Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous.” (p. 54)
They had no idea who or what Aslan was.
Lucy asked, “Is — is he a man?”
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly, “Certainly not. I tell you he is the king of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea... Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion.”
Susan asked, “Is he — quite safe?”
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.
“Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you?
Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe.
But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (p. 64)
C. S. Lewis’s description of Aslan is a description of Jesus:
He’s the uncontested king of the universe.
He’s not safe.
He’s not controllable. He cannot be manipulated.
But He’s good.
Jesus is 29...the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29 (NIV)
He is the 6...Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
But He’s also the 5...the
Lion of the tribe of Judah...”
Revelation 5:5 (NIV)
In today’s reading from Matthew chapter 10, we see a fuller image of who Jesus is and what He requires of us.
Please turn with me to Matthew chapter 10, beginning at verse 34.
Jesus said,
34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Wait a minute, on the night of Jesus’ birth, didn’t the angels tell the shepherds,
14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Luke
2:14 (NIV)
And didn’t Jesus at the Last Supper say to His apostles:
27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John
14:27 (NIV)
And after Jesus rose from the dead, as he appeared to His apostles, didn’t He say:
19...“Peace be with
you!”
John 20:19 (NIV)
And every Sunday, don’t we say, “peace be with you”?!?
Yet, here is Matthew chapter 10, He says,
34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
What’s He talking about?
In verse 35, He goes on to say:
35For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
Unfortunately:
Many Christians today believe Jesus will bring peace to their souls, while making no demands and causing no disruptions in their lives.
In effect, they believe Jesus is there to serve them, not the other way around.
The truth is, if you truly make Jesus your Lord, your Master, your King:
Your life will be offensive to those who have rejected Jesus.
Until they make Jesus their Lord, there will be friction between you.
There’s nowhere, where this is more felt than in the home.
A Hostile Home
When I was in seminary, I assisted at a church in Burke, Virginia.
One of the women in our small group study was married to a man who was absolutely hostile to her faith in Jesus. She was one of the kindest, most loving and patient women I’ve ever met. Yet:
He berated her.
He badgered her.
He turned her sons against her.
Even though she was in a constant hostile environment in her home:
She wanted to remain in the marriage, to be a faithful loving witness to her family.
She constantly prayed for her sons and husband to turn to Jesus.
She was keenly aware that the sword of Jesus was brining division in her home.
She was keenly aware that the sword of Jesus might end up causing her husband to divorce her.
As painful as this was to her, she was willing to pay the price, to remain faithful and true to Jesus.
Mina Nevisa
Often when Muslims or Orthodox Jews commit their lives to Jesus, their families “shun them, disown them and deprive them of any inheritance.”
Back in the early 80s, Mina Nevisa and her 28-year-old cousin began attending an underground church in Tehran, Iran.
The police raided her pastor’s
home, and found a list of all the names of the secret converts to Christ.
The cousin was arrested on charges of apostasy and taken to the notorious Evin
prison, where she was raped, tortured and then killed by a firing squad.
The pastor was also killed.
Mina Nevisa and her husband fled the country:
They fled first to Turkey.
Then to Spain.
And finally to Sweden. While in Sweden:
She got threatening letters from the Iranian government.
She received threatening phone calls.
Finally, they fled to the United States.
As they told others about Jesus, they again started receiving threatening phone calls.
http://www.amightywind.com/islam/muslimconverts.htm
Jesus said,
34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
There are great rewards for following Jesus, but there is also a great cost.
Beginning in verse 37, Jesus goes on to say:
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;
38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Is it wrong to love your parents?
No!
Is it wrong to love your children?
No!
Is it wrong to love your family or friends more than Jesus?
Absolutely!
Last week as we shared Jesus with the Native American children on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, we taught them the Shema from Deuteronomy chapter six. It says,
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5Love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
Love for others which does not start with your love for God, becomes twisted, distorted, and idolatrous.
Love for others which starts with your love for God, is holy, wholesome, and life-giving.
Those without Jesus, will be both attracted and repulsed by this kind of love – a love which puts Jesus first.
The agitation, the division, the lack of peace brought by Jesus’ presence to
non-Christians, serves a divine purpose:
It shows those without Christ that there is a difference between those who serve Jesus and those who don’t.
It shows them a better way, a holier way.
It opens their eyes to what life with Christ is like.
Giving Up Copying by Hand
It’s like showing someone who has always copied documents by hand, a copy machine. We know the copy machine is better, he knows the copy machine is better, but he’s so used to copying by hand:
He may enjoy it.
He may be really good at it.
He may be concerned with what others will think.
He may be concerned about his self worth.
The copy machine brings a sword:
Will he continue in his old obsolete unproductive ways, and defend them to the death?
Or will he embrace the copy machine, admitting that his old ways need to change?
When Jesus comes into your life, He brings a sword:
Showing a clear-cut better way.
Some of your friends and family will be overjoyed to embrace Jesus and His ways.
Others will cling to their old sinful counterproductive ways, and lash out at you for disrupting everything.
Like that faithful woman in Burk, Virginia...
Like Iranian Christian Mina Nevisa...
Love Jesus. Love Jesus more than any thing or any one:
More than your parents.
More than your children.
More than your husband.
More than your wife.
More than your boyfriend.
More than your girlfriend.
When you do, when you love Jesus more than anything or anyone, when you allow the sword of Jesus into your life, then:
You will be worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37).
And as Jesus said in verse 42, “[You] will certainly not lose [your] reward.”