Matthew 10:34-42; Second Sunday
after Pentecost; June 28, 2020;
Life in Christ Lutheran Church,
Grand Marais, MN;
34"Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a
sword. 35For 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. 36And
a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37Whoever
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. 38And whoever does not
take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds
his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 40"Whoever
receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41The
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. 42And 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.” (Matt 10:34-42, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
You know, life would be much easier
if Jesus hadn’t said things like, “I have
not come to bring peace but a sword.”
It really doesn’t sound much like “good news” does it? To you and me and
our everyday lives “good news” would be an end to conflict, and an end to
trouble. An end to conflict in our cities, and end to racially charged riots,
and end to conflict over COVID lockdowns. That's what we think of when we think
of peace. But just try to explain Jesus' words to those skeptical relatives
that we all have. You know; those people who would just love to point a verse
like this and tell you Jesus is advocating violence, just like any other
religion trying to get power. What are you going to say?
After all when I read it, it sure
sounds like Jesus, the “prince of peace,” says that he’s come to bring strife
and trouble into our lives and not only that but to break up our families too… Listen
again; I have not come to bring peace,
but a sword. …to set children against
their parents, parents against their children. He’s come to make enemies
inside of families. It’s a difficult verse for us to swallow. Jesus can’t mean
what he’s saying, can he? Does Jesus, the baby in the manger sleeping in
“heavenly peace” surrounded by angels singing about peace on earth, bring peace
or strife?
Well, many
people believe that Jesus comes to bring peace, in spite of what he says. In
fact, in general people, even those who don’t call themselves Christian think
highly of Jesus. One of the leaders of today’s unrest said, “Jesus was the greatest
racial radical of his day!” They love
Jesus when He tells stories about how to get along with each other, and to care
for those who are less fortunate than we are. They love Jesus when He says,
“love your enemies.” They love Jesus when
He tells a good story about how we should care for other people, like the “Good
Samaritan.” But they don’t want to hear
from Jesus when He says that without Him, without His death on the cross, they
are lost. They don’t want to hear Jesus when He says that without Him, they
face an eternity of God’s punishment in hell. They don't want the Jesus who
says with him life will be full of conflict. The don’t want to hear about a
Jesus who violently drives the money changers out of the temple. And when he says,
“And people will want to kill you if you follow me.” People don’t want to hear
Jesus when he says stuff like that.
Think about the
family that peacefully co-exists with one another, until one of them begins to
say what they believe about Jesus. Suddenly the family is in conflict. Those
who don’t know Jesus don’t want to hear about Him as their only Savior. They
don’t want to hear about sin and repentance. They don’t want to hear about
changing their lives to conform to God’s will. Those who have ideas about Jesus
that don't come from scripture don't want to hear that what they believe is
wrong. From the outside, from the world’s point of view this family was better
off before the “good news” came to them. The members of the family will push toward
compromise, “for the sake of peace.” “You
keep your Jesus to yourself.” "We
all believe the same things anyway."
The only real thing that is true about all religion is that they are
all incompatible with each other. The problem is Jesus calls us all to be
witnesses of what He has done and speak the truth about what he teaches. He
calls us all to bring the life saving Word of Jesus to those who are around us.
He doesn't promise that it will be easy. He does call us to be faithful.
June 25 is the
anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession (1530). That's the
document that Luther and the princes in
Our Churches teach that people cannot be
justified before God by there own strength, merits, or works. People are freely
justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are
received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His
death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for
righteousness in His sight. (Romans 3:21-26; 4:5)
And don't think
this confession of faith brought peace! It put them in direct conflict with the
Roman Catholic church and the Holy Roman Emperor. They had decided ahead of
time they would rather die than compromise the truth. It would have been
easier, more peaceful, to compromise
their confession. Instead they confessed what the bible teaches about Jesus
clearly and strongly. They did it because they knew that Jesus was at stake. They
did it because they knew that real life, true life is only found in Jesus
Christ and the forgiveness of sins he won for us on the cross. And that
forgiveness only comes through faith in Jesus.
And it happens
for us too. We are daily under pressure to keep silent at work and not speak
about Jesus. We are under pressure to not point out the errors in other
churches for the sake of community togetherness. We are under pressure in our
families when we are told just to keep quiet, keep Jesus to ourselves for the
sake of peace in the family. We are under pressure when we are scolded for not
taking communion with them in their churches and not letting them commune in
ours. When Jesus talks about bearing your cross, this is exactly what he is
talking about.
The consequences of failure to
confess Jesus is dire. There is no middle ground when it comes what Jesus
teaches. We may not face death for our confession, but we are often tempted to give
in to family pressure. The problem is, to give up Jesus is to give up the only real
life there is.
Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it. (v39)
When we accept the sword, carry the
cross and suffer the loss of family or community relationships, or even the
loss of our physical life, we find what Jesus offers is worth more than all. We
find real life forever with him.
Our confession is this: You and I are sinful people we fail all the
time. That’s why we need a Savior. That’s why Jesus lived a life that was
always headed for the cross. He didn’t just die on the cross; He died on the
cross on purpose. When He was pinned up there on the wood, He had you in His
heart and your sins on His shoulders. He died to take your sins away and give
you a new life a real life free from the effects of sin. Through faith in Jesus
Baptism makes you dead to sin. Dead
as Jesus was in the tomb. Dead as all sin deserves. That’s how you were with
Jesus on the cross, dying to sin. That’s how He is with you now living a life
that isn’t controlled by sin. You are alive
to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:1-11)
So, you know what? You’re going to
see some conflict when you say these things about Jesus, when you dare to confess
the truth about Him. That’s ok, that’s to be expected. In a way it means that you’re
on the right track. Martin Luther once said that when everything was going
smoothly in his life, he worried that he wasn’t doing anything to get Satan’s
notice. There will be conflict when you speak the truth about Jesus, it is to be
expected. But there is nothing more important then the message of new life in
Jesus Christ. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all
understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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