Please Explain this verse

[secondeve]

I might add that in Muslim countries, Christians still have to face this reality.

Better to have said, certain Muslim countries, rather than implying all. You're forgetting the Maronite church. It might also be worthwhile to note that, while freedom of religion is practised and allowed in the West, there is still at present an enormous amount of public prejudice, ignorance, vitriol and stigma directed towards those who are Muslim, regardless of their level of devotion or personal views. Remember the Hindu taxi-driver who was killed after 9/11, just because some louts incorrectly assumed that turban = Muslim? Could this be a parallel to what Jesus is talking about?

[nebula]

Have you read the entire chapter?

[Fiosh]

Please explain these verses and how they square with a concept of a peaceful Jesus.

Matthew

10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

10:37 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.

Just as you or me, Jesus is not one-dimensional.

I can work to bring peace in my family. But try to hurt one of my own and you will see a whole other side of me.

I teach my kids to stand by their principles, even if it means causing some friction at times. Don't you do the same?

Being a peaceful person does not imply that one compromises one's principles and beliefs for the sake of "keeping the peace".

Jesus brings peace to those who accept Him and believe in Him. "...peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you "John 14:27

But the Word is a sword that divides. Look at the strong reactions the Christians here at WB sometimes get from the atheists. Even if I reach out in love and try to share the Gospel, it is often met with surprising resentment. Why is that? Why can't the atheist understand that I am only acting with their best interest at heart?

I think partly it 's because you can't find a middle ground with Jesus. If you begin to even consider that He might be Who He says He is, it's overwhelming for you. So, an atheist reacts violently to the mere suggestion that God is God, and Jesus is God Incarnate. He has little choice.

And that tension is not necessarily a bad thing. Jesus uses that discomfort to draw unbelievers toward a place where they may dare to meet Him---even if it is in anger and resentment.

In Matthew 10, Jesus is sending His Apostles out alone for the first time. He is giving them their "marching orders" and warning them of the challenges and dangers they will face. He is explaining to them that trusting in Christ, and believing His word, is such a powerful force that it will cause division even in families. Jesus' primary goal is not to bring a false sense of peace, but rather to redeem a lost world.

Peace,

Fiosh

[Guest lnj]

Please explain these verses and how they square with a concept of a peaceful Jesus.

Matthew

10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

10:37 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.

Hi Sylvan3, I hope this explanation will help you. I don't know if you are a follower of Jesus or not, but when you read the Bible you must ask for wisdom and discernment as the Word has layers upon layers , and reading it just off the top of your head can lead to error of understanding. Matt 10:34,35,36,37

Jesus isn't going against earthly relationships but rather no earthly ties, however close, should detract from loyalty for Him, zealous loyalty. Loyalty to the point, even certain family members( Christians) being shunned by others in the family. LNJ

Hi LNJ--I appreciate your response.

In other words, if it sounds too bad to be true, it probably isn't. This causes problems for me because there are LOTS of people who will cite scripture, literally, to support their points and say, "that's what the Bible says".

I understand the need to try to take something positive out of many of the verses. However, I just wonder why Jesus didn't say what he really meant. This makes no sense to me. He may be considered perfect, but if he writes or says something that opens up the possibility of an imperfect interpretation, it kind of lays waste to what was said. This is particularly true of his statement about plucking one's eye out if it offends and cutting off one's hand if it causes sin.

Hello again Sylvan3

I hear you: I also thought the same thing when I was a new Christian. Why not just say what is meant? But parables are spoken for a reason. Not only is it very Middle Eastern to teach like that, it also draws the listener to probe deeper for understanding.

By your question, you also are seeking to understand and that is exciting! You know the Holy Spirit woos people to get close to Him(Jesus). The Shepherd( Jesus) knows His sheep(us) and calls His sheep by name and they know His voice. God Bless LNJ

[anti-hillbilly]

I agree with some of the explanations already given as to what Jesus meant.

But,

In real life, put into practice, I've never seen anyone turn on a family member for believing in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately what I've seen has worked the other way around. I have seen several instances of people turning on family members for not being zealous enough, attending the "wrong" church or for going against something in the bible. I've known of family members shunning a daughter or son who divorces and remarries. I know of one instance where a family member won the lottery with some co-workers and the person's parents threw a fit and told them they had to refuse the money or they might go to hell for gambling; the guy told the parents to go to hell and he took the money. The saddest instance I know of is a homosexual co-worker my husband had whose parents (the father primarily) told him he never wanted to lay eyes on him again and hasn't in almost 20 yrs. I think his brother and his mother met him at a hotel once or twice without the father knowing but that's not much in 20 years.

