I DIDN'T COME TO BRING PEACE
Luke 12:49-53 (p 738) Aug. 1, 2010
INTRODUCTION:
I was playing this picture game the other day with one of my grandchildren. It said, "One of these things is not like the others". And since it was on the level of a two year old it was pretty easy to identify that the apple was distinctly different than the three oranges.
But if I listed the names: Adolph Hitler, Genghis Khan, Joseph Stalin, Alexander the Great, and Jesus of Nazareth. You would automatically say… Wow….all these men are leaders, three, but Jesus is distinctly different. The first leaders were violent and blood thirsty, they were power hungry men of war. But Jesus is the opposite of those men He is peaceful and gentle. He is loving and compassionate. It doesn't even seem appropriate to put Jesus picture in the same game as these other men.
Unless there is an element to the ministry and life of Jesus that we understandably neglect. Unless Jesus came to earth for much more than peace. Unless in some ways, Jesus is more like a general than a teacher.
(Read text) Luke 12: 49-53 (p.738)
I have to tell you that at times people say, "That is the best sermon you've ever preached". And my response as "Thank you, but maybe it has more to do with where your at in hearing it, than where I'm at when preaching it.
And sometimes that has a lot to do with how we identify Jesus. He is the Great Physician when we're spiritually hungry. He is the prince of peace when we're caught in the midst of a storm. Through the Old Testament and New Testament he is called everything from Savior, to Brother to King, to the suffering servant. In reality we tend to see Jesus in the way that is most meaningful to us…and sometimes to us at a particular moment.
It's no wonder that we neglect seeing Jesus as
I THE PRINCE OF WAR
[My favorite movie of all time is "Saving Private Ryan" the opening battle scene is overwhelming graphic…not something we would linked as an image of Christ. At 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944 a landing craft makes it way to Omaha beach as bullets from German machine guns whiz by U.S. soldiers. There is death and confusion everywhere as many abandon their boats only to be dragged down as the heavy equipment they carry. The sound of war is unimaginable to those who have not experienced it.]
1.
We do not often refer to Jesus in the context of war. In our prayers we do not address Him as general or warrior. Maybe this is because, even when war is necessary, we see Jesus only as the Prince of peace.
And the truth is there are many verses in the Bible that highlight the peace that comes from Jesus
Romans 5: 1-2
Romans 8: 38-39
as one of my favorites Phil 4: 6 "Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, let your request be made know to God, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
It's clear from these scriptures that Jesus is the bringer of peace; we don't think of Him as the bringer of war.
But when you look at other passages…like our text -
Luke 12: 49-53 or Matt 10: 34-39
Maybe we've missed part of his real mission. In these passages Jesus seems to almost thumb his nose at any kind of peaceful picture of Himself. Not only that He seems to be directly saying "I did not come to bring people together but possible to even break apart the closest of human relationships."
If we put ourselves in the shoes of Jesus...1st century audience. or sandals as the case may be…there are 3 things to keep in mind…1st Jesus is speaking to a predominately Jewish audience…It wasn't until after the death, burial and resurrection that the gospel officially spread beyond the Jewish culture.
In fact much of the book of Acts involved the Apostles making this huge realization that salvation wasn't for the Jews alone…coming to grips with that single decision required Apostolic dreams, miracles, conflicts, and a new famous leadership council.
Next we need to understand that Jesus - words about family would have been particularly tough for this Jewish audience...Jewish culture was built on the foundation of family and tradition…People did not change classes or lifestyles…a fisherman was born into a fisherman's family…lived a fisherman's life and died a fisherman after raising fisherman children. Divorce was a life and death matter and the community shunned those who broke that bond.
But the final, most important thing to remember about this audience was they categourally believed "there is only one God". Anyone who claimed equality with God was a "Blasphemer", to be punished by death. This is why Jesus message was so divisive. To 1st century Jewish ears, he was the worst of heathens, offensive to the very core of their history and their identity…that is unless what he was saying was true. Then he was actually "Messiah" Savior.
2.
So understanding the audience and culture we can see that Jesus' words about division were more than appropriate…for him to walk into that culture and say, "I and my heavenly Father are one" (gasp) and then began to gather a contingent of those who believed him -- there is no way a war's not gonna happen…and it would be a civil war…family member against family member, brother shooting a brother.
He was instigating a transition, a spiritual shift that we haven't seen the end of.
His warnings were already taking place…just look at the first disciples…they actually left their nets to follow Him...those acts were more than just something they were doing---they were the family business. They were their heritage they were their source of income and identity. They abandoned it for the unknown… when they did that, they put the relationships they built in their previous life and serious jeopardy.
We think about these things to figure out…
II HOW CONFLICT FITS WITHING JESUS' MISSION
Most of us think about John 3:16 when it comes to Jesus mission: "For God So Loved the world he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but will have everlasting life:
Jesus did come to bring peace between God and mankind…His was not a mission of condemnation…but one of salvation…this is the mission the disciples joined….its the mission all true followers of Jesus have joined.
God sent his son to bridge the hostile gap that sin had created between him and man...Jesus came knowing He was the bridge…and the gap could only be spanned by a cross. Jesus paid the debt that had kept humanity at odds with its creator.
But the reason we struggle with understanding that peace and conflict can co exist in the person of Jesus is…there is a difference in His mission and the effect of His mission.
Here's what I mean…if you accept Jesus mission of salvation and reconciliation don't be surprised at the effect it has in your previous relationships.
Jesus was crystal clear that the peace… He was bringing to earth involved such a radical eternal change in people's lives that it would put them at odds with the world around them, and the people around them.
Why, because people who make a change into a life that pressed hard into God can find themselves at odds with people they've been close to…something radically internal is going on inside you…your way of thinking changes, your priorities change, your attitude changes…that means those things that bonded the relationship before your life of faith are the same for one of you…not the same any longer for the other…that creates conflict, confusion and misunderstanding.
3.
And that relationship might be a father, mother, sister, brother, boyfriend, girlfriend, boss, best friend.
You now have an amazing internal peace if they made right with God through the sacrifice of His son. You understand that mission and are on board to help bring it about…but there will be conflict and war as you pull away from your old life and put on Christ.
Your boyfriend won't understand why your not going to sleep with him any longer…and your drinking buddies aren’t going to rejoice at your new found sobering, and the boss that loved you being married to His business isn’t going to understand why family is so important now and church is a big deal.
So how do we bring together, both concepts in the teachings of Christ --abundance and sacrifice….peace and conflict?
The truth is that a Christian theology that is built around only one or the other is not a complete theology. These concepts go together. Jesus is not saying He wants you to lose your life….end of story. He is saying, "I want you to find a new life, but losing the old one is part of the process."
To clothe yourself with me…you've got to take off the old rags.
In this life of faith Jesus describes that brings both peace and conflict there is a final thought to consider…
How much of our lives do we spend trying to please other people? How much of our energy do we expand making sure everyone likes us?, or trying to feel o.k. with the fact everyone doesn't?
Jesus words to his followers had a lot to do with who you spend your time and energy trying to please.
If you are a person who tries to please everyone. If you are a leader in church driven to try to make people…oh, happy. Welcome to a world of conflict without any peace Jesus has called us to a higher purpose than to get through life making sure our relationships validate our success.
Jesus has called us to find our validation and identity in Him…and His mission becomes more important than any relationship when we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us who we are and what we should be and do…there will be loss, there will be conflict, but we have a chance to build eternal stuff. There is eternal gain beyond imagination and there is peace…because we walk with the prince of peace in the midst of it all.
