The Saving Sword: Matthew 10:24-39 - 3rd Sunday after Pentecost

[Jesus said to the twelve:] ²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
  ²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
  ³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
  ³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
 ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
 and a daughter against her mother,
 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
 ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (NRSV)

Bible & Sword by Eden, Janine and Jim on flickr. CC BY 2.0 

Is Jesus a uniter or a divider? The answer is yes.

 

None of us would be worshipping right now, had Jesus not united us in a common faith and purpose. One of the greatest gifts of being a Christian is that we are the Body of Christ, and that we have each other through good times and bad.

 

Most of us work very hard to ensure cooperation and harmony within our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and even here in church. Most of us will do anything to avoid a fight. So why then does Jesus say, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword”? Why does the Prince of Peace disturb the peace? How can someone so full of grace, mercy, and forgiveness cause the members of your own household to become your enemies?

 

Truthfully, it is because Jesus is so full of mercy, grace, and forgiveness that he causes division.

 

The issue here is one of loyalty.

 

In Jesus’s day, you were required to be loyal to Rome, to the religious establishment, and to your family patriarch. Loyalty means honor, submission, and obedience.

 

Jesus, on the other hand, was loyal to God—while much of the religious establishment was not. It was only a matter of time before they clashed with Jesus.

 

You have loyalties as well—and a lot in your life rides on those loyalties. Loyalty will mean the difference between moving upward on the corporate ladder versus being knocked off. Several of you have shared with me that your loyalty to God and God’s commandments cost you your jobs. Loyalty will mean the difference between belonging versus being an outcast. Some of you have even been rejected by your parents or your own children because of your loyalty to Christ and your congregation.

 

This happens because it is impossible to be loyal to Christ while at the same time loyal to human beings. Human beings are sinners, and as such, our loyalties lie in ourselves and in the gods of this world. Therefore, division is inevitable. But is it evil?

 

Unity can easily become an idol or a false god. Churches, organizations, and teams often fail because their members avoid conflict and disagreement at all costs. Unity comes at the expense of progress and growth. Problems remain hidden; challenges are avoided; innovation is stifled; dysfunction is enabled.

 

Even worse, many of history’s most effective unifiers of people have also been some of history’s greatest monsters. They inspire loyalty through promises of wealth, power, and glory for their followers; but not everyone. First, there’s a common enemy that must be vanquished if the “chosen people” are to realize their destiny.

 

Meanwhile, leaders who are effective in unifying people towards noble purposes are vilified in the worst possible ways; their foes resorting even to the most violent means to silence them and crush their movements into oblivion. In the history books, this would be Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.; in Scripture it would be the Old Testament prophets; Stephen, the first Christian martyr; ten of the original disciples; and, of course, Jesus.

 

Like it or not, every Christian lives amid the tension of divided loyalties. You can’t love Jesus and expect everyone to love you. You can’t follow Jesus’s ways of grace, mercy, and forgiveness, and expect to come out on top. You aren’t going to change the world without ruffling a few feathers.

 

Jesus does not unite people in things outside of himself. That’s why he’s divisive. This is why Jesus comes bearing the sword—because some loyalties need to be crucified. Otherwise, how can you experience God’s loyalty to you?

 

Unity in Christ (and unity with Christ) does not happen without struggle and sacrifice. You can’t be obedient to God without encountering some resistance—from others, and most especially, from yourself. Some days, your union with Christ will make you the loneliest, weakest, most despised person on the planet. But the story never ends that way.

 

You belong to the Body of Christ because the Holy Spirit’s working since the dawn of creation to make it happen. The Holy Spirit has worked through ordinary people who love you, support you, and who inspire you in the Christian faith. Your union with Christ will invariably bring you together with others, because that’s the way God wants it to be! As living beings, we are naturally drawn to that which nourishes and sustains life!

 

Do you dare to welcome Christ’s sword in your life—for him to crucify the loyalties that consume your life rather than renewing it? Like the farmer prunes the fruit tree or the surgeon employs the scalpel, do you trust Jesus to separate you from everything and maybe even everyone that keeps his life and love from flourishing within you? Will you bear the cost and make sacrifices so that you and your neighbor, and the people you don’t like can be one in the Lord?

 

Power, riches, and fame may be how we picture the good life, but you can’t take these things to the grave. Like so much in this world, they are here today and gone tomorrow. They don’t promise to never leave or forsake you. Only Jesus can make that promise, and ultimately keep it.