Nabeel Qureshi was raised in a Muslim home and became a great advocate for Islam. However, when a medical student he began debating with David Wood and he slowly became more and more disillusioned with Islam and the evidence for it being true. He thought of becoming a Christian but the realisation of what this would mean to his parents stopped him.. They would feel he had not only betrayed them but God. He would be ostracised by his family and friends. There would never be peace.
I have a friend who went to a Muslim Brotherhood school where he was taught to hate anyone opposed to Islam. He also became increasingly convinced that what Islam taught was not true. What the Qur’an says and what the Hadith attribute to Mohammad were not compatible with the findings of modern science and so he became an atheist. However this left him with such an emptiness and filled him with a sense of meaningless that he began to investigate the Christian faith. The evidence for it being true overwhelmed him and after some years he asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord snd save him. However he has kept this quiet from his family and friends. He knew of the friction and animosity this would cause if they knew and this would result in him never being at peace.
The Christian story begins in the Old Testament where the coming of God’s Messiah is foretold.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7
When a host of angels appeared to some shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem they said:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:14
Jesus came to bring peace but what does this mean? Many Christians face a very hard time in this world, ask the Palestinian Christians or the Christians in Sudan, North Korea, or Afghanistan.
Jesus balances this idea with what he says to his disciples as he prepares them for mission.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34
How is this right if he is the Prince of Peace. Look again at Matthew 10 34-42
Context
Jesus recognised the desperate need that people were in. They had no-one to lead them, they were like sheep without a shepherd. His response was to care for them, to teach them about himself and prove that he is God’s Messiah by the miracles he performed:
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:35-36
The need is for labourers. Jesus then sends out his disciples with work to do but he does not soft peddle what this will involve.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16
Life for them will certainly not be easy:
“Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.” Matthew 10:17
Jesus clearly knew of the concerns of his disciples but he wants them to understand what he expects of his followers and the effect following him will have on even the closest of relationships:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34
In spite of outer discord, Jesus promises that his people will have an inner peace.
Relationships within families
The sword here must mean division. This phrase cannot be used to justify wars such as the Crusades or any religious conflicts The sword divides and this will even be seen within families. We must never forget that God loves families, hates divorce and wants us to do all we can to keep the peace within families. However God also calls all people everywhere to repent, to recognise him a their divine King and then serve him as their Sovereign. Some will warm to this message and others will react against it, so inevitably the gospel will cause divisions:
“ For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’” Matthew 10:35-36
Here Jesus is quoting from Micah 7:6 where the prophet describes a society that has turned is back against God. The next verse in Micah describes the reaction of God’s true people:
“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Saviour.” Micah 7:7
As a sideline, it is striking that when verses from the Old Testament are quoted in the New the context usually makes a glaringly clear point. Micah was looking for the Messiah to come and Jesus is saying that he is the God and Saviour Micah was looking for.
When people hear this message that God’s Messiah, our King, has come, some will repent and turn to follow him but others will react against him and this will inevitably cause divisions. Many Christians have experienced this. Parents disapprove and siblings, once so close, turn against each other referring to world priorities. They say:
“Family comes first.”
“Blood is thicker than water.”
Jesus says ‘I come first’. When many are considering the claims of Christ, a common concern is ‘what will members of my family think?’ Jesus is clear about what our priority must be:
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37
Jesus wants to get us thinking about our priorities. The interesting fact is that when people follow Christ they actually become more devoted to their family, partly because they long for them to discover what they have found. They will ‘honour their father and mother’ as that is the will of God, but obedience to God must take precedence over everything else. He wants us to love one another sacrificially and that includes family members but there must be no compromise over who comes first.
This is both a hard teaching and is meant to shock us. God is testing us. If we have learned the lessons of Matthew chapters 1 to 10, we will have understood who it is who is making such serious demands on us. Jesus is God’s King so we must repent and orientate our whole lives around serving him. He deserves that, he came to die for us and realising this will inevitably have a response.
Relationship with ourselves
‘Take up your cross’ is a familiar phrase but often understood in too superficial a way. This is the first time the phrase appears:
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39
In those days, ‘to take up your cross’ meant the condemned person was on their way to be executed. Jesus is reminding his disciples about how he would die. The person about to be executed would be marched through the city carrying the ‘patibulum’, the cross-piece of their cross, with a soldier walking in front with a placard explaining why they were about to die. In Jesus’ case this placard said simply,
‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’.
