Matthew 10:34-36 (34-42)
"Jesus Warns Us Against Peace-Breaking Misplaced Priorities"
Sunday, June 29, 2008; 7th Sunday after Pentecost
[Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 7:1-13]
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
(Matt 10:34-36 ESV) "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the
earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set
a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be
those of his own household."
Introduction: Dear Fellow lovers of security and peace.
We live in a world that's anything but secure and peaceful. Insecurity
and conflict are all around us-in our homes, work, schools, neighborhoods,
shopping malls, grocery stores, . and even churches. Peace is an elusive
butterfly that, no matter how energetically we chase it, seems to most often
escape us.
Peace is present throughout the Bible. The English word "peace"
appears 367 times in the English Standard Version© translation, 273 times in
the Old Testament and 94 times in the New Testament . and that doesn't count
other forms of the word like peaceful and peaceably. A simple sampling of
the word "peace" in God's Holy Word reveals the following.
It first appeared when God comforted Abram regarding his death with the
promise that,
(Gen 15:15 ESV) "As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace . ."
Many references to peace offerings are found in Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings,
and 1st and 2nd Chronicles.
King David, whose life was filled with conflict, passionately desired
peace as he communicated when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write,
(Ps 29:11 ESV) "May the Lord bless his people with peace!"
and
(Ps 34:14 ESV) ". seek peace and pursue it."
Isaiah recorded what is perhaps the grandest of all the Old Testament
prophesies that foretold the Messiah in which he referred to Him as the
(Isa 9:6 ESV) ". Prince of Peace"
and he went on to say that
(Isa 9:7 ESV) "Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be
no end . ."
The Lord God Himself told Daniel,
(Dan 10:19 ESV) ". fear not, peace be with you . ."
And, who can forget the multitude of angels after announcing Christ's
birth serenading the shepherds with that joyous song,
(Luke 2:14 ESV) "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those
with whom he is pleased!"
Jesus spoke that message of peace many times during His earthly
ministry. He did so when He healed physical ailments, spoke spiritual
security through the forgiveness of sins, calmed frightened reactions to His
sudden appearances, and stilled nature's storms. He explained that peace
when He told His disciples,
(John 14:27a ESV) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."
After all, as He further declared to them,
(John 16:33a ESV) "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have
peace."
The Holy Spirit led St. Paul to write what I believe is the best
Biblical definition of peace.
(Eph 2:13-18 ESV) "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have
been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who
has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of
hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he
might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far
off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access
in one Spirit to the Father."
Ultimately, Biblical peace is not an emotional feeling. Rather, it's a
relational reality. It's the reconciling or reuniting of a relationship
that was broken apart. Of course, that leads to the peaceful emotional
feelings of comfort and security.
Well, after all that good stuff about peace we have what appears to be
a stark contrast on the part of Jesus when He stated in today's text,
(Matt 10:34 ESV) "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
Then He talked about causing conflict between close family relationships
that resulted in immediate family members being enemies with each other.
Whoa! If ever there appears to be a contradiction in God's Holy Word, here
it is! So, let's talk about this some more and see if we can make Godly
sense out of it. As we do so, let's realize that .
Transition: Jesus Warns Us Against Peace-Breaking Misplaced Priorities by
reminding us to Give Jesus First Place in Our Lives and Be Jesus to One
Another.
I. Give Jesus First Place in Our Lives. [37-39: "Whoever loves father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."] This is obviously an
issue of the First Commandment, in which the only true God, who is
(Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation, © 1991 CPH, page 55) "the
triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three divine persons in one divine
being"
straightforwardly tells us,
(Ibid.) "You shall have no other gods."
Dr. Martin Luther provided the simple emphatic explanation,
(Ibid.) "We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things."
Remembering that all Ten Commandments both forbid something that
is sinfully offensive to God and require something that honors and praises
God, we are taught on the one hand that
(Ibid., page 56) "God forbids us to have other gods (idolatry)."
