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Jesus on Peace and Conflict

Mart De Haan Posted by Mart De Haan
September 2nd, 2008
18 Comments » 

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Matt 5:9).

So why did the Teacher from Nazareth say on another occasion, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53).

Over the years I’ve tried to take a closer look whenever I find ideas in the Bible that seem to contradict one another.

I’ve also found that as a group we tend to respond differently to such “word puzzles.” Some of us are frustrated by the sound of double-talk. Some are fearful we have found a contradiction. Some are intrigued to see if we can find a spark of insight at the point at which two ideas seem to rub against each other.

So, let me ask you. Do you find yourself frustrated, fearful, or enlightened by the thought that…

Only by seeing how Jesus came to bring both peace and conflict, can we affirm both the love of Christ, and the truth he personifies…

Personally? This one frustrates, frightens, and enlightens me… not because it seems like the Bible is contradicting itself… but because it contradicts what I want to believe.

The more I think about what Jesus said about peace and conflict, the more I realize he affirms what I sense about the need for peace…the nature of truth… and the reality of the One who unites us with some we have wanted to hate… while dividing us from others we dearly love.


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18 Responses to “Jesus on Peace and Conflict”

  1. Valkiria says:
    September 2, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    Ha! I never thought about that as “controversy”, because I think that when I’m agreeing with everything and everybody then there’s something wrong. I really feel like we, Christians, don’t belong in this world, so there will be always conflicts, what will distinguish (as the peacemakers) us is the manner we respond to those conflicts.
    Do I make any sense? :)
    Val

  2. crpwme says:
    September 2, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    I feel somewhat fearful because of the reality of what Jesus was saying. Truthfully if you accept Jesus there is a great chance that someone else in your household hasn’t and this new ‘you’ will be at odds with that person- your new outlook on life and attitudes will confuse and possibly anger them. This is what I believe Jesus meant when He talked about a divided house.
    Now, does it have to remain divided- NO! when all in the household come to accept Jesus as the ONLY son of God; the Savior of the whole world, then divisions may soon cease to exist.

  3. lanzver says:
    September 3, 2008 at 12:42 am

    Well, I guess jesus meant that in this world where the prince of persia lives, there will be always conflicts for real christians and that we can only obtain real peace from Him who is the prince of peace.

  4. wpleasant says:
    September 3, 2008 at 4:39 am

    This is a tough one. The division given may be one of inevitablity when you recognize we all deal with a sin nature conflict with the Holy Spirit, that only arises once we have been saved. Suffice it to say many are drawn to the “church” to help solidify, not divide family ties. I use to say I didn’t need the church to separate my family or destroy my marriage. I could do that by myself and have more fun doing it. I’ve seen in what I believe were some “salvation by works” churches the disolution of marriages and families because I believe people sometimes over taxed themselves and their families for the wrong reasons. They are, i beleive, trying to in some cases pay God back for what he did by grace for us on the cross. We can never repay Him for that. God may separate us sometimes from worldy priorities that cause division in families where discord with differing values exist. I have found that later in life I have been a more loving person to my family when I have surrendered my will to God and allowed Him to love my family through me. I don’t do that as much as I should, but I give God all the credit for when I have done this succesfully and none of my own self. I haven’t heard over the years any real good explanation of the apparent paradox, but had I to do it over again I wouldn’t have changed any decision to follow Christ.

  5. BruceC says:
    September 3, 2008 at 6:33 am

    Years ago my wife suffered through numerous miscarriages. At the time she had left the “church of her family” and attened the church I had gone to. This was the decision of her own free will. She accepted Christ and was baptized. Her Mom, that she loved and still does; said God was punishing her for leaving the church. Of course it became my fault. Outside of one sister; family relationships have always been touchy to say the least.
    I’ve seen the “sword” between Bible-believing denominations too; which likely breaks the heart of our Lord. But standing up for His truth will bring about persecution and trouble at times. He said it and it is so. But it is how we react to that that is important.

  6. cherielyn says:
    September 3, 2008 at 7:38 am

    Another appropriate subject for current events in my life. My mom went to be with the Lord on Monday evening. Now it’s funeral preparation time.

    I expected there might be some conflict with my unsaved agnostic sister as she is very antagonistic towards anything spiritual. The main thing that is hard for me to understand is why there has to be conflict between several of my saved siblings, at a time like this, regarding the funeral service.

    Mom prayed that before she went to be with the Lord my unsaved sister would come to Christ. Mom did not get to see her desire fulfilled. I am concerned that the conflict will drive sis even further away now that mom is gone. It pains me that some of my siblings cannot see how their actions will hinder my sister. I can only pray that God will somehow use it all to His glory and bring good out of it in the end.

