Strange Words From the Prince of Peace

Introduction: Strange Words from the Prince of Peace

0:01 The portion of the Word of God that will occupy our minds in study and in meditation, both this morning and again, God willing, this evening, is found in the Gospel according to Matthew, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 10, verses 34 through 39. Matthew, chapter 10, verses 34 through 39. Our Lord, speaking in the context of charging the twelve apostles with peculiar responsibilities, as well as conferring upon them special authority and power, says to them in this setting, Think not that I came to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at rest. The variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and the man's foe shall be they of his own household.

1:20 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. He that doth not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

1:47 I'm giving to the study of this passage the title, Strange Words from the Prince of Peace. Strange words from the Prince of Peace. I came not to send peace. Anyone who has even thought of sending peace, anyone who has even thought of sending peace, I came not to send peace. I came not to send peace.

2:15 I came not to send peace. Will the person who has even said these words, will recognize immediately that one of the dominant notes of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that which pertains to peace. Let me just sound a few of those notes by way of refreshing your minds. In the prophecy of Isaiah that went before our Lord, One of the peculiar titles.

2:46 given to Messiah in Isaiah 9, 6 is Prince of Peace. One of the great functions of Messiah as predicted in the second chapter of Isaiah's prophecy in verse 4 was that by virtue of His presence and ministry men would beat their swords into plowshares and their instruments of war into pruning hooks and men shall no more learn war in all of His holy mountain. All of us are familiar, even the children with the announcement of the angels at the birth of Christ. That announcement said peace on earth.

3:28 The very gospel of Christ is called in Ephesians 6, 15 the gospel of peace. And this is a quotation from Isaiah 52, 7 which is again partially quoted in Romans chapter 10. The very results. The very results of the message are to effect peace.

3:48 He is our peace who has broken down the middle wall of partition. He is the one spoken of in Colossians who made peace through the blood of His cross. Again, we read in the scriptures that the practical outworking of the gospel among men is peace. As much as lieth within you live peaceably with all men.

4:11 Follow after peace and holiness without which, no man shall see the Lord. So wherever we turn, Old or New Testament, the dominant note of peace is constantly sounded in connection with the gospel of Jesus Christ with Christ Himself and with the effects of that gospel in the lives of His followers. Strange then are the words of Matthew 10 in the light of all of this emphasis upon the peace that Christ is, upon the peace that His gospel will effect in the hearts and lives of men. This very Prince of Peace, this Author of Peace, this Effector of Peace should say, Think not that I came to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. I say these are strange words from the Prince of Peace. And because they reflect a perspective that on the surface of things not only seems strange to the overall emphasis of the gospel, but in direct opposition to the overall emphasis of the gospel, our Lord must have had good reasons, pressing reasons, for making so startling,

5:39 so strange a statement as is found in our text, Think not that I came to send peace. And as our Lord said them for good and valid reasons in the context of His mission, I believe, seeking to be sensitive to the state of this congregation, to the needs of its individual members, and when I sat here this morning and saw some of the visitors whom the Lord has brought to us and knowing something of their present circumstances, I'm more convinced than I was in preparation, that there are good and valid reasons for directing your attention this morning to the words of Christ, these strange words of the Prince of Peace. Now to think our way through the section that we shall study this morning, I shall say just a word about the context or the setting of these verses, and then we shall look at the prohibition given, Think not that I came to send peace on the earth. The affirmation made, I came not, to send peace but a sword, and then the explanation given in verses 35 and 36. And so this morning's study will focus upon the prohibition, the affirmation, and the explanation.

The Context of Jesus' Statements: Opposition to the Kingdom

7:01 But first of all, just a word about the setting of these statements of our Lord. Back in chapter 10 and verse 1,

7:12 we read that our Lord called the twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. Verse 5, These twelve Jesus sent forth and charged them, saying, Go not into any way of the Gentiles and enter not into the city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then they were to heal the sick, and they were to accomplish great things in the name and in the authority of their Lord.

7:51 But in the midst of this, one of the indispensable attendants of their preaching and their ministry is described in verses 16 to 18. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents, harmless as doves, but beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and in their synagogues they will serve you, scourge you. Yea, and before governors and kings you shall be brought for my sake for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

8:25 He promises that opposition will come in so gracious, in so glorious a ministry. They're not going out to exact taxes from people. They're not going out to lay heavy burdens upon people. They're going out to announce this tremendous truth, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8:44 The kingdom of grace. The kingdom of power. The kingdom of forgiveness. The kingdom of mercy.