People have other gods (spelled with a lower case "g")
(Ibid., pages 56-57) "A. when they regard and worship any creature or
thing as God [spelled with an upper case 'G'];
"B. when they believe in a god [lower case 'g'] who is not the
Triune God .;
"C. when they fear, love, or trust in any person or thing as they
should fear, love, and trust in God [upper case 'G'] alone; [and]
"D. when they join in the worship of one who is not the triune God."
On the other hand, God requires that we place Him first,
foremost, and above everybody and everything else in our lives. That very
demanding requirement means that
(Ibid., pages 58-59) "A. We fear God above all things when we revere
Him alone as the highest being, honor Him with our lives, and avoid what
displeases Him.
"B. We love God above all things when we cling to Him alone as our
God and gladly devote our lives to His service.
"C. [And,] We trust in God above all things when we commit our lives
completely to His keeping and rely on Him for help in every need."
In today's text Jesus, who is at the same time both true God and
true man, applied the First Commandment instruction to Himself in a very
personal way. He did so by telling us that not even our close family
relationships such as parents or children should come ahead of our
relationship with Him. That leads us to realize that .
A. Following Jesus Is "Cross Theology" Stuff. "Cross Theology"
stuff is identifying with and sharing in the torment of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who suffered and died to pay the penalty for our sins. It means
that we place His will above and before our wants. It means that we endure
discomfort and hardship in this life that results from being known and
counted as Messiah's disciples as well as living our lives for Him who lived
His life for us.
It means that we speak words and do deeds that boldly
confess with St. Peter,
(Matt 16:16 ESV) "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." .
and then by the ability that the Holy Spirit alone gives us to
so declare with him with unwavering commitment,
(Matt 26:33 ESV) ". I will never fall away."
We make that confession and declaration always remembering
the stern warning and encouragement,
(Heb 3:12-14 ESV) "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any
of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living
God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,'
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share
in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."
In an effort to prepare His twelve disciples then (and us
now) for the grueling "Cross Theology" life that lay before them then (and
us now), Jesus informed them then (and us now),
(Matt 24:9 ESV) ". they will deliver you up to tribulation and
put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake."
The picture is not totally bleak, however, for our Savior
assures us that .
B. Following Jesus Results in Both Loss and Gain. It's certainly
no secret that our economy is faltering. The stock market fell over 500
points this past Thursday and Friday to recently-record lows; crude oil
prices and the resultant cost of fuel that powers our cars, vans, trucks,
and farm machinery continues to rise to record highs; the value of our real
estate and houses is declining; the cost of life's necessities such as
utilities, food, clothing, and healthcare are increasing; and some crops are
flourishing while others are being damaged and destroyed by weather
conditions. In this unstable crazy mixed-up economy some people are losing
while some are gaining . and often both are happening to the same people at
the same time.
A similar thing happens in our lives when Jesus is the
priority. Because of the holy life He lived, the humiliating suffering and
crucifixion death He endured, and the majestic resurrection from the dead in
triumphant victory over Satan, sin, and death itself, all who believe in Him
alone with Spirit-given faith have the gain of forgiveness of sins,
salvation, and eternal life. Sadly, we also sometimes suffer the loss of
physical health and strength, earthly relationships, fame, popularity,
wealth, honor, and prestige. In the face of such we do well to remember the
Apostle Paul's reassuring declaration,
(Rom 8:16-17 ESV) "The Spirit himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we
may also be glorified with him."
So it is that .
Transition: Jesus Warns Us Against Peace-Breaking Misplaced Priorities by
reminding us to Give Jesus First Place in Our Lives and Be Jesus to One
Another.
II. Be Jesus to One Another. [40-42: "Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a
prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one
who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will
receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little
ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you,
he will by no means lose his reward."] We sing in that familiar hymn that
has stood the test of time,
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 CPH, #783:1-3)
"Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
"Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
"Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee."
We pray that hymn-prayer knowing full well that, as we sing in
another familiar hymn,
(Ibid., #781:1, 5-6)
"We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate'er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
"The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
"And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee."
