Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), yet He told His disciples, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). How can both statements be true?
There is no contradiction. In one sense, Jesus came to bring peace. In another sense, He knew that His coming and His teachings would bring division.
Jesus Came to Bring Peace
Jesus came to make it possible for men to have peace with God. Sin separates man from God, but Jesus died to reconcile us to God. Paul wrote, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). Jesus is the “one mediator between God and men” who “gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Peter wrote, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
Jesus also teaches His followers to seek peace with others: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Paul commanded this by the Lord’s authority, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). A Christian should not be quarrelsome, hateful, or looking for a fight. We should desire peace and do what we can, without compromising the truth, to live peaceably with others.
The kingdom of Christ is also not a physical kingdom that advances through physical warfare. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight” (John 18:36). Isaiah had prophesied that under the reign of Christ, men would “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks” and would not “learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).
Christians do fight, but our warfare is spiritual. Paul said, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal…)” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). We fight against sin and error with spiritual weapons, not with swords and guns.
Jesus Also Came to Bring Division
Jesus did not come with the goal of turning people against one another. He came to save men from sin. Yet Jesus knew that many would reject Him, reject His teaching, and oppose those who followed Him. That is the sense in which He said: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother…” (Matthew 10:34-35).
The “sword” in this passage is not a command for Christians to use physical violence. The verses that follow show that Jesus was talking about division, even division within families. Following Christ may put a person at odds with those he loves most.
Why does following Christ sometimes produce such strong opposition? Jesus began His preaching by saying, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Repentance requires people to admit that they are wrong and change their lives. Many do not want to do that or even hear that they should do that.
People may also become angry when Christians refuse to participate in sinful behavior. Peter described people who could not understand why Christians no longer joined them in their sins: “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (1 Peter 4:4). Sometimes merely refusing to participate in what others are doing is enough to bring ridicule and opposition.
People also become angry when their sins are exposed as wrong. Jesus explained why: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:19-20).
Jesus was the light of the world, and those who loved darkness constantly opposed Him. If we follow Him faithfully, we should not expect everyone to approve of us.
Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). He also said, “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Paul later warned, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). In fact, if the world always approves of a person who claims to follow Christ, that may indicate that he is not faithfully obeying Christ (Luke 6:26; John 15:19). Peace with God must always come before peace with others.
While Christians should not desire division, sometimes division is necessary and commanded. Sometimes God’s people must separate themselves from those who refuse to obey God. Jesus taught that an unrepentant brother should finally be treated “as an heathen man and a publican” (Matthew 18:17). Christians are commanded “not to keep company” with brothers who persist in sin (1 Corinthians 5:11) and to “withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly” (2 Thessalonians 3:6; cf. Romans 16:17). The goal of such division is not permanent separation, but repentance and restored unity (1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).
Light and Darkness Will Conflict
Jesus commands us to let our light shine before men (Matthew 5:16), but He warned that most people will choose the broad way rather than the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14). As long as men love darkness rather than light, those who faithfully follow Christ will face opposition.
Our desire for peace cannot come before our loyalty to Christ, even if we must lose peace with the people we love most. Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). The Psalmist described the position in which God’s people sometimes find themselves: “I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120:7).
Jesus did not come seeking division, but He knew that light and darkness could never live together in peace. We should strive for peace as much as possible, but being peaceful does not mean remaining silent about sin or compromising the truth to keep others happy. When we speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) and are different from the world (John 17:14-17), the darkness will attack the light.
Well done brother!