Matthew 10:38-42

Rachel Workman: 34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36     Your enemies will be right in your own household!’[l]

37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

And here it is. Why is there so much suffering? Why is there so much heartache? I don't have all the answers but here it says Jesus didn't come for peace he came to separate those who are his from those who are not. We will never have peace. One day but not in this lifetime.

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John Burnett:  ³⁴ “Do not think that I came to ^[a]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  These are some hard verses to hear because we value our relationships with family as much or more than our relationship with Jesus.  The result of His bringing the sword will be peace but before His eternal kingdom is set up, the largest can of whoop beat down will be opened up on the anti-christ and his army in the battle of Armageddon.

³⁷ “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.   Hard words here but this how worthy he is of our love.  He is the only one worthy of all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

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Allen Michaels:  

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Jesus did not come to bring the kind of peace that “sugar-coats” over deep differences just for the sake of superficial harmony. Just because we are Christian does not mean that we will not have conflict and disagreement between other Christians and the secular world. Today, there is so much dissension just between the denominations. I’m sure that Christ is not going to be pleased with us just because we call ourselves Christians. A lot of us better prepare ourselves to hear, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:23, “Depart from me you workers of inequity, for I have never known you” (Paraphrased). Fortunately there will be a day when all conflict will be resolved. It’s just a matter of if we’ll get to enjoy it or not. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Love of family IS a law of God, but even this love can be self-serving and used as an excuse not to devote ourselves 100% to serve God or do his work. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. To take up our cross and follow Jesus means to be willing to PUBLICLY identify with him, to experience almost certain opposition, and to be committed to face even suffering and death for his sake. When I say suffering I’m not referring to illness or loss of a job type suffering. I’m talking suffering as being beheaded, burned alive in a small cage, being crucified, or watching our children killed in front of us if we don’t renounce Christ in the name of islam. If we do not experience this in our lifetime, our children certainly will. This is when we will prove our belief, faith and loyalty to Christ. We will suffer almost as much as Christ suffered on the cross. And we will be scared. If Christ sweated blood the night before he died, imagine our fear level when we are facing death. This is when we must know that God is right there with us. He suffers when we suffer, but he will leave or forsake us. No matter the pain we are experiencing he is still there with us. Why? Because his only begotten Son died for us, assuring us that God will always be by our side. We need to remember this every time we deny God, by passing up an opportunity to serve him, regardless of whom it offends or the ridicule we will receive. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Clinging to this life (leisure, power, popularity, and financial security) may cause us to forfeit the best from Christ in this world and the next. The more we love this life’s rewards, the more we will discover how empty they really are. Until we really loosen our grasp on earthly rewards, will we really be able to truly follow Christ and enjoy life. In doing so, we will inherit eternal life and begin at once to experience the benefits of following Christ.

Being committed to Christ will most likely separate us from friends and loved ones. I was once told by family members that I need to “tone it down on Facebook.” I just let it slide as it was CHRISTmas Eve, and they were both drunk, especially the one that had been eating cake with the plastic Jesus. (We always sing happy birthday to Jesus on CHRISTmas Eve as that’s what we want to instill into the kids, not gimme, gimme, gimme.”) And the lesbian, well she was just drunk and argumentative. I blocked them from my Facebook page. In hindsight, I probably should have kept them as friends so they would still have the option to read my posts. Anyhow, in saying this (verses 34-39); Jesus was not encouraging disobedience to parents or conflict at home. Rather, he was showing that his presence demands a decision. Because some will follow Christ and some won’t, conflict will inevitably arise. As we take up our cross and follow him, out different values, morals, goals, and purposes will set us apart from others. Don’t neglect your family, but remember that your commitment to God is even more important than they are. God should always be our first priority.