I don't think those things are what Jesus had in mind but I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me.

I've been thinking about this one: 10:37 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.

I guess I'm not worthy of Jesus because if I think about that sentence seriously, really seriously, I love my kids more than I love myself, more than I love my parents or husband; I love my kids more than I love Jesus to be brutally honest about it.

How do you love Jesus more than your babies? As much as I know I'm suppose to love Jesus more I just can't seem to do it and I don't want to just say I do.

Edited July 10, 2006 by anti-hillbilly

[Fiosh]

I agree with some of the explanations already given as to what Jesus meant.

But,

In real life, put into practice, I've never seen anyone turn on a family member for believing in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately what I've seen has worked the other way around. I have seen several instances of people turning on family members for not being zealous enough, attending the "wrong" church or for going against something in the bible. I've known of family members shunning a daughter or son who divorces and remarries. I know of one instance where a family member won the lottery with some co-workers and the person's parents threw a fit and told them they had to refuse the money or they might go to hell for gambling; the guy told the parents to go to hell and he took the money. The saddest instance I know of is a homosexual co-worker my husband had whose parents (the father primarily) told him he never wanted to lay eyes on him again and hasn't in almost 20 yrs. I think his brother and his mother met him at a hotel once or twice without the father knowing but that's not much in 20 years.

I don't think those things are what Jesus had in mind but I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me.

I've been thinking about this one: 10:37 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.

I guess I'm not worthy of Jesus because if I think about that sentence seriously, really seriously, I love my kids more than I love myself, more than I love my parents or husband; I love my kids more than I love Jesus to be brutally honest about it.

How do you love Jesus more than your babies? As much as I know I'm suppose to love Jesus more I just can't seem to do it and I don't want to just say I do.

Because when you love Jesus more, you don't love your babies less.

In fact, the more you make Jesus the center of your life---your all in all---the more you will develop a perfect love for your babies.

Peace,

Fiosh

[sylvan3]

Please explain these verses and how they square with a concept of a peaceful Jesus.

Matthew

10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

10:37 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.

But the Word is a sword that divides. Look at the strong reactions the Christians here at WB sometimes get from the atheists. Even if I reach out in love and try to share the Gospel, it is often met with surprising resentment. Why is that? Why can't the atheist understand that I am only acting with their best interest at heart?

Peace,

Fiosh

Hi Fiosh,

I appreciate your comments.

I am not certain why there would be "resentment" as you say. I do know that every case is different and reactions will be different--it depends on whom you are talking to. I do know that the concept of "Biblical inerrancy" (if that is your slant) can stoke a pretty good fire.

[SoulGrind]

In real life, put into practice, I've never seen anyone turn on a family member for believing in Jesus Christ.

I have - I recently met a man who's father disowned him because of his faith in Christ. This man is Jewish and for the most part, there are Orthodox Jews and Messianic Jews.

Needless to say, this man's father told him that it was the Bible and Jesus that came between them and he told his son if he should see his father walking down the street, to cross over to the other side so he wouldn't have to.

In the name of Christ.

I am afraid that some family's are torn apart because one of them choose to follow Christ.

You also mentioned the idea of loving Christ more than a father or a mother...

Can your father or mother save your soul? Of course not. Can Christ? Of course He can.

Christ is not saying to not love your parents - we are commanded to honor our parents, but if our parents (or anyone) asks us to go against God, we must be strong and not give in. It does not mean we love our parents any less, it just means we cannot do something that goes against God. In other words, we love God more.

[Copper Scroll]

One thing to keep in mind, you need to read the Bible passages in context with the surrounding verses.

Link to Matt 10

In this chapter, Jesus is speaking of the cost of being a disciple of His and of putting Him first in your life.

Here in America, there are few instances of accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord costing family relations, but among the first century Church people were outcast by their families. It ws a choice they had to risk taking, and the Lord was warning them of this.

That's the answer right there.

[sylvan3]

One thing to keep in mind, you need to read the Bible passages in context with the surrounding verses.

Link to Matt 10

In this chapter, Jesus is speaking of the cost of being a disciple of His and of putting Him first in your life.

Here in America, there are few instances of accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord costing family relations, but among the first century Church people were outcast by their families. It ws a choice they had to risk taking, and the Lord was warning them of this.

That's the answer right there.

He talks against peace in the world--at the very least this is a contradiction with his other statements in favor of peace.

Edited July 12, 2006 by sylvan3