8:52 And to give visible and monumental and indisputable testimonies that the nature of that kingdom is a kingdom of grace and healing and forgiveness. He gives them power to turn back some of the visible temporal effects of sin. They are to heal the sick. They are to raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

9:12 What is all of this for? It's to give in the realm of what men can see. Object lessons of the nature of the kingdom. It's not a tyrannical kingdom.

9:22 It's not the kingdom of some egomaniac whose concocted notions by which he will subjugate people to his own evil designs. It's a kingdom of grace. So he concludes with the words freely you've received, freely give. What a strange thing.

9:40 Announcing such a kingdom. Confirming the announcement by such beneficial means he says they'll deliver you up. You'll be hated. You'll be opposed.

9:52 There'll be opposition in the announcement of this kingdom. And it's in that setting of assuring them of opposition in the announcement of the kingdom an emphasis that is reiterated in verse 21 brother shall deliver up brother to death father his child, children against parents. It's in that setting of the ministry, of the message of the kingdom and the deeds of the kingdom which will have as its inseparable attendant opposition, even violent opposition that Jesus says these strange words think not that I came to send peace I came to send a sword. So much for the setting of his words now to the words themselves and we consider first of all the prohibition given. Now you kids don't be afraid of the big word prohibition. A prohibition is what you kids call a no-no. When mama makes some cookies and she has them on the kitchen table cooling off before she puts them in the cookie jar and she says don't eat the cookies that's a prohibition.

The Prohibition: Do Not Think I Came to Send Peace

11:01 That's a no-no. Keep your hands off the cookies until mama says you may. Well, our Lord is giving us a no-no. He's giving us a prohibition in the text.

11:12 And notice with me if you will please the focus of the prohibition given and then the essence of that prohibition. What is the focus of our Lord's prohibition? Well, it has to do with the purpose and the results of the coming and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth. Look at the text.

11:33 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth. The prohibition brings us into the orbit of this fundamental text. Why did Jesus Christ come and more particularly what will be the effects of his coming to earth? What was the purpose of his mission and what will be the effects of that mission working out itself upon the earth?

12:11 That Jesus had come was an undeniable fact to which the disciples and the disciples of the church and all the contemporaries of Christ both friend and foe could bear indisputable testimony. Jesus Christ was on the scene. No one could deny that. And the multitudes were stirred and debated precisely who he was what he was here for but that he had come none could deny.

12:37 It's only smart-alecky so-called theologians years after the living witnesses are dead that try to conjure up notions that the Jesus of gospel history never really existed. He's just projected into the gospel record in the religious admiration of his followers. Well, it's all well and good for smart-alecky theologians hundreds of years after the living witnesses are dead to make such assertions but if they did so with all of their degrees while the witnesses yet lived they'd have been laughed out of town as fools and time does not change what they are.

13:15 No, no, they could not deny that he had come but now you see the great question was what was the purpose of his coming? He was there, yes, but why? What was his purpose in coming to earth? In making the stupendous claims about himself that he made?

13:34 What's the purpose of this business of sending out the twelve with these mighty powers to raise the dead to cleanse the lepers heal the sick? You see, the prohibition has as its focus this very vital matter the purpose the purpose and the effect of the mission of Jesus Christ and I underscore it even to the point of being a bit tedious and perhaps having some of you feel that I'm insulting your intelligence you say you made your point three minutes ago well, I want to keep making it because that's the most fundamental issue in an understanding of the passage well, having considered the focus of the prohibition what is the essence of it? Well, the essence has to do with what you think our Lord says think not do not suppose do not consider that I came to send peace on the earth the essence of the prohibition particularly to his disciples was this Peter James John Andrew Bartholomew the whole bunch of you listen to me now my prohibition is this you must not entertain wrong notions concerning the purpose and results of my mission and indirectly indirectly your mission particularly and specifically says our Lord do not think and he uses vigorous language do not think that I have come to cast

