December 18, 2010

• Advent #4 WHY HAS JESUS COME? "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"

  Continuing on with asking the question, "WHY HAS JESUS COME?"

  Right now we're in the midst of the Advent season. We hear and sing many Christmas carols about peace:

  Far, far away on Judea's plains

  Far, far away on Judea's plains
  Shepherds of old
  heard the joyous strains:
  Glory to God, Glory to God,
  Glory to God in the highest:
  Peace on earth,
  good-will to men;
  Peace on earth,
  good-will to men!

  Hark the herald angels sing

  Hark the herald angels sing
  "Glory to the newborn King!
  Peace on earth and mercy mild
  God and sinners reconciled"
  Joyful, all ye nations rise
  Join the triumph of the skies
  With the angelic host proclaim:
  "Christ is born in Bethlehem"
  Hark! The herald angels sing
  "Glory to the newborn King!"

  I heard the bells on Christmas day
  
  I heard the bells on Christmas day
  Their old familiar carols play,
  And wild and sweet the words repeat
  Of peace on earth, good will to men.
  

  And, of course, most importantly (!), there's the Scripture itself, which includes the angels' song the night of Jesus' birth:

  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

  And we are familiar with Isaiah's prophecy which proclaims Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace, the source of all true and everlasting peace:

  9:6  For to us a child is born,
  to us a son is given;
  and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
  and his name shall be called
  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  7  Of the increase of his government and of peace
  there will be no end,
  on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
  to establish it and to uphold it
  with justice and with righteousness
  from this time forth and forevermore.
  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
  

  Throughout the entire Bible, we read of God's plan from before the foundation of the world to send His Son Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice for the sin of men so all who believe in Him might be brought back to God and have peace with God to the glory of God. Apart from faith in Christ we remain separated from God by our sin. But in God's great love, mercy and grace, God the Father sent Jesus Christ to be our ransom, to bring us back to Him, and to reconcile peoples of all nations to God and to one another by grace through faith (e.g.- see Romans 1-5, Ephesians 1:1-4:16).

  There is no other way for men to have peace with God apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said no one came to the Father apart from Him. No one. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. The way. The truth. The life. Jesus Himself said this. He made the absolute claim there. Biblical Christianity upholds those doctrines and never wavers or compromises one bit on them.

  Today such attitudes are labeled intolerant and unloving, but any other gospel is no true gospel. To say men can get to God any which way they feel is right is UNloving – for apart from hearing the truth about man, that he is a sinner and his only hope is faith in Jesus Christ, men are already condemned and are destined to burn in the lake of fire apart from receiving and believing on Christ. Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between God and men, and He is our only Advocate and great high priest. There is salvation in no other name. Jesus Christ is our only hope to come to God, to know God and to have true and everlasting peace.

  Colossians 1:19  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
  
  21  And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23  if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

  Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
  

  There's no peace except by faith in Christ's blood.
  There's no justification except by faith in Christ's blood.
  There's no true hope and no real rejoicing except through faith in Christ's blood
  There's no glorifying God apart through faith in Christ's blood.

  Jesus came to send His peace into the hearts of all who know Him, to give them full assurance of faith, 100% confidence that God's love will never let go. We have our consciences cleansed that our sins are forgiven, that God remembers our sins no more, that we are saved from God's wrath and are no longer under condemnation. We are free from sin, shame and guilt. Amen. (Please see my posts on Christ as our peace,  Christ as our ransom and Christ's call to sinners, as well as my posts on dealing with past sins & guilt and assurance and fighting for joy.)

  Amen to God's gift of peace through faith in Christ's blood!

  But there's another side to this peace that Christ brings to all who believe...

  Matthew 10:34  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35  For 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. 36  And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37  Whoever 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. 38  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

  40  “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41  The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42  And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

  So there we have the paradox: those who have known peace with God and God's people through faith in Christ are now divided from the world and at odds with the people of the world.

  So now, to answer the question "WHY DID JESUS COME?"

  Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

  As we are immersed in the cleansing blood of the Lamb we are also immersed into a bloody spiritual warfare with the world. All who have been translated into the Kingdom of God are now at odds with the kingdom of darkness.

  Prior to this passage in Matthew, we see this spelled out. We see the clear call of Christ there that conflicts with the world.

  Are we loving our reputations more than Christ?
  Are we loving our family relations more than Christ?
  Are we loving our lives more than Christ?

  Do you notice how our Lord starts off this passage?

  Do not think...

  That's a reminder that God's ways and God's thoughts are not ours and they are higher than ours.

  Our minds must be constantly washed and renewed with the Word of God so we might increasingly think like God thinks and not be led astray by our feelings or worldly ideas about how we think the world ought to work.

  Let's look again at Jesus' words and see what God's ways and God's thoughts are about these things ...

  Matthew 10:5-15: Some people will not receive our words.

  Matthew 10:16-26: Faith in Christ will cause division between believers and earthly authorities and even their earthly families.

  17  Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18  and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles....
  
  21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22  and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.

  23  When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next...

  Therefore, as we come under Christ's authority and become members of Christ's family, we should should EXPECT opposition and division from earthly authorities who do not know Him and earthly family members who are not part of His spiritual family.

  Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

  So, please, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let's not be surprised WHEN this happens to us. In fact, when it does happen to us, it should be an encouragement to us that we are proclaiming Christ. (I'm not talking about people who get on their hobby horses about various "works" or endless discussions about nonessential doctrines or mixing up politics and religion and so on, I'm talking about believers who are proclaiming the one true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.)

  Hasn't our Lord been gracious to us to tell us these things in advance so when they happen to us we might be prepared and not be surprised or downcast?

  There are similar warnings in the epistles as well. For example, in his first letter to the Thessalonians the apostle Paul writes

  we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3  that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4  For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know

  May we not waste our time whining when we encounter such persecution or opposition, but by the grace of God may we respond like early church:

  Acts 5:40 ...when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41  Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42  And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

  The Bible makes many promises to us and one of those is this:

  II TImothy 3:12  Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

  ALL.

  WILL.

  We cannot sugar coat this. WILL be persecuted, not might. And If you read through Jesus' words in Matthew 10, you'll see that same proclamation, "they will," "you will," "when." There's no doubt there are all. It's not perhaps or might or maybe; it's WILL, it's a certainty.
  
  

  they WILL deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,
  you WILL be dragged before governors and kings for my sake
  WHEN they deliver you over
  Brother WILL deliver brother over to death, and the father his child
  children WILL rise against parents and have them put to death
  WHEN they persecute you in one town

  Then Jesus adds,

  24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

  We like to consider walking in Jesus' steps, we romanticize it. It's far too easy for us to focus on His preaching, teaching and healing and helping ministry and forget about the continuing opposition and pressure He faced (remember He came to His own and His own did not receive Him), His trials, His passion and finally His crucifixion.
  
  

  I Peter 1:21  For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

  I'd encourage you to read and consider the whole context of that quote from I Peter. I don't have time to do it justice here.

  • What is your response to persecution?
  • Do you rejoice that you are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Christ's name?
  • Have you ever suffered dishonor for Christ's name?

  Along with Christ's gracious warning to us about persecution, we also have Christ's gracious promises to sustain us through persecution. His equipping power, His perfect provision, His constant protection, His persevering grace, the assurance of His loving eye watching and His sovereign hand ruling over all, and the promise of a sure inheritance. For example...

  19 ...do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20  For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
  
  26 So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known...28  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
  
  40  “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41  The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42  And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

  Whenever and wherever Jesus Christ is proclaimed, the prince of the power of the air gathers his forces for he knows the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. Sometimes we don't really believe that the preaching of the Gospel is the power of God, do we? We jump through all sorts of hoops to get people to believe, to grow our churches. We look in vain to gimmicks and gadgets and the latest trends to attract the world, rather than relying on God's ordained means: the preaching of the Gospel in conjunction with prayer for power and boldness so the Holy Spirit might open the ears of those who hear and make the word effectual. And know this: the Gospel and the cross will offend. It always has and it always will. God help us if we water it down or compromise it in any way! Woe are we if we do not preach the Gospel!

