Luke 12:51-53 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Matthew 10:34-36 34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 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; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
Some people have used these verses to declare war on those with different theological, social, political, or ideological views than their own. This is obviously not what Jesus has in mind, for in the beatitudes, Jesus describes one of the attributes of those who love him: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). Understanding this verse - it is key to realize that peacemakers are not those who sit back and never cause any trouble. Peacemakers are people who are out working for peace (and the justice that most certainly comes with it). But real long-term peacemaking often causes huge conflict in the process.
Jesus' message was one that if accepted would create the kind of peace that the world had never experienced - one where there would be abundance for all of humanity. But his message also stripped those with religious and political power to the bone. And they certainly would resist being stripped of their authority and power. Conflict would ensue. Yet, this was not an edict for Jesus' followers to fight back (turn the other cheek still applies), but an edict for Jesus' followers to practice non-violent resistance - by continuing to speak truth. The sword that Jesus brought was the truth of God.
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