15:03 peace upon the earth if you have a 1901 edition you'll notice the marginal reading renders the word send, cast and that's the vigorous word in the original do not think that I have come to cast a blanket of peace and conciliation over the entire earth behold beholding me as the prince of peace author of the gospel of peace who in a few short years will die upon the cross to effect peace do not imagine for a moment that the purpose and effect of my mission will be to cast one big soft downy blanket of peace and conciliation over the entire earth think not that I came to cast peace upon the earth the essence of our Lord's prohibition is that they must not think wrongly about the mission of Jesus particularly with reference to this issue of peace for you see these disciples permeated as they were with their carnal Jewish expectations had the notion as they did with so many other Old Testament prophecies that they were to be fulfilled in a literalistic nationalistic manner that's why Christ crucified was the great stumbling box of the Jews they read in the Old Testament

16:32 prophecies about Messiah girding his sword upon his thigh and coming in power and they were waiting for him to come through the city streets on a charger and to let the heads of the Romans roll and when he himself came dragging a cross up a hill with a crown of thorns upon his head that can't be our Messiah accursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree and likewise they had carnal expectations about the mission of Messiah had they not read in Isaiah the prophet by virtue of the manifestation of Messiah war shall cease enmity shall be done away with and because they had imbibed these carnal notions our Lord says look I the King am commissioning you having all authority over every realm death and disease and sickness I commission you to preach the kingdom is at hand I give you credentials to make it manifest that you're on the mission of the true King the Lord of heaven and earth raise the sick heal the sick raise the dead cleanse the lepers manifest the power of my kingship but listen don't mistake the effect and purpose of that kingship I did not come to cast a blanket of conciliation and harmony over the face of the earth that's the essence of his promise and prohibition and may I say just briefly by way of application

18:00 before we move on in our study that as our Lord then would tolerate no misapprehension regarding his mission and the effect of his mission so our Lord today in the midst of his church is moved with holy indignation when mere men manipulate according to their own predisposition what they think ought to be the mission of Jesus and the effect of the mission of Jesus and so on every hand we're being told that wherever Jesus is present there will be peace and concord all the way from the so-called international bargaining tables or the tables of international bargaining and diplomacy right down to families and to churches and denominations the great cry is let us imbibe the spirit of Jesus let's sit down with butchers and murderers and talk about detente and let's let's sit down with men who deny the historic Christ of biblical revelation and call them brother and sister and so the whole mentality in our day is that to say Christ or Christian is to say peace and concord at any cost Jesus says don't mistake my mission he says it now as he said it then do not think

The Affirmation: I Came to Cast a Sword (Division)

19:28 that I came to cast peace upon the earth the prohibition given we've looked at its focus its essence now the affirmation made now again you kids affirmations a little bit of a big word it simply means to declare with firmness for instance when you say can I have a snack and mommy says no you may not have a snack at this time she's affirming something she is declaring something with firmness she's making a statement of deep conviction and you know when she says it that way ain't no sense asking a second time if she says well I don't know you say there's a little crack there I just might be able but when she says no you may not well you forget it for a while right she's made an affirmation an affirmation is a statement in which you declare something with firmness now having given the prohibition look at the affirmation which our Lord makes he makes it first of all in the negative and it's almost a repetition of the prohibition I came not to send peace this is a reassertion of the prohibition it was not my intention to bring all men together in one great bundle of love and harmony and everyone who manipulates the mission of Christ so to teach runs headlong into this negative affirmation of our Lord I came not to cast peace

20:57 than the positive I came to cast a sword now in our day swords are only seen if you're watching a movie in which you have old time of battles going on or maybe you see swords in a museum or you see them in some kind of an official ceremony if you watch the graduation of the West Point cadets or something of that nature but in our Lord's day the word sword immediately brought to the minds of the hearers an instrument of war it brought up the concept of death of radical division the sword was the instrument with which a man's head was cleaved from his shoulders and that's the concept of the sword you have it there in Ephesians Hebrews chapter 4 the word of God is quick and powerful sharper than any two-edged sword what's the next word dividing asunder the sword that cuts and that this is the proper understanding of our Lord's words we need not use just the parallel passages which speak of the sword as an instrument of division look at the parallel words to this passage in Luke chapter 12 I turn you there for just a moment Luke chapter 12 this positive assertion which our Lord makes I came not to send peace I came to cast a sword what is that sword he describes it in Luke 12 verse 51 think ye that I am come

