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16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 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. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 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. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
It seems like these days there is a plethora for all different types of national, days, weeks and months; everything from Mothers Day to National Dolphin day. I was informed at the beginning of the month that September 19 is national peace day, so I decided to focus a little bit more on the subject of peace in the Bible this month. I was honestly unaware at what a broad topic this is in the Bible and equally suprised that the word peace is found exactly 400 times in the King James Version of the Bible, this was more than I had thought.
Now I recieved a fair question that I thought was quite an honorable one: that being how do we understand Isaiah 9:6 in view of Matthew 10:34.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6.
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34.
On one hand, Christ is called the Prince of Peace, but on the other, He says He did not come to send peace on earth.
I thought this was honorable because many folks who are just casual readers of the Bible or critics, would quickly and/or simply think that there is a contradiction without even asking a true believer who is more knowledgable in the Word.
God is pure Holy Spirit who does not error, we must first keep this in view. Now looking at the verses and comparing them with other scriptures we see that the prophecy in Isaiah fits with many other verses concerning the peace that the LORD will give His people, for example:
"The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace." - Psalm 29:11.
Now looking at the statement of Christ that He did not come to send peace on earth, we see that this too harmonizes with the rest of the Bible:
"There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked." - Isaiah 48:22.
So what the Bible is teaching us is the same thing in all the verses and it is cohesive: the LORD will bless HIS people with peace, but not the wicked. Matthew 10:34 is speaking of the same thing as Isaiah 48:22. And Psalm 29:11 is a reflection of Matthew 1:21:
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" - Matthew 1:21.
But what about the unsaved; what should a true child of God's demeanor be toward the unsaved? I believe the Bible tells us that we are to desire the very best thing in life for them, that they should become saved. Therefore, we bring the gospel to them and keep dumping the burning coals upon their head. If they are predestined for salvation, then praise the LORD. If they do not want the pure, true gospel the time will become obvious to the true believer when to stop witnessing to them and go on to one of the over 6,000,000,000 people in the world who may be one of the elect and are waiting for the hearing of the Word as prescribed from the foundation of the world. This is what this weeks text in Matthew 10 speaks of:
"Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." - Matthew 10:9-15.
Again for most Christians, life in Christ will be a very hard road. Family members, friends and perhaps most difficult of all spouses will or may come to return hatred for our love and break our hearts as we see them deny Christ for false worship. But yet, even if we must shake the dust off our feet and move on, we continue to pray for such that we love, hoping that the Word will be a seed planted in their heart for future harvest. The sword that the LORD brings instead of peace to the wicked is actually the Word of God which they have rejected, according to Hebrews 4:12, there we read:
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" - Hebrews 4:11-16.
Again, let's go to Matthew 10:
"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." - Matthew 10:32-39.
Consider these verses beloved friend:
"And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love." - Psalm 109:5.
"Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." - Ecclesiastes 7:3,4.
The Christians life is one in which we are united with our beloved friends in Christ as part of the body of Christ or the elect, HIS people. As His people we must as Matthew 10 declares "take up our cross and follw Him"; that is why we are ever needful of staying close to the Word and also being encouraged by fellow saints (Galatians 6:9,10).
Christian soilder - are you weary? what is your complaint? Let me close this exhortation with the final verses in Psalm 31 and I encourage all my beloved friends in the Word to: be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD:
PSALM 31:19-24 ....
Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
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