The Lutheran Hour
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"Conflict on Earth, Peace with God"
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Text: Matthew 10:34-42
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Everything that Jesus has said to us is true. But there are some things that Jesus said which also have become manifestly obvious just by our own observation and experience. One of those things is found in Matthew, chapter 10. Beginning at verse 34, Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” We don’t like those words because of how true they are. I can’t imagine anyone who welcomes this kind of news. “No, not that, Jesus,” we say. “Why does it have to be like that?” But once again, from our own experience, no truer words were ever spoken.
At once, we see the apparent contradiction. We are a long way from Christmas, but we all know very well the words of the angels to the shepherds on that silent night: “Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth, good will toward men.” But Matthew 10 sure doesn’t sound like that. In Matthew 10, Jesus is talking about our relationships and interactions with one another. And in so many cases, at so many times, there isn’t peace, there is a sword, there is conflict, and this because of how people view Jesus. Let me give you an example.
A number of years ago, I went back to my hometown in Iowa and met with some friends I had in high school. We had been good friends in the past; but by now we’d gone our own ways, pursuing our own goals. One of my friends was a car mechanic. The other was in the business world. And I was still studying to be a pastor. One by one we explained what we had been up to. The mechanic talked about the training he received and how he fixes cars. And oh, we got into the intricate details of how to fix cars since he now knew them. The other friend talked business, all business. We learned the ins-and-outs of his company, what his responsibilities were, how well he did his job, his philosophies and strategies and anything else we’d want to know. Then it was my turn. They knew that I was still in school and that I was studying to be a pastor. They both tried to act interested; though it was obvious they really didn’t want to hear much more about it. Both of them expressed their general belief that there was a God “up there somewhere” and that yes, perhaps He had all power and authority. But I got more specific. I said that it wasn’t just about there being some sort of a god who watches over everything, I said that Jesus was our way to God, and our salvation. At this, one of my long-time friends held up his hands and said, “That’s where we have to stop. I’m fine with talking about God, but don’t be bringing up Jesus. That’s when this conversation ends.”
Jesus said “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword,” and here, with the introduction of the name of Jesus into the conversation, a sword became present. Each of us probably has had an experience or two like this. It makes us feel lousy, but it is a reality. And the root of all this conflict, this lack of peace, is alluded to by Jesus in the following verses. He says, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Here’s the problem. The problem is that we are in a world and are sometimes of a world where the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ is not first and foremost. If we want to narrow down the cause of the conflicts that we have and the swords that are introduced between people, it’s that all too often, Christ is not known or Christ is not first.
Name the conflict – any conflict we have. Two long-time friends are at odds because one of them seems to be telling tales about the other. Would that happen if Christ was first? A husband and wife are upset with each other because one of them is never home and the other one doesn’t understand why. Would that happen if Christ was first? Nations are at war and people are being killed. Would that happen if Christ was first?
Yet the first application of these statements of Jesus is still the conflict that happens precisely because He came not to bring peace, but a sword. We don’t like the sword when it comes to our relationships with others. Most of us would much rather that there be peace and harmony. Those are good goals, but Christ must come first, all the time.
It is tempting for us when confronted with the sword of which Jesus speaks, to back down a bit – to take a step away from fervent confessions and pure doctrine. Peter knew a bit about this in the courtyard of the high priest. How often do we hear the attempt made to sanitize the truth of Christ for the sake of smiles in the eyes of the world? “Let’s not get too exclusive” or so the argument goes, “when it comes to confessing that Christ is the only way to God and eternal life. It might be offensive.” And so we hear phrases like “anonymous Christianity” suggesting that anyone who is fervent about their faith and lives a good life, whether or not they know Jesus as Savior, has a shot at heaven.
In a conversation a while back, the question was posed, “Suppose a man hears of a crime to be committed.” He has overheard two criminals talking about how they are going to rob a home, hurt the owners, and do untold damage. That man then warns the homeowners of the upcoming scheme and perhaps saves their lives and the lives of their children. Now that man gets into heaven, right? The response was simply, “Does that man believe in Jesus as His Savior?” Oh, that conversation ended badly. The individual who posed the scenario just could not believe that even if such a noble thing had been done, the one who did good might not make it to eternal life.