22:26 to give peace in the earth I tell you nay but rather division for there shall be from henceforth power five in one house divided three against two two against three there shall be divided father against son son against father mother against daughter daughter-in-law against mother mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law you see the word division and divide so our Lord himself interprets the imagery of the sword he said do not picture Messiah as coming with his soft downy sweet smelling blanket of conciliation and harmony wrapping up all humanity in one big bundle of love picture him riding upon his charger with a sword and wherever he goes he divides that's how you're to think of me strange words from the Prince of Peace I came to cast a sword and wherever I go my sword will be cast that's why he said look I go in the person of my representatives Christ went in the person of those twelve he gave them the very powers that the Father had conferred upon him power to raise the dead heal the sick cleanse the lepers he says you're preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand

23:54 and the kingdom comes in the person of the King and the King came in his credentials of mighty power through those apostles and he says wherever you go I go and wherever I go I cast my sword my sword my sword is cast division will come that's the assertion of our Lord now then what is its meaning well let me seek to ascertain the meaning or arrive at the meaning with you stating something negatively and then positively our Lord is not saying and oh listen carefully because fanatics seize upon a passage like this and run off in the energy of the flesh and bring great disgrace to the Lord our Lord is not saying that he came for the end of the world but he came for the end of the world for the end of the world for the end of the world for the end of the world for the end of the world for the explicit purpose of creating divisions among men for instance one of the fundamental axioms of Lenin's philosophy of revolution was divide and conquer if you want to be a Marxist agitator you seek to enter whatever segment of society is the object of your concern and within that segment you seek to create tensions or if tensions are there you seek to create tensions or if tensions are there you seek to create tensions you seek to agitate them and stir them up so that by destroying or disrupting the unity the social unity of the people you may weaken them and thereby conquer them now whether Lenin

25:22 came to understand this by human observation or whether he actually borrowed from the words of our Lord I don't know but our Lord said this a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand now you see the purpose then of a Marxist agitator filled with his blind and fanatical commitment to a godless philosophy of social revolution his purpose in coming into any situation is explicitly and overt if not overtly in his own mind it is to divide now our Lord is not saying I have come with an express purpose to disrupt the harmony that may exist among any social structure family nation community etc he was not coming to throw over the legitimacy of legitimate social responsibilities which create peace in the family in the church or in the nation to say this is the meaning of our Lord is to say that Jesus Christ the savior of sinners was nothing but an anarchist and a social revolutionary and some people are saying that that's why you have so called Christian revolutionaries but there isn't a shred of evidence for that position well then what is our Lord saying now follow closely I know it's warm I'm warmer than you are your mind gets dull but hang in with me now to lay hold of this the key is to understand the difference

The Meaning of the Sword: Christ's Saving Mission and Its Inevitable Effect

26:50 between a man's calculated intention and an inevitable accompaniment of what he intends to do now you see those two things are different our Lord is not saying I come with the calculated intention of casting a sword what he's saying is wherever I do come with the intentions that are peculiar to my kingdom the sword will inevitably follow see the difference now to further lead your minds on I want to ask three questions why has he come to whom has he come and how does he accomplish his purpose in coming why has Jesus Christ come well you don't need to be a scholar to know the answer to that take his own words for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost the son of man is come all single syllable words kids to seek and to save that which is lost not one two syllable word the so called theologians write their big poems on the mystery of Jesus who was he what was he here for the son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost the son of man is come eloquent simplicity he came on a mission of rescuing

28:20 rebel sinners he opens up a little more about the nature of that mission in such passages as John 6 39 and 40 I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me and this is the will of him that sent me that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day he said I came not only to seek and to save as though that were some wishful and some hopeful goal to be attained no no he said I came to do the will of my father and the will of my father is that the people for whom I've come and whom I do seek I shall save and save means nothing less than raising them up at the last day that's what he came to do to save sinners thou shalt call his name Jesus he shall save he shall save now then to what kind of people does he come those people he came to save what are they like well the Bible reveals them to be a pretty bad bunch a pretty sorry lot they all fell in their first father Adam so they are guilty by their involvement with their first father and as a judgment of God upon them for their involvement in that sin they are each one of them born in their own personal existence with a depraved nature a heart in the word of the scriptures

29:48 that is deceit full of all things and desperately wicked a positive bias to evil and against God the carnal mind enmity against God it isn't subject to his law neither indeed can it be the son of man has come to do what to save to whom has he come rebel dead guilty bound helpless sinners now how does he accomplish that purpose of saving them well he brings those guilty bound rebel sinners into a relationship with himself and he brings in faith and love which then brings to them all the virtue of his saving power he saves them by drawing those guilty bound rebel sinners into a relationship with himself that makes it right for God to give to those sinners all that Jesus Christ has purchased on their behalf and when he does it he brings them in such a setting as they willingly acknowledge all the claims that Christ made about himself and they gladly submit to all the claims that Christ makes over them now if you got hold of that you've got a world of truth in a nutshell he says come unto me

