The Division of the Prince of Peace

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)

Jesus continues, “For I have come to set a man 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 those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:35-39)

Jesus’ words in these Scriptures appear to nullify everything that’s been said and written about His birth. The angels that appeared to the shepherds said they had “good tidings of great joy.” (Luke 2: 10) Isaiah prophesied that He would be the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) But Luke also records Jesus saying a similar thing as Matthew recorded. “I have come to send fire on the earth. And what will I do if it is already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed down until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division. For from now on, there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

We have two things to understand in these Scriptures, what was foretold about Jesus being the Prince of Peace and what Jesus said He came to do in Matthew and in Luke. Jeremiah in prophetic form prophesies the words of the Lord while prophesying about the coming Babylonian invasion. “Woe is Me My mother, that you have borne Me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not loaned, nor have men loaned to Me; yet everyone curses Me.” (Jeremiah 15:10)

From the start of His ministry, Jesus stirred up trouble in the hearts of the religious leaders. Coming out of ministering in Galilee, He shows up in Nazareth, where He was raised and goes into the synagogue as He always did. “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And, as His custom was, He went in to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And unrolling the book, He found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And rolling up the book, returning it to the attendant, He sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears. And all bore witness to Him and wondered at the gracious words which came out of His mouth. And they said, Is this not Joseph's son?” (Luke 4:16-22) As Jesus proceeded to teach them their anger was stirred up and they were going to push Him over a cliff, but it was not time yet for Him to die and was able to just push through the crowd free. (Luke 4:24-30)  

And soon in the Bible we see that the religious leaders come against Jesus. When the people recognized Him as a prophet, the religious leaders immediately opposed Him and accused anyone who disagreed with them as being deceived. They considered all that believed on Jesus as ignorant of the Law. “But this crowd, not knowing the Law, is cursed.” (John 7:49) They even accused Nicodemus of being from Galilee, in other words a believer of Jesus with an implied threat to put him out of the Sanhedrin. “Nicodemus said to them, (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them), Does our law judge the Man before it hears Him and knows what He does?” (John 7:50-51)

We know the end. They conspire to put Jesus to death. “And it becoming early morning, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death.” (Matthew 27:1) Unwittingly, they carried out their evil intentions which allowed God to bring peace between man and God. When Jesus died and rose again, He became the Prince of Peace. He brought peace between God and man. When He returns to set up His everlasting kingdom on earth, He will reign as Prince of Peace.

But what of the “good tidings of great joy” that was announced at His birth? It was Good News. The long-awaited Messiah had been born. He would be the one Who would redeem the world of the hold the enemy had over man and set them free. They are free from the rituals of the Law which were only a shadow of what Jesus would accomplish. Now those who believe on Him, are free of the bondage of sin and darkness and live free to follow the Lord in this world and the next by faith in Jesus. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and do not again be held with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

And still there is a division of families and friends over Jesus. As Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39) In the whole world this occurs, over and over as some believe against the traditions and beliefs of their families and communities. So Jesus, who brought peace between God and man, created division between those who believe in Him and belong to Him, and those who reject Him.