Jesus a Cause for Division
"Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace, but the sword. For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.'" (Mt. 10:34-36)
I am not trying to degrade Christianity, I am sincerely confused. What does this mean? Is it figurative or literal? Am I taking this out of context. Thanks in advance.
2006-09-07 15:41:50 · 25 answers · asked by Michael M 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
This verse means - that some will listen to Jesus and become Christians - those new Christians will be rejected by their own family - by their friends - it will turn fathers against sons and mothers against daughters - in other words - being a Christian means you will even be persecuted by the ones you love.
2006-09-07 15:49:21 · answer #1 · answered by Gladiator 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The verse is confusing because it is partly literal and partly figurative.
Jesus here is using what is called a metynym --a phrase that stands for another concept --when he says he is bringing a sword.
Think about a common English metynym --"to go under the knife" --means to have surgery.
In this case, to "bring a sword" means to bring family discord, not domestic violence.
This is a warning that the very subversive Jesus has things to say that are going to upset people's comfort zones and make some people angry and resistant.
This is true even today -- Jesus says some things that go against the grain of what we believe to be fair. Jesus describes a kingdom that does not have a reward structure that we understand --the last shall be first?? He describes an economic system where those who are last minute arrivals on the job site get the same pay as those who were on the job at sunrise.
He talks about feeding and clothing the poor in the face of our current cuts to social programs.
He hung out with prostitutes and low lifes--the ones we tell our kids to stay away from.
Not all of this is likely to sit well at the family dinner table and Jesus is describing what it is going to be like in some families where one or a few members decide to "take up the cross" -- the others are going to resist because they are not only uncomfortable with these radical ideas, but also find them frightening, disturbing and perhaps even embarrassing.
2006-09-07 16:07:19 · answer #2 · answered by Ponderingwisdom 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What is means is that if you sincerely believe in Jesus and his teachings, and your family, friends or whoever does not, then you will not be on the same page as they are. Can it be a cause for divisions? Absolutely. You will believe one way about an issue and they may believe a different way because they don't understand a Biblical perspective. Jesus doesn't set you up to be enemies with those around you, but a Biblical belief system and a world belief system are completely different, and in a lot of cases incompatible. Just think about times when you've gotten into conversations about a religious issue...my guess is, if you didn't share the same belief system, the conversation could be quite heated. That's what Jesus means with this verse.
2006-09-07 15:48:09 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
When Jesus was born, angels proclaimed "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:13- 14) The peace they foretold was reconciliation between God and man, which would be accomplished through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
However, Jesus could not bring peace between people, because we still have a free will...and many people choose a godless life, while others receive Christ and seek to follow after Him. Jesus is simply saying that those who follow Him will be set apart from the world, while those who hate Him will also hate His disciples.
Even those who are closest to us may oppose our faith, just as one in Jesus' own inner circle - Judas Iscariot - betrayed Him. And remember that Jesus' mother and brothers came seeking for Him at one point because they thought He was crazy. (Mark 3:20-21, 31-35) Eventually they were converted following His crucifixion and ascension, because the Bible records they were among those in the upper room praying when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentacost. But they opposed Him during His actual ministry. (John 7:1-9)
Read John 15:18-25 for a better understanding of the Scripture you refer to.
Hope this helps!
2006-09-07 16:17:46 · answer #4 · answered by CassandraM 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Israelites were looking to Jesus as the Messiah right up until they figured out that he was not going to over throw the Roman government and set the Israelites free from them. This was the peace that the Israelites were looking for.
Instead the Israelites got a lamb to be slaughtered (sacrificed) for their sins. This difference of opinion did turn Israelites against other Israelites. Man against his father, mother against daughter and so on. Some believed the message and some did not.
This continues to this very day. The sword referred to here is the type of sword that is written about as coming out of Jesus mouth, therefore meaning his words and his teachings. Some follow and some do not, then and now.
2006-09-07 15:48:53 · answer #5 · answered by cindy 6 · 4⤊ 2⤋
Jesus is saying that the Gospel even though in the end will bring peace, in the immediate it will cause conflict. Even among family and friends. Verses 35-36 are a quote from Mic. 7:6
2006-09-07 15:48:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
The typical Christian answer for this is that Jesus demands and expects absolute loyalty first and foremost above anything and anyone including family... even if it means causing division in the home. Like when Jesus asked a guy in Luke 9:59 to follow Him... the guy said "Let me bury my father first." and Jesus told him let the dead bury their dead... Jesus was expecting to be this man's priority and his loyalty.
2006-09-07 16:13:05 · answer #7 · answered by atheist_2_u 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is one of the harder verses to decipher as you need to read both 10 and 11 to make some sense of the words that Jesus said to his disciples before sending them out to preach on their own. It does seem contradictory reading just a small part of the story.
2006-09-07 15:56:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the world, the natural tendency is for people to sin, we are all sinners. When some people in a family become Christian, it's going to bring strife to that family, turning non-believers against the believers.
2006-09-07 20:07:53 · answer #9 · answered by ted.nardo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This verse is figurative, because Christ calls Christians to live by a standard so rigid and so perfect, that to try to live it sincerely, will cause divisions among families.
However, this is not to say that my beliefs should be pushed onto someone else, but that my love for my Savior is so high that I will cut ties with my family in order to follow His Righteousness.
Christianity is about my obedience to the Master, and the advancement of this Way, not to bring judgment on those that are not already Christian, because judgment is reserved for God alone.
2006-09-07 15:50:23 · answer #10 · answered by Jonathan Thomas 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