31:15 you see he draws men into loving trustful attachment to himself him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out and when the Lord Jesus draws the sinner to himself he does so in such a way that the sinner has no reservations in confessing Christ's claims about himself to be true and in gladly submitting to all the claims that Christ makes over him you say man we're worlds apart from I came not to send peace but a sword no we aren't stay with me now stay with me we're not worlds apart we're right on track right on time if you're with me now the moment that happens can you see how the sword begins to enter here's John and here's Jack twin brothers born together two minutes apart I mean they are really identical even the mother and father have to put a band-aid on the forehead of one to tell them apart I mean they're really identical here they are here's John here's Jack both of them according to the scripture sinned in Adam Romans 5 both of them as a result of that sinner born with a positive bend to evil devoid of original righteousness to use the language of the theologians devoid of original righteousness and infected with a depravity that touches every faculty of the mind the soul and the body that's the awful teaching of the word of God a heart that is at enmity with God a sink of iniquity a cesspool of uncleanness there's John and there's Jack

32:43 and what happens well they grow up together and the parents have wisely handled this problem of identical twins so the kids don't have identity problems and they're having a great time together they play ball together they sit and grumble about mom and dad together and the crazy rules of the house together they do everything together like two peas in a pod from their externals to their whole lifestyle I remember a set of twins like that in my neighborhood growing up and boy if you touched one you had to take them both on I mean they were like that they were like that they were real buddies dressed the same fought the same cussed the same everything was the same now what happens King Jesus came on a mission and that mission was to seek and to save lost sinners and one of the sinners whom he came to seek and to save was Jack no John we got John over here and Jack here let's remember we got John and Jack here John and Jack here alright now what happens some friend of theirs invites them to hear the gospel whatever the circumstances are John hears the indictment of heaven that he's a sinner Jack hears the same indictment they hear the wonderful announcement that God has sent his son for rebel sinners that God has come in the person of his son and that son has lived and died and been buried and raised from the dead and sits at the right hand of the father and then the glorious free unfettered offer of the gospel is given that all who will embrace him are pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake

34:12 and what happens the Holy Spirit so works in the heart of John that he sees his lostness he sees his undone-ness he feels the pangs of his own sinnerhood and in his heart he cries out to this God and to this Savior and the Holy Spirit gives these sins this man John gives to him vision of the glory of God in the face of Christ and his heart runs out in faith and repentance he acknowledges Christ to be God he acknowledges Christ is worthy of total claims over his life and he gives himself up to be Christ to be saved by him and what happens Jack sits there dead as a dodo and they go home and on the way home John says hey let's stop by our he says I'm sorry that's all done now what do you mean that's all done now he said I got a new master no longer my lust no longer my passions my master is the Jesus that that preacher talked about what are you talking about that crazy nut ranting and raving what are you no no don't talk that way Jack these are the most precious things in all the world to me what's happened the sword has begun to be cast into that relationship and then they go home and Jack starts smart-mouthing about his mom and dad and John rebukes him and says the word of God says honor thy father and thy mother and I intend to be and I intend to be and I intend to be and I intend to be and I intend to be and I intend to do so what's happened the sword is cutting deep and then it isn't but a few days until Jack has all he can do to keep his hands from off John's throat from choking him why why

35:41 Christ has cast the sword by accomplishing his mission his mission was to save sinners and when he really saves a sinner immediately that sinner by his total lifestyle becomes a rebuke to the unconverted and the sword of division has been cast why did he come to save to whom does he come rebel sinners how does he accomplish it well you see this is precisely how the division comes so in the accomplishment of the mission of the son of God he will not alter his terms nor will he fail at his purpose and it's because of this fact that peace on earth will be impossible as long as there are saved and lost men upon the face of the earth well so much for the prohibition the affirmation now very quickly the explanation given are the explanation offered in verses 35 and 36 our Lord's going to explain more fully for I came to set a man at variance against his father the daughter against her mother the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and the man's foes should be they of his own household this is the picture of a household with five people in it you've got a mom and a pop you've got a son and then he's moved in his daughter-in-law to live with him after oriental custom and in the reading I've done on this apparently this was the custom in some oriental circles that when the young man got married he moved his bride in with him