And so, very often, we are tempted to make exceptions. Maybe there are other ways to God. Maybe there are other ways to know Him. Maybe there are other ways to eternal life besides Christ. We hear it in the news. We hear it from evangelists. We hear it from religious leaders and social optimists all the time. So how do we respond? Jesus made it clear. Don’t think that there is going to be peace between people when it comes to Him. There will be conflict, there will be a sword; but nowhere does Jesus invite us to soften that sword or shy away from exalting Him as the only Way, Truth, and Life. Don’t be surprised, Jesus says, when you don’t find peace because of Him. But don’t seek worldly favor at His expense.
“So, there is no peace?” the Christian asks. Recently, I returned from a deployment with the Air Force to the country of Kyrgyzstan, just north of Afghanistan, part of Operation Enduring Freedom. I was privileged to be on that deployment over Christmas, the time of year when sentiments of “Peace on Earth” are repeated. But those at war know no peace. The airmen that I dealt with carried weapons because their lives were frequently at risk. The pilots who flew our jets got shot at routinely, with the goal of destroying them and their cargo. There are alerts, fortified walls, and 24-hour security where I was, so that the warnings of a sword ring much more true than any promise of peace.
When I stood at the front of our chapel tent on Christmas Eve, the audience was one which was hopeful for peace, but was not experiencing it – at least in one sense – so that the words of the angels outside of Bethlehem could certainly have sounded contradictory to simple common sense. But worldly peace, relational peace, family peace, is not the greatest peace that can be attained. Jesus came into this world so that there could be peace with God. This is the message for those battered by threats to their lives or threats to their friendships. This is the message for those worn by international hostilities or inter-family strife. This is the message for those torn by danger to their well-being or conflicts between loved ones.
That night, in the chapel tent, we talked about the peace between humanity and God which Jesus came to bring. Jesus was born into this world fully knowing that there would be swords as a result of His ministry and message, but above all, to bring peace between fallen man and a God who loves us. Jesus spoke of this throughout His life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.” “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The problem was sin. It still is. Sin creates a condition of animosity by people toward God. Because of sin, natural humanity is afraid of God, feels distant from God, and wants nothing to do with God. Because of sin, there is conflict with God. Jesus came to take sin away. He was charged with our sin, and He died on the cross, taking the punishment that we deserve, so that now, the price of sin has been paid by Christ. We, therefore, are reconciled. That dividing wall of sin has been destroyed through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we can know God, love God, call Him our Father, and be at peace with Him.
That’s the Good News. And that was the message in that chapel tent on Christmas Eve in the hostile fire zone. The service ended with the playing of Silent Night and a reading of Luke 2 – the reading which so magnifies the message of peace on earth. But when the service ended, few people left – a phenomenon I found strange. No, instead, most everyone stayed around in that rustic setting, apparently only wanting to be with each other. There were some tears, many embraces. We were a long way from home, that’s for sure. There was no family around us, no long-time friends; only people we had met a few months before. But on this night, it was enough. Because there was peace with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we who believed, could be at peace with each other, even in the middle of a war.
With the coming of Jesus came the sword of conflict. We see it so much. We experience it to our heartache. The answer is not to back away from the true confession of Christ or water down His message for the sake of apparent harmony, but to believe it, hold fast to it, and share it with others so that they too may know the peace that we know.
Then, keeping Christ first, we can experience even the earthly peace which so many of us are longing for. If there is ever going to be peace between people, it will come with the faith that there is peace with God, brought by Jesus. In the meantime, in the midst of relational breakdowns and breakups, in the midst of international conflict and dying friendships, we who know Christ, know peace with God, because all of our sin has been taken away. That’s the most important peace of all. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for June 29, 2008
The CrusadesANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hello, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: Today we have a question that calls for sensitivity.
KLAUS: I will try my best.