  7. Abate says:
    September 3, 2008 at 9:11 am

    Such areas of the Bible helps me think clearly instead of making me fearful or feel negative. Here Christ Jesus is giving the freedom of choice that the Creator has given to mankind. The reality of heaven and hell is clearly given to man. The choice of life and death is expressed clearly and repeatedly. He, Christ Jesus, Prince of Peace wants us to choose life and peace with Him and His Father. He made all that is required in a sufficient way to reconcile us with the Father and Him. John 5:24 is the verse that brought me to come to Him and be saved. Truely it is our choice. I chose peace some 21 years ago in India away from country of origin. It is amazing how God’s saving hand reaches so far away. The division – father with son, etc. – is because of the choice of mankind. Peter reminds us that it is the will of God that all be saved – thus have peace.

  8. dmsprice says:
    September 3, 2008 at 9:41 am

    These are the types of readings that confuse me and frustrate me. For example, I don’t like the whole notion of “fear the Lord” because – while I certainly should fear Him and the power he has – my Lord doesn’t want me to fear him, but to love him and consider him a friend. Lately I’ve started thinking though that the reason for the different messages is that different people need different messages in order to understand them, learn from them and obey them. So my place is not to be frustrated, but to know that for someone somewhere that passage is proving to be valuable for someone a little less like me.

  9. smcclendon says:
    September 3, 2008 at 10:25 am

    The confusion of God’s word comes from his saying, my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways. Gods way of building and restoring comes from tearing down and dividing first. John 1:1,1:14 lets us know that Jesus is the word. as you connect to Hebrews 4:12-13, he lets us know the word is alive and active and divides as it sharper than any two edge sword. It further reads that during this division the thoughts and the intension of the heart are laid bare before the lord (paraphrazing). Christ being the living word has the authority to divide first and bring peace and wholeness later. Those of us in christ can bare witness to this because as we discovered the truth of christ, an automatic, unvaluntary seperation begin to occur around us from friends, family, and other things of the world. in families you see fathers induldging in the things of the world provoking children into anger, thus causing division. likewise we see children disobeying parents causing a sense of regret, thus division has occurred. The bible also declares that a man must leave his father and mother to be united with his wife. Men who have not completely left their mother’s covering, (financially, emotionally, and physically) has placed a third head within thier marriage. Causing conflict for a wife who desires to totally support her husband, and a mother who emotionally can’t release her son. put them together and you have division with inlaws. As
    Jesus seperates and divide the intentions of each seperation, it is up to us to reconize and recieve Christ’s truth that has been layed bare that he can bring peace and wholeness to those situations in restore.

  10. rokdude5 says:
    September 3, 2008 at 10:58 am

    The way I see it is those of us who work to keep peace in this world will be blessed. This means that to love our enemies, to be nonjudgmental, to keep one’s house in order, to follow the law of the land (this one is tough for me if it debase a fellow human being like slavery and segregation.)

    We dont look at what our “legal rights” are but to act so what we do or dont do will bring glory to God. However, Jesus didnt come to “make peace” but to divide His followers from all others. Inherent in that division is conflict. This is only way I can conceive that will harmonized the two passages.

  11. daisymarygoldr says:
    September 3, 2008 at 11:24 am

    Ironically, the very name of the Prince of Peace brings division rather than unity. It draws a dividing line between those who believe the truth and those who do not. What peace would exist between a man who loves the Light and his father who loves darkness? There can be no peace rather conflict between a mother who receives Christ and a daughter who rejects Him.

    We cannot conform to the “opposite camp” to avoid being in conflict but we can make use of such divisions as opportunities to show the love of Christ to those who are our enemies, do good to those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us… to “affirm both the love of Christ, and the truth He personifies”.

    In Luke 22:36, Jesus tells the disciples to buy swords and in v 51 He tells them not to use the sword. Was Jesus contradicting? No. He wanted to set an example of a peacemaker by not using the sword. His peacemaking at the cross “Father forgive them…,” said it all.

    Glades Stains played that peacemaking role when people in conflict with the gospel burned her husband Graham Stewart Stains and their two sons alive in their vehicle. The Church continues to be a peacemaker even when last week houses of prayer were torched, orphanage was attacked and a nun was burnt alive in that very place where I lived for almost two growing decades of my life.

    Therefore, this does not frustrate or frightens me, as it does not contradict with what I have always believed. It is very difficult to be a peacemaker when in conflict for Christ…but if we obey Him and strive to be peacemakers amidst conflicts, marriages will not fail, homes will not wreck, families will not split, Christians will not dissent and church bodies will not divide!

    BTW, Jesus did not hate His Father or the Holy Spirit to love sinners. Why then would He want to divide us from the ones we love to unite with those whom we wanted to hate? Now, that sounds very contradicting to me…sorry, cannot read your mind on this one Mart!