37:11 so she had a lovely mother-in-law with whom to contend and then there was an unmarried daughter living in the household now why does our Lord give this kind of description can you see why he's speaking of a situation in which are to be found the deepest ties of human loyalty and human affection father mother son daughter daughter-in-law mother-in-law brother sister the deepest ties of human affection are found in this situation now the gospel comes and what's the result the father believes and begins to manifest the reality of his discipleship and what happens the son is exposed for what he is and he turns against the father I've come to set a man against his father and the same thing happens with the daughter and the mother and the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law and so there's domestic warfare where previous to the coming of the gospel there was domestic peace but you see the basis of that peace was common commitment to an anti-God basis of living the whole family viewed life not as God viewed life but as man views life with his darkened mark the whole family viewed the use of time of money what's right to say and not to say the whole basis of the total thing that's going on the whole basis of the total thing that's going on the whole basis of the total thing that's going on the whole family lifestyle was the world the flesh and the devil

38:40 one of them gets saved and now there's a total and radically different basis in the entirety of operation the sword of division has come and who's responsible for it? well you say the Lord yes but only immediately the immediate responsibility rests upon the perverse unregenerate hearts that yet remain and the Lord in that household Christ comes not with a message of hate not with a message of bitterness a message that tells us to give up domestic duties and responsibilities no he comes with a message that promises peace with God and has as its natural consequence that the person who's at peace with God will do all within his power to live peaceably with men so the ultimate cause of this division is the perverse human heart that cannot stand the light of Christ now shining through the transformed life and I must hurry over some other matters of illustration I'd hope to make because in conclusion I want to draw several applications that I trust will be helpful to us the first one is this biblical realism is essential to our stability in the Christian life hear the Lord sending them out he says you've got a wonderful message the kingdom of God

Application 1: Biblical Realism for Stability

40:09 the kingdom of heaven is at hand you're going to have power to raise the dead cleanse lepers cast out demons can you imagine what they must have thought at that point what a time we're going to have I mean red carpets will be rolled out wherever we go we're not coming to fleece people we're not coming to ask even for an offering unlike most so-called faith healers these fellas didn't even ask for an offering let alone squeeze your arm and bleed you dry they didn't ask for a thing the Lord said freely you've received freely give freely you've received and you imagine what they must have thought why we're going to go through all the tribes of Israel telling people look bring some dead people around we want to raise them up bring your lepers we want to cleanse them we want to heal them now the Lord says don't think that in so doing a thick downy sweet smelling fragrant blanket of conciliation and peace is going to be cast a sword what's the Lord doing he's giving them a realistic assessment of what they're in for and you see it was that realistic assessment that was essential to their stability otherwise they'd have been so shattered who knows what they would have done and our Lord confronts them with the realistic response that will come the sword remember what happened to John so full of idealism that he became disillusioned and the disillusioned led to doubt and doubt then always leads to destructive unbelief

41:38 John says art thou he that should come or do we look for another if you're a Messiah why do I languish in prison oh dear child of God listen you need biblical realism if you're to be stable in your Christian life and biblical realism says that the cross is not a secondary element in the Christian life it is a primary element opposition division misunderstanding are part and parcel of following in the train of the Son of God and if you expect Christian experience that evades it you'll have to create that experience it will not be given of Christ preach the kingdom is at hand and it's a kingdom that brings with it not only healing and deliverance but a sword of division so face it child of God then you don't get all uptight when it comes once in a while I have someone come to me with a real brow wrinkled more than mine and they come to me and say Pastor do you know I just heard the most terrible thing do you know what someone said about Trinity do you know what someone said about you and I just smile and say well tell me the latest now am I some kind of stoic no I have feelings I have feelings I like to be loved and I like the people I love to be loved I don't like lies being said about them my friend it's going to come from one quarter or another so like my friend who had a beautiful

43:07 big sign on the side of his filing cabinet in his study and he looked at it whenever he began to go down under hallelujah anyhow that's what it said that's all hallelujah anyhow praise the Lord regardless now is that some kind of stoicism no that's biblical realism but I can't I came to send peace I came to cast the sword and if you feel the cutting edge of the sword don't think it a strange thing isn't that what Peter says think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try second observation I'd make upon the text part of it that's been expounded this morning is this violent disruption of the most intimate ties of human affection and allegiance will always be an attendant of the gospel I'm moving now from the general biblical realism is essential face the truth the fact it'll come but now descending to the more particular violent disruption of the most intimate ties of human affection and allegiance will always be an attendant of the gospel of Christ I am not saying it will always be felt in every family we read in the scriptures of household conversions thank God for them but we also read of individual conversions and we must not be surprised if the words of our Lord are literally fulfilled in our experience the Father said against the Son

