As time passes, associations with people change. We move from brother to uncle, sister to aunt, Eddie to Ed, son to dad, but these changes do not affect our true identity. Jesus is referred to in many different ways; son, brother, friend, great physician, suffering servant, prince of peace.
Think about the titles for Jesus, which bring the most meaning to you? We generally see Jesus in the way that is most meaningful to us… forgiver, helper, our rock, fortress, salvation, physician… and that changing association reveals a dynamic relationship.
Can Jesus actually be the prince of war? We don’t usually address Him as a general or a warrior, but our passage today causes one to think. There are plenty of passages that promote peace (Romans 5:1-2, Revelation 21:1-5, Romans 8:38-39, Philippians 4:6) but we tend to overlook the ones that mention Jesus as the bringer of war – Luke 12:49-53 and Matthew 10:34-39. How does the cost of following Christ described in these passages reflect what you have experience? How do you reconcile these conflicting views of Jesus?
The audience of Jesus was primarily Jewish, and they really believed that a relationship with God was only for the Jews, not the gentiles. When a Jew came to Christ, he did not change status; he may still be a fisherman, with a fisherman’s family, living a fisherman’s life, raising fisherman kids. In a monotheistic society, Jesus is considered a blasphemer punishable by death, a heretic, offensive to the very core of their existence and identity. The twelve abandoned all they knew for the unknown. What has faith cost you in terms of relationships? Include relationships with family and friends and co-workers.
Think about the mission of Jesus, John 3:16, right? What is this mission all about? As people join in with Jesus, what changes can happen in their lives? Christ came to bring peace between God and man because His mission was one of salvation, not condemnation. Without all of this, we would be at war with God, whether we are aware of it or not! What we need to understand is the difference between His mission and the effects of His mission. Making peace with God can bring about a different war in our lives. MLK preached peace but his life ended tragically. Gandhi promoted non-violence but he was assassinated at age 79. John Lennon wrote the words, “give peace a chance” and was killed by a gunshot. Why would it be any different for Jesus, the ultimate peace bringer?
Violence can be a by-product of one who desires to bring peace. The peace He brought to earth involved such a radical change that people would be put at odds with the world around them. The Spirit indwells His people, and the fruit of the Spirit should be evident, but there comes a time that the old life needs to be pried away from us… things, habits and some people. We get a new vantage point, seeing our lives from God’s perspective. Then we can find ourselves at odds with our friends closest to us. We see things differently that we did before, and from the way our friends see them now… which brings conflict.
When we connect with Jesus we connect with His mission. We get stirred up and live our lives with a sense of purpose.
The biggest loser seems to be the winner! Check out John 10:10, Matthew 10:38-39 and Luke 9:23. Losing life and finding it; taking up your cross, daily. The language Jesus used was not about leaving something behind; it is the language of death. In what ways does the Christian life involve loss? We often think about what we gain, but we cannot neglect the fact that new life in Christ involves loss. We need to lose our self-sufficiency, destructive habits, some relationships, hate for enemies, our vengeance, potty mouth… and be prepared to go against the flow. We are called to swim upstream!
Resting one side of Christian theology is getting only half the truth: peace and conflict give us a clear picture of Christ and His mission.