  12. Valkiria says:
    September 3, 2008 at 11:43 am

    cherielyn, I’m sorry for your loss! At the same time I’m glad that your mom is with the Lord, and that’s the real comfort we can have! You and your family will be in my prayers, and I’m sure that the Lord is working on it! I think that you should not be preoccupied, look at it as a good chance for your sister to come to accept Jesus. All in all, show love, for her and for the other siblings, and that will make all the difference!
    Stay in peace,
    Val

  13. Jugglerguy says:
    September 4, 2008 at 1:37 am

    I’ve been meandering towards and away from the Lord for years, and only recently have I been able to to say with absolute confidence that the Lord is working in and around me, changing me, and conforming me (slowly but surely) to the image of His Son. Having said that, the Scriptures in question were always relatively straightforward to me – meaning that it wasn’t a huge leap to the conclusion that “the driving of the Sword” was almost a direct reference to the Word of God and it’s tendency to draw a line of morality, ethics, and belief between family members, whether there are unsaved family members or not. Speaking as the only Christian in a fractured family I can attest to the truth in it. Jesus said the while we were in the world, we would have conflict and experience persecution but the Peace that He brings transcends the troubles of this world; it stands as the Love of God in spite of, in opposition to, and in victory over a fallen, corrupted, and evil world. While I believe the validity of these interpretations, I am beginning to realize that nothing God does has just one purpose and few, if any, Scriptures are to be taken solely at face value. The myriad mysteries, cross-references, parallels, metaphors, and the sheer breadth and depth of the Bible speak to the unfathomable intelligence, creativity and power of the Lord. As Christians (my belief is that) we should never shy away from, or be fearful of apparent contradictions in the Word of God. They are there for good reasons – a few of the top of my head: They are a test of faith in that we must believe that there is an explanation under the seemingly contradictory surface. They are a challenge to our knowledge of God’s word that we must accept willingly as we become aware of these things. They are an opportunity to spend time in study of God’s Word, and with the Lord Himself, seeking the Truth, which makes them a blessing. They are an opportunity to prepare us to give good answers to those who might use these apparent contradictions to validate their unbelief.
    The logic of God is in direct opposition to the logic of the world. Those who don’t know the Lord may panic, fret, and worry when someone pokes holes in their “belief system”, or points out a contradiction in their philosophy, thereby endangering the very foundations of their beliefs. But we, as Christians, can rejoice that we have a solid foundation in the Word of God, tried, true, and immovable. Even if you aren’t familiar with an apparent contradiction someone presents you with, you can always say, “I’ll find out what this means for you…” and seize the opportunity to dig deeper into God’s Word in order to give an answer to someone who may not know Him and who is having trouble getting past this “contradiction”. Take heart, Confused Christians! God wants us to discover the mysteries of His Word! I’m learning that persistence in prayer and study of the Word are the only sure way to achieve this.

    God Bless You!

    RF

  14. alexdizon says:
    September 4, 2008 at 5:47 am

    The Way, The Truth & The Life – Jesus. That’s Him alright. The more I study the Scriptures, the more it all makes sense…it is difficult though when you come across ironies such as this. I struggle a lot especially since I’m a young Christian but that’s the beauty of it. You completely depend on God and wait on Him to reveal Himself to you, His thoughts, His ways. It takes a while but there are days when out of the blue, He just gives you the answers and the wisdom that He shares is just magnificent. And when His Truth sinks in, all you can say is “Lord, You are just Wonderful!”

    The passage Matt just shared also reminds me of this:

    Matthew 12:30
    “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

    All of us have to make a choice. It’s either Him or this world. And if we do choose Him, then by His grace, we can commit our loved ones to Him and somehow through His guidance, be able to represent Christ and His love in our families and communities.

  15. Mart De Haan says:
    September 5, 2008 at 6:51 am

    thankful, Might have been an error on our side. Sorry. Thanks for your patience.

  16. GRANT says:
    September 11, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    This may have been discussed, but a liberal bible scholar I saw give a talk called putting together one section of the bible with another as “jack-a-loping”, from the mythical character, part antelope, part jack rabbit. He cited that the original bible was lost; the oldest versions available are on papyrus in the Chester Beatty Library of Dublin Castle, Ireland, as Mart pointed out in a Daily Bread devotion, http://www.cbl.ie. Most, if not all, religions, are not “original”, but “stolen”, or evolved. This does not concern me. As a Christian, it is Jesus’s TEACHINGS of love, hope, charity, good neighborliness, faith, discipline (from the Latin= “disciple”), respect for others feelings, etc., almost ad infinitum that do. It’s the message, no matter how diluted by history, that keeps us spiritually, and psychologically, healthy and on the right paths in our spiritual journeys.

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