Application 2: Disruption of Intimate Ties and Supreme Attachment to Christ

44:34 the Son said against the Father Jesus said this is an inevitable accompaniment of my mission and it's because Jesus Christ calls people into supreme attachment with himself that makes every lesser attachment expendable oh listen to me people hear me this morning hear me this morning when Jesus Christ saves a man or woman a boy or a girl he calls them that man, woman, boy or girl into supreme attachment to himself that makes every other attachment expendable my attachment to my wife is deep and precious and to my children it's deep and precious and to my fellow elders and to this flock but every one of those attachments is expendable there's only one that is not and that's the attachment to him who loved me and gave himself for me with his own preciousness with his own precious blood he's the pearl of great price and if the issue was disruption with my wife with my children with my fellow officers in the work of the ministry here and with you dear people the flock of God the issue's not even worth debating now though this is true in an absolute in a radical sense

46:03 only between the Christian and the non-Christian follow me closely now just as there is no sin that the non-Christian commits that does not have it's seeds in the heart of a true believer there can be found residual elements of this same cleavage even amongst Christian families what happens in the course of the unfolding of the will of Christ one member of the household sees a new pathway of obedience open up before him and when he sees it he hears his Lord saying to him come follow me but he says Lord I never knew that following you meant to be a sin I never knew that following you meant going down that path and the Lord says yes I know you didn't but now you do what will you do follow me at that point there may be other members in the household who either have not seen that path that the Lord has opened up to you or having seen it say uh uh the price is too great now what do you do at that point my friend what do you do at that point do you obey the voice of Jesus saying follow me or do you obey the voice of loved ones and friends personal blood friends friends, ecclesiastical friends, who cling to your garments, saying as Peter did to the Lord. Not so, Lord. You see, the Lord saw something Peter didn't. He saw that the only way to accomplish

47:28 his messianic designs was to go to a cross. You read it in Matthew 16. He said, from that time on, Matthew says, he began to show to his disciples he must suffer. He must die. He must be raised again. He saw the path of the Father's will open up to him, and he said, I must follow. Peter grabs him and says, no, no, Lord, far be it from you to do that. Get thee behind me, Satan. What strong language. A few moments before, he said, blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah. Now he calls him a veritable devil. Why? Because Peter would stand and block his obedience to the new dimensions of the will of the Father. My friend, you treat any loved one, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, church, that would stand between you and under the obedience of the Lord. Obedience to the new dimension of the will of God. Treat them as a veritable devil and say, get thee behind me, Satan. My friends, that's what Christ calls us to. I don't need to get more explicit.

48:39 Some of you know what the issues are, and they're clear. There's no question. The word of God has opened up what Christ is asking of you. My friend, any relationship that is not expendable for Christ is will suffer.

Application 3: Beware of Prioritizing Unity Over Truth

48:59 You see, in the exposition tonight brings into serious question the validity of your professed relationship to Christ. He says, not worthy of me, not worthy of me, not worthy of me, which is simply another way of saying you're not one of my true followers. I'll only mention it this morning, attempting to expound it tonight. But then my final word is this. Behold, behold, the desperate state of the human heart we've already touched, and I'll just mention it, and then my final word will be this other. Exhortation I want to give. Beware of the mentality which looks upon unity, peace, and harmony as the highest good to which everything else can be sacrificed. Beware of that mentality which looks upon unity, peace, and harmony as the highest good to which everything else can be sacrificed. This is

49:53 the curse in the religious world. We live in the day of ecumania. No real differences. Let's all get together. Catholics, Protestants, Jews.

50:04 Mohammedans. Everybody get together! Anyone who dares to raise a voice and say, hey, fellas, just a minute now. What are we together in?

50:20 What are we together about? What are we together upon? That person is looked upon as some kind of a hangover, some organ that should have been excised a long time ago, back in the medieval ages when they had inquisitions. I mean, no intelligent person in the 20th century dares to say, what you believe or do not believe is the basis of having concord and harmony. And my friends, that's precisely the teaching of the word of God.