ANNOUNCER: A listener writes: “Our local Christian high school has as its mascot, a crusader. From what I know of history, this is a very poor symbol for Christians. The Crusades were violent and hateful, and we’re still feeling their effects 500 years later.” Our listener thinks the school should adopt another mascot. What do you think?
KLAUS: Yes, no doubt about it, a question like that does call for sensitivity. First, I disagree with our listener. It is not necessary to change the symbol. Not unless the school’s logo shows a medieval knight wielding a bloody sword.
Mark, it’s true, the Crusades have fallen out of favor, and rightly so for the most part. They shouldn’t have happened, not that way. The Prince of Peace was poorly represented by armies who set out to liberate the Holy Land and ended up, in many cases, profiteering and causing all manner of wrong. Granted, some of them may have started out with good and pure motives, believing they were doing the right thing. But things very often did degenerate.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s the kind of Crusade Islam remembers.
KLAUS: But you should realize, Mark, the Crusades weren’t just directed against Islam. Even other Christians had crusaders laying siege to their cities and towns.
ANNOUNCER: Well, from what you’re saying, I would think the school then ought to change its mascot.
KLAUS: Yes, a person might think that. But there is a rest of the story. Mark, let’s take a look at the word “crusader.” It comes from the French word croisade. My deepest apologies for those folks who really know how to speak French. I’m sure I didn’t do that beautiful word justice.
ANNOUNCER: Well, what does that word mean?
KLAUS: It means to be “marked by the cross.”
ANNOUNCER: And how did it come to refer to these wars?
KLAUS: Very simple, Mark. These soldiers – these knights, peasants, children – who went off to do battle often wore a cross. Some people have seen these crosses in movies about those days. Because they wore a cross, or were “marked by the cross,” they eventually came to be known as crusaders.
ANNOUNCER: So what you’re saying is there is no shame in being marked by the cross of the Savior.
KLAUS: Exactly. Indeed, to be marked by that cross, that symbol of death, that brought about our eternal salvation, is something to be proud of. I would assume that the high schoolers who are known as “Crusaders” are not trying to raise an army with the goal of conquering another country.
ANNOUNCER: I’m sure that’s the case.
KLAUS: No, being a crusader, a person who is marked and motivated to follow the Lord who returned good for evil, is a blessed and a good thing. While we disavow the wrongdoings of the Crusades, we must be proud to be the Savior’s faithful servants and cross-bearers.
ANNOUNCER: What else can you tell us about the Crusades?
KLAUS: Well, you know, in today’s world of political correctness we must say things as they really were. That means we don’t change history. Even as I deeply regret many aspects of the Crusades and find them to be contrary to the Savior’s directions to His people, I would nevertheless maintain that they were not a one-way street.
ANNOUNCER: And by that, what do you mean?
KLAUS: Only reluctantly, and how did you say it at the beginning of our Question and Answer segment…?
ANNOUNCER: With great sensitivity.
KLAUS: Yes, that’s it – sensitivity. Let me say it this way: after the Savior’s resurrection, much of the Roman world was voluntarily converted to the message of salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the preaching of the Gospel. People acknowledged Jesus as their Savior even though they suffered intense persecution. On and off for centuries, Christians were the target of state-directed hatred.
ANNOUNCER: And, even in the face of this, they didn’t respond with violence.
KLAUS: Yes. These Christians, even those in positions of power, even when they reached the majority, did not respond with violence against those with whom they disagreed. That violence only came later – much later – when an official, political church responded with violence against the armies of other religions that were conquering and converting by the sword. In other words, the Crusades tried to reclaim with the sword that which had been lost and conquered by someone else’s sword.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten” From Sing With All the Saints by the Children’s Choirs of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (© 2006 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne) text © 1992 Stephen P. Starke, adm. Concordia Publishing House.
“Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” performed by the Lutheran Hour Choir. Used by permission.
“Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Postlude on Old Hundredth” by Fred Bock. From Dan Miller Hymns by Dan Miller (© 1991 DSDS Enterprises) The Sacred Music Press
“A Thousand Voices” by Jeffrey Blersch. Concordia Publishing House.