Conflict Which Saves the World: A Meditation on Matthew 10 for the 5th Sunday in Pentecost

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,

him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men,

him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:

I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father,

 and the daughter against her mother,

and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

 

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:

 and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

 He that findeth his life shall lose it:

 and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

 

In some times and places, it would be easier to allegorize this teaching of Jesus to His disciples and frame the conflict Jesus speaks of as something mild or inconvenient.  Only a few decades ago in America, being a Christian might evoke a little derision or condescension in elite circles, or a little ostracization from the rougher crowd that enjoyed bawdy environments Christians generally avoided.  Sermons thirty or forty years ago might have focused on not being downhearted when your teacher poked fun at you, your boss passed you over for promotion to prefer someone of more flexible moral character, or the bowling league only wanted you as the designated driver—conflict with the world was inevitable, and you just had to buck up little camper, and bear that cross.  But in a society largely informed by Christian principle and virtue, these small sufferings were like minor irritants compared to the outright persecution, torture, and death Christians faced under Communist, Islamic, and pagan regimes.  In these places, Christians were raped, flogged, torn apart, burned alive, enslaved, and even had their organs harvested while alive.  What Christians have suffered in India, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, is now spreading into western societies, as the influence of Christianity wanes and these other destructive ideas take deeper hold.  As this reality approaches, it is important that Christians hear Christ’s Words plainly, and step back from shallow or sentimental understandings.

 

Jesus makes it clear that he has not come into the world to make peace with its evil, but to overthrow that evil by the power of His Gospel.  The Law already stands in judgement over every evil deed and actor who has ever walked upon this globe, and so the war of men with God over good and evil is not abolished.  To the contrary, the evil world is always standing on the precipice of perdition as it moves in more or less aggressive unbelief, with every variation of overt or clandestine wickedness it can imagine.  Jesus’ Advent in Israel was not an abolition of the war between good and evil, but a victory over evil through His own Vicarious Atonement.  To abide in evil and unbelief still brings the consequences of divine judgment according to the Law, but now there is a path of Life that reconciles God and man through the Cross of Jesus.  Thus the disciples were sent forth to preach repentance and faith in Jesus, and that confession of the Gospel was to be held against all challenges.  This confession was not a political philosophy or epic poetry, but a declaration that Jesus is who He says He is, has done what He says He’s done, will do what He promised to do, and accomplished mankind’s salvation as only He could.  The presence of Jesus in the world is not peace with the world, but the reconciliation of man to God by grace through faith in Him alone.  This confession declares a divine reality made manifest in the real world, both in history and the present moment, that God has come to save sinners.

 

To deny this confession is to deny Jesus and the salvation He bought for us by His blood.  Knowing that Jesus is the only Way, Truth, and Life—the only reconciliation with God that rescues us from the judgment and condemnation we have earned by our own most grievous fault—is the faith which turns from the world’s evil ways of death into the paths of light and righteousness.  That turning of repentance and life of faith is what generates such hostility from those who prefer rebellion and death and self-idolatry. The world still at war with God, whether they be people of high or low station, people in our communities and associations, or in our friend groups and families, will from time to time try to silence the Gospel confession of Jesus.  There will be times when love of family and friends, community and nation, will be tested before the saving Truth of the Gospel, but to remove ourselves from that good confession is to remove ourselves from its saving grace.  Worse still, to deny the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ alone is to take away from those we love the only witness to salvation they might have.  Our cross to carry the Gospel and bear witness to Jesus is the primary means by which the Holy Spirit moves in the world to resurrect dead hearts, convert corrupted minds, and create faith in unbelieving souls, because the Word of God cannot be separated from the Spirit of God.  When Christians suffer all things to bear witness to Jesus, they retain not only the grace and faith with saves them, but testify to that saving truth even to those who persecute them.  The bloody testimony of the martyrs of yore is not an exercise of defeat but of victorious love, and their witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the sake of those who heard them, echoes throughout eternity.

 

The days are upon us where the testimony of Jesus Christ and life by His Word may cost us everything a temporal world holds dear.  Professions and livelihoods, friends and family members, equal protection under the law, freedom from incarceration or violent mobs, are all good things Christians have enjoyed in the West for generations, but as good as they are, they are nothing compared to the magnificence of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The reality of the Gospel and the Eternal Word of God make all other pursuits and associations small by comparison, because the things of this world are passing away, but the Kingdom of God abides forever.  Even our most beloved attachments in this world are subordinate to the Savior who seeks to save all people, and who has dignified His people by calling them to be witnesses of His saving work.  For certain, we do not repudiate our unbelieving friends and family, nor our communities and nations, but we are called to love them so dearly that we would not take away from them the testimony which could save them, no matter how much it might cost us to do so.  As Jesus was willing to lay down His life for the life of the world, we are called to follow Him in His cruciform ministry, knowing that our lives are so secure in His grace that we can fearlessly face even the greatest evils with compassion and faith.  For we know that nothing can separate a soul from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and moved by the gift of divine love, we would see this truth born out in every soul we meet.

 

Our time and place is not the first to experience real and violent challenges to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and like those who have born faithful witness in similar times and places before us, we know that our victory is already accomplished in the life, death, resurrection, and promises of Jesus.  We trust in a real Savior who has really trampled down the evil one by His sacrifice on the Cross, and who really did rise from the grave to declare the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation to all who abide in Him by grace through faith.  He has spoken His Word which creates the reality it declares by the power of His Holy Spirit, so that faith comes to all by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.  May our faith be bolstered by courage and compassion in this our time, so that the Gospel which saves us, might save all who hear it through our testimony.  Soli Deo Gloria—amen.