Remarkable - he was being condemned precisely because he is the King of God’s people and he was about to become the ultimate sacrifice for sin, he was there Lamb of God. He did this because of his sublime love for us.
Jesus is saying that we, his followers should not expect to be treated differently. For some this may mean a humiliating death, men were crucified naked. Public humiliation would come in other ways, as it did for eleven of the twelve disciples and many Christians since. Remember the fate of John Wycliffe, Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley and Tyndale. However Jesus is giving us all a principle that we may lose what is most valuable to us, successful careers, an easy life, because we are following Christ.
Most peoples’ lives are directed to avoiding hardship and pursuing what the world sees as the good things in life. But when we become Christians all this must change, we now have new ambitions. We have to keep deciding what would Jesus do. Some years ago there was a craze for Christians to wear a plastic wrist band with the letters ‘WWJD?’ Meaning just this ‘What Would Jesus Do’. We all have choices to make, will we make this life our priority or the next one:
“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
Jesus is challenging us all. What sort of ‘life’ matters most to me. In the end there are only two options, either we serve Christ or we look elsewhere. Jesus is reminding us that real ‘life’ can only be found in living with and for him. The world teaches that ‘life’ is found anywhere else. All around us the world is shouting to us, ‘Come my way’, but Jesus’ gentle voice says:
“Follow me.” Matthew 10:38
Jesus is asking us to follow his example and set our eyes on eternity, that is what matters and he will safely take his people there. If we are sure he is God’s King, we will follow him today just as his disciples did then.
Relationship with him
Jesus is saying that he is sending his disciples out amongst wolves as his representatives. They must put serving him first because he is first, he is god, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. They are to be his representatives, his agents, his ambassadors. He then says:
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” Matthew 10:40
This gives us great authority. We are the King’s ambassadors so we must behave in a way that represents the King. Jesus is saying ‘If you are welcomed as my representative, then they are welcoming me’. Those who welcome Jesus are welcoming God the Father himself. Furthermore, to genuinely accept God’s people and their message, means that those people will receive the same glorious benefits that the prophet himself receives.
“Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.” Matthew 10:41
This is why it is vital that Christians align themselves with others who share the teaching of Jesus. We must align ourselves in the work of the church and in giving to support its work. Those who know the creator of the universe are those who accept those proclaiming his Word. All committed to Christ are equal both in privilege and in responsibility.
A choice
This passage describes two groups of people:
People who accept the message and pass the message about Jesus on to others.
Those who do not respond to the message that Jesus gives.
Those who speak about Jesus, in spite of the consequences, are doing the work of God, they are sharing the gospel. Christians will be looked down on, considered to be ‘little ones’ and will suffer, but again we are reminded:
“ And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:42
This is the promise of Almighty God to each of us, serving Christ will be well worth while, we will receive a great reward. What is this reward?
“. . . whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
To accept the rule of Christ will be costly. Jesus is asking each of us how we support those who are serving the Lord. Jesus returns to this subject in Matthew 25 where he distinguishes the real Christians form the pretend ones. He tells the story of the wise and foolish virgins. They all said they were waiting for the bridegroom but half of them were not prepared for his coming. Later in that chapter he talks about the separation of the sheep from the goats. How will they be separated?
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:37-40
Our brothers and sisters in Scripture are fellow Christians. The Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace, he gives us God’s peace that is real, whatever the circumstances we pass through. We have a close relationship with God because we belong to his Son, Jesus.
This chapter is a stark reminder that not everyone will accept God’s rule. Many will dislike the sword of division Jesus talks about. They will so value unity that they leave Jesus and what he teaches behind. Following him will inevitably result in antagonism, even within our households. In spite of this we must love our enemies without compromise.
What a wonderful sense of assurance Jesus gives us. God sees all we do for him. We find life because we do believe in him and therefore follow him.
BVP
This article has been posted on the website www.bvpalmer.com where there are many other helpful articles and videos.
Christchurch Baldock is a Bible teaching, gospel centred, local church. More details can be found on its website. It meets every Sunday morning at 10.30 am in Knights Templar School, Baldock
Bernard can be contacted at berniepalmer1@sky.com
