A Distinctive Peace
A Distinctive Peace
6/30 Reading Portions: Josh 2; Psa 123-125; Isa 62; Matt 10
SWORD
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34
On the surface, it may seem odd, even contradictory, for Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to make such a statement. Nevertheless, it could not be otherwise. When Jesus was born on earth as incarnate God, the holiness and righteousness of His perfect character and the awesome wonder of the miracle of God walking in the flesh among wicked men must cause division in a fallen world as sinners abide on planet earth. Men today are not quite different from the religious Jews of Christ’s day; whereas the majority of Jews in Christ’s day anticipated the Messiah ushering in an earthly peace and prosperity. Today, most of humanity want peace and prosperity upon the earth, yet, they couldn’t care less or give a good how do you do about possessing peace with God.
No, the Prince of Peace brought a sword, —basically, the Word of God (Eph 6:17); and specifically, the gospel of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:17). Before the Word of God can divide asunder the soul and spirit of Christian believers and be to us a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12), it must have done its gospel work by separating the sheep from the goats (Matt 25:32) and the wheat from the tares (Matt 13:38). Long before the actuality of the final judgment, a holy distinction is made between the children of God and the children of the devil (1 Jn 3:8-10). Therefore, since we have been justified by gospel faith, we have peace with God through the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1). It is as the old saying goes, “Know Christ, know peace. No Christ, no peace.”
Jesus Messiah, Prince of Peace,
Dividing with His sword—
The bad from good and goats from sheep
By His most precious Word.