  Most of us are familiar with those wonderful words about our Father's care for the sparrow and His faithfulness to us are in the midst of Jesus' call to us to proclaim Him and His promise that we will be persecuted are faithful to do so:

  26  “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27  What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32  So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

  So, yes the Father's care for us is wonderful...but remember the context there. God's intent is for us to be proclaiming Jesus Christ. How will anyone hear if we do not go? The promise of God's watchful care for us is a real encouragement for us to go out and proclaim Christ with boldness regardless of the opposition we might meet. We've been called out of darkness into His marvelous light, but then we are sent proclaim His light to those who are still languishing in the darkness. We've been blessed to bless all nations.

  The devil doesn't want this life-imparting Word to be proclaimed so he does all he can to discourage us and to stop our mouths. May we not be fearful to speak and may we not be ashamed of Christ and His glorious Gospel or hide this message under a bushel! May we not guard our reputations above guarding the Gospel!

  And God forbid that we ever whine or complain when people reject the Gospel or reject us for proclaiming it. When we do that we are putting the focus on ourselves, And whenever we do that, we're becoming more like the puffed-up Pharisee then the humble tax collector:

  Luke 18:9  He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

  God forbid that we forget all we are and all we have is all of grace, all to God's glory alone. We were dead in our sins and transgressions and the Spirit quickened us! What do we have that we have not received? We must take heed so each of us might always see ourselves rightly, debtors to mercy alone, beggars and the chief of sinners, lest we fall.

  Our proper response to rejection of the Gospel ought to be a profound weeping for the lost and continuing intercessory prayer on their behalf.

  Romans 9:1  I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2  that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. ... 10:1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

  Luke 19:41  And when he [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42  saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
  

  Is that your response to people who reject God's word?

  There also ought to be profound weeping before the throne of sovereign grace with wonder, awe, adoration and thanksgiving that God showed love, mercy and grace to us and chose us us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not because of anything we have done, but in spite of what we have done!

  II Samuel 7:8  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?

  
  

  Why O Lord such love to me!

  And finally we ought to have a profound sense of humility as we see our insufficiency, that we are but jars of clay God has ordained and anointed and entrusted with His glorious gospel, and yet He sends out as His ambassadors sent to preach peace with God through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, that we have the honor of speaking the words of life in the hope that He might use us to be His instruments to impart life through His Spirit working in and through us and those who hear us.

  II Corinthians 5:14  For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
  
  16  From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
  
  II Corinthians 3:5  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6  who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

  Acts 5:41  Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42  And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

  May God's love constrain us and His Spirit quicken and equip us so we might not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ in spite of the opposition we will face.

  ---

  Related:

  My previous posts in this series:

  Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
  Advent #2 WHY HAS JESUS COME? to give his life as a ransom for many
  Advent #3 WHY HAS JESUS COME? not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance

  the only true way of peace (Postcards from God in England)
  free to be ... persecuted (persecution's opportunities for the Christian)
  God reveals Himself to some but not to all, yet we are sent to proclaim Christ to all
  Letter 9 on assurance and fighting for joy in contending for the Gospel
  Bible Reading-Mark 4: (6) Kingdom-Obsessed People persevere in scattering seed
  Letter 6 on assurance and fighting for joy (and the Gospel and revival)
  the dogs and the pigs (from the archives)
  adopting God's purpose for the nations is for your joy & His glory (Letter 76 on joy)
  Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
  Bible Reading: Elisha--A Picture of Abiding: Leaving the Plow and Burning the Yoke
  Lent II.-God's calling: "As my Father hath sent Me, so send I you." | Oswald Chambers
  When they conspire, do I make my prayer to You? (Nehemiah 4:7-9)
  at Jerusalem
  Here I stand & from here I cast (devoted to prayer & the ministry of the Word)

  Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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