Throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus was in constant friction with people, whether they be Pharisees – leaders of the synagogue, upholders of the law of God – , doctors of the law, commoners or even his own siblings and family. Coming in contact with Jesus never left anyone indifferent; an encounter with Jesus always left a mark on the person meeting him. Sometimes it was a good mark other times it was not (think of the rich man who went away sad after meeting Jesus in Matthew 19 or Mark 10). When you look at the life of Jesus, you can appreciate his words when he said, he did not come to bring peace in Matthew 10:34 which reads “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but sword…”. I often wondered what he meant by these words as, a priori, it seems to suggest that Jesus is against peace and family relations but that could not be further from the truth because Jesus’ own relation with the trinity (Father-Son-Spirit) is one of unity and peace and one from which stems the concept of family as we know today. The Son always obeys the Father and the Father loves the Son while the Spirit enables the will of the Father to be manifest. Just as there is harmony and unity in the triune God, there should be harmony and unity in the family so it would not make sense for Jesus to come and be in contradiction with his very values. Moreover, Jesus’ ministry was the ministry of reconciliation; now if you say reconciliation you also infer peace for there can be no reconciliation with animosity and where there is animosity, there is no peace. As I meditate on his words, I realise that he is talking about opposition; namely the opposition his coming brings to the world as he belongs to a different kingdom. Indeed, the reason Jesus did not come to bring peace to the earth is simply because his own kingdom which is the kingdom of heaven was diametrically opposed to earth’s kingdom. There is no peace between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth. One is ruled by God, the other is ruled by Satan. So, his coming into this world had to shatter it. Think with me if you will at the birth of Jesus, he came disrupting the norm already from his birth. His conception was unconventional to say the least, conceived by the Holy Spirit into a virgin mother. He was born during a time where Israel was being ruled by the Romans. In fact, a census was issued by Caesar Augustus of the entire Roman world which meant that everyone in Israel had to be registered in the city they belonged to from their ancestral line, so Joseph along with his soon to be wife Mary went from Nazareth, the city they were living in, to Bethlehem his ancestral city to be registered. Now, such a move was not the best for his pregnant fiancée as she could be given birth anytime which is exactly what happened. She gave birth to Jesus in a manger because there was no place for them to lodge. The timing could not have been any worse from a human perspective. talk about things not going according to plan. Furthermore, Jesus’ birth fueled the death of many innocent babies, two years old and under in Israel because king Herod wanted to ensure Jesus did not grow to take his place as he had been told that Jesus was to be the king of Israel who had been prophesied. So, from the very beginning Jesus was already a threat, his presence was already bringing discomfort, which would not be any different in his adult life.
Throughout his adult life, Jesus continued to bump heads with the Pharisees, and anyone that encountered him. His ways were too opposed to the ways of this world. Even to the very tradition of the Jews of which he was a part. He often spoke harshly to the Pharisees because they claimed to uphold the law, yet they were far away from what the law taught. In fact, Jesus showed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who were always angry at him for healing people on the sabbath as no work was to be performed on that day while Pharisees never saw themselves violating the sabbath as they performed circumcision on it (John 7:21-24). There were indeed two measures applied by the Pharisees when it came to justifying what was allowed on the sabbath and what was not. Additionally, he scolded them for being bad shepherds who inflicted a heavy burden on people that they themselves were not able to carry. No wonder his tactics were not welcomed among the Pharisees. In his teaching, Jesus was again very different compared to the teachings of his time. For example, he taught his disciples that to be first you must be last; to be elevated, you must humble yourself (Mark 9:35; Matthew 18:3-4). Such teaching is completely opposed to what we know from our world, our society because it is a teaching that is not of this world but is the essence of Jesus’ life – humility. That is why when Jesus says he did not come to bring peace, it is precisely because living with heavenly kingdom values will cause friction for you in this world, it will cause division whereby you will not be understood, you might be left out, you might be hated, etc. simply because your way of life is not the norm and is opposed to what everyone does. Notice that it is not you who bring division per se, but your character and way of life makes others uneasy. As a Christian, you are never to avoid others that are not like you, you are never to shy away from difficulties or live in a bubble, discriminating or preferring those that belong to your “tribe” above others but you are to honour Christ in all that you do. You are to promote the values of his kingdom while on earth and these values are centered around humility, justice, taking care of orphans and widows, welcoming children, forgiving those that sin against you repeatedly, loving others as yourself even your enemy, etc. As citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we are no longer under the dominion of sin but under Christ’s leadership, abiding to the rules and statutes of his kingdom. This is not an easy task, but we have the Holy Spirit with us to guide us and help us every step of the way. May we call upon him.
A Word Aptly Spoken 