Matthew 10:34-39 - Jesus Sword

This is a difficult portion of scripture to managePart of what I am constantly doing here- is trying to introduce you and keeping you acquainted with the Jesus of the scriptures, not the Jesus of Social mediaIt is very difficult in this day and age because some of the most ignorant people alive have just as much opportunity to share aberrant theology as the good guysAnd sometimes likes, shares and exposure will lead people to believe things that aren’t trueYou will hear people say things like “Jesus would never do that because he’s loving”Understanding what a loving Biblical God looks like is more important than having good SM So from a cursory look it might appear that Jesus is being contradictory or hypocriticalThat these statements are an affront to a loving God who Claimed that Jesus would come as the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6, luke 2:14)We are supposed to honor father and mother (Mark 7:10, ex 20:12)We are supposed to love people 1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.So we know these things and we come to this scripture and it throws out some pretty big bombs in the textThat he wants to bring war and not peace, to create division between a man and his family so much so that they will actually be his enemyHe Goes to the heart- and says “after I’ve set you as enemies with your family, I’m going to be looking at your hear to make sure you don’t love them more than me” And then he goes to the next- if you wont go be crucified- I’m not for youFinishes with “lose your life- lose it for me and you’re gonna find it” 

what can we get out of this text- 

Jesus came to divide 34-35 - Jesus Sword

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set[j] a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’This idea that Christ came to divide is a central truth that you must internalizeGenesis 4 cain and abel beginning of familial strifeProphecy of Micah 7:5-6 Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom. 6 For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.This prophecy was true and is true today- put yourself in the sandals of the early Jews who saw Christ as messiah and decided to follow him and become his discipleWe do it somewhat easily today- there are a billion people who believe in JesusIt’s not like you were the first 12 disciples that made the choice to believeBut it still takes a bit of gumption to choose to follow Jesus demonstratively If you understand this and apply it to your beliefs and practices- it will help you as you navigate through the confines of the earth as you attempt to honor God with your life- you can’t otherwise navigate it because when you come to a fork in the road so to speak- you’ll strugglePeople naturally want to conform to the groups around themPeople conform to group pressure because they are dependent on the group for satisfying two important desires: the desire to have an accurate perception of reality and the desire to be accepted by other people.Scientists Asch and Sherif did studies where they had people judge distances of light- how far they were from each other, and how different were the lengths of lines- Here’s what they found- They had confederates with wrong answers to influence and people will go with the group that is wrong more likely than not because of the desire for acceptance and the desire to feel like they have an accurate perception of realityMe? I want whats right- not the group- Hot sun, line,