All of that captures what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
(2 Cor 5:20 ESV) "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God
making his appeal through us."
St. Luke recorded that Jesus said,
(Luke 10:16 ESV) "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who
rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
And, the Apostle John recorded that Jesus declared,
(John 13:20 ESV) "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the
one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent
me."
We who believe in Jesus are His ambassadors to others simply
because .
A. Believers in Jesus Receive the Salvation He Gained. That
spiritual healing that flows forth from the forgiveness of our sins results
in eternal life with Jesus in the glorious mansions of heaven. That stands
in stark contrast to the eternal death with Satan in the fiery dungeons of
hell separated from Jesus that awaits all who unrepentantly sin by thought,
word, or deed.
We receive that blessed gift of salvation by grace through
faith when we read and hear God's Holy Word and properly partake of Christ's
Holy Supper. Those holy means of grace communicate to us God's mercy and
grace that liberate us from the shackles of the sinful world around us, our
own sinful flesh, and Satan himself. That wonderful transformation from
sinner to saint occurred in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism as St.
Paul explained,
(Rom 6:4 ESV) "We were buried therefore with him [Jesus
Christ] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."
That newness-of-life walk means that .
B. Believers in Jesus Give Others What They Need. You see, the
good works we do out of faith in Jesus that praise Him and serve others
witness to our Spirit-given belief in Immanuel. They are the outward
evidence of our internal faith that the Righteous Judge will note at the
Last Day as Christ described when He said,
(Matt 25:35-36, 40 ESV) "'For . you gave me food, . you gave
me drink, . you welcomed me, . you clothed me, . you visited me, . you came
to me.' ., 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these
my brothers, you did it to me.'"
St. James referred to this when he wrote,
(James 1:27 ESV) "Religion that is pure and undefiled before
God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction,
and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
Jesus emphasized this concept of graciously giving life's
necessities to the poor when He taught,
(Luke 14:13-14 ESV) "But when you give a feast, invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because
they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
Of course, when we give to people in need we express the
selfless love that God gave us and showed us. St. John identified that
love-motivated selfless giving when he wrote,
(1 John 4:16-17, 19 ESV) "God is love, and whoever abides in
love abides in God, and God abides in him. We love because he first loved
us."
So, let's give others what they need since God gave us the
salvation we need, knowing that .
Transition: Jesus Warns Us Against Peace-Breaking Misplaced Priorities by
reminding us to Give Jesus First Place in Our Lives and Be Jesus to One
Another.
Conclusion: Today's Old Testament Lesson informed us,
(Jer 28:9 ESV) "As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of
that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly
sent the prophet."
Many men and women in the past have claimed to speak God's message and
many continue to claim that today. How do we know whom to believe? First
and foremost, subject their message to God's written Holy Word. Second,
look to see if their proclamation comes to pass or not. After all,
(2 Tim 4:3-4 ESV) ".the time is coming when people will not endure sound
teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to
the truth and wander off into myths."
So, let's faithfully follow the example of the Berean Christians, who
were
(Acts 17:11 ESV) ". examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things
[Paul's teachings] were so."
St. Paul wrote to the Romans in today's Epistle Reading regarding his
former confusion about God's Law and then his understanding about its
goodness,
(Rom 7:13 ESV) "Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no
means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order
that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become
sinful beyond measure."
Sin threatens, damages, and destroys peace. In order to regain peace
we must know sin, repent it, and by the power of the Holy Spirit believe the
gracious fact that
(1 John 1:7 ESV) ". the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."
God's Law shows us our sin and His Gospel shows us our Savior. He restored
our sin-broken relationship with God to a reconciled relationship of peace,
unity, and oneness. Therefore, let's Give Jesus First Place in Our Lives
and Be Jesus to One Another knowing that Jesus Warns Us Against
Peace-Breaking Misplaced Priorities.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our holy
Savior. Amen.
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
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