50:50 In fact, God says if anyone relinquishes truth and you even bid him Godspeed, you become partaker of his evil deeds. Beware of the mentality that says unity, peace, and harmony at any cost. It's found in the religious world. So-called conservatives who've got big mouth but no stick.

51:11 They bark loudly for the truth and say, if you bully us here, we'll not budge. The liberals laugh when they bully them and so they lower their voices and retreat and draw new stakes and say, well, if you beat us back to here, then we're going to really get upset. My friends, I have no respect for a man whose religious principles are in any way influenced by the pressure brought to bear against him. Here I stand, so help me God!

51:40 I can do no other. Martin Luther. But beware of that mentality, not only in the religious world. I've done nothing for my father, I've done nothing to save him, and I don't have politicians here and I believe I would even dare to hurl this challenge in the face of Mr. Kissinger and also entreat Mr. Ford. Beware of this mentality in the international political world. Some of you have read some of the things that Solzhenitsyn has been saying as he's gone about our country and he sees us flirting with men whose purpose is yet to dominate the world with their godless atheistic philosophy and we court their favor and give over the technological advances paid for by your tax money and mine but the philosophy seems to be peace and harmony with international butchers peace at any cost.

52:37 I should rather see our nation stand upon principle and die in a bloodbath with honor but then I want to say finally in the realm of your church and family relationships my friends peace at any cost is not the teaching of the word of God and you beware of it.

52:57 Don't have the philosophy that unity, peace and harmony is the highest good and everything else can be sacrificed to it. What is the highest good? God's glory. And God's glory is always best served by obedience to the truth to which any other issue can be sacrificed.

53:17 God's glory is best served by obedience to the truth.

Conclusion: Gaze Upon Christ's Sacrifice

53:23 Anything else can be sacrificed. Reputation, friends, goods, lands. Isn't that what we've sung? Jesus I my cross have taken all to leave and follow thee destitute, despised, forsaken.

53:42 Thou from hence my all should be. Hence then every worldly pleasure all sought or hoped or known yet how rich is my condition God and heaven are my hope. Oh dear children of God hear the word of God this morning. Strange words, strange words from the Prince of Peace.

54:06 Think not that I came to send peace. I came not to send peace but a sword. And if you find it difficult wrestling now with the implications of that sword where shall you wrestle as a Christian? Oh my friend do not wrestle by gazing as it were upon the severed nerve endings of deep human intimate ties.

54:32 Do not contemplate the issue by looking upon the raw nerve endings. Of deep ties radically severed. Turn your eyes away from all of that and gaze upon your Lord. Behold him in his willingness to part with his most precious possession.

54:52 Do you know what his most precious possession was? That couldn't have been his home he had none. Couldn't have been his popularity that came and went. You know what his most precious possession was?

55:04 The felt warmth of his father's countenance. And he relinquished that for you. And for me. That was Gethsemane.

55:18 That was Gethsemane beloved. Oh my father if it be possible. Not this thing. Lord that cup let it pass.

55:28 That's my dearest possession. The felt warmth of your countenance father. Is there no other way to accomplish my mission but to have those warm beams of your felt presence withdrawn and to be plunged into the abyss. Oh my father.

55:45 Lord. You are my cup of abandonment. Nevertheless. Not my will but thine be done.

55:55 And on the cross there was the withdrawal. Not of the presence of God. Not of the favor of God. He was never more beloved than when he was most accursed.

56:08 But in his position as the sin bearer all sensible enjoyment of the father's countenance was gone. He cried my God. My God. Why hast thou abandoned me?

56:20 I beg of you. And he says, that's one thing I had that none of my followers will ever have. So no matter what you must experience as a result of the sword, in the midst of it, what do you have as his promise? I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

56:38 Hallelujah. Leave thee. Abandon thee. So then you say in the words of that hymn then.

56:45 Come then. Trial. Mocking. Let it come.

56:49 Why? To have the felt warmth and the beams of his countenance more than compensates for every other loss. Oh, child of God, hear the words of your Savior and follow him. And dear sinner friend, lost and blind, dead and undone, Jesus is still seeking sinners.

57:16 Who knows but what he brought you here today to seek and to save you. You say, what must I do? Throw yourself upon his mercy. Give up all claims to yourself and all claims that you can make yourself fit for him.

57:32 Throw yourself upon his mercy as he's revealed in the gospel. And he's promised. Him that comes, I'll in no wise cast out. Let us pray.