I Did not Come to Bring Peace, but a Sword
Matthew 9:35-10:42
Sheep Without a Shepherd (9:35-38)
This passage follows an extended series of healing miracles which were arranged and presented with a particular intent. But whatever meaning these miracles might now have to us, whether to show the power of Jesus, or to prove that he was Messiah, or any of the other important interpretations of these wonderful acts, Matthew now makes clear what the Gospel of Mark emphasized from the beginning, which is that Jesus was motivated out of his great compassion (Mark 1:40-42).
The Greek word used here to describe this emotion is splagchnizomai. The root of this word (splagchnon) means internal organs, and is used in the description Acts gives us of the death of Judas (Acts 1:15-20). We have almost completely localized to the heart the figurative source of our emotions, but in the first century the entirety of the inward parts were involved. And when we say we are “moved with emotion” we generally mean that something external to us has stirred our emotions. That was certainly the case here, but Jesus was not only moved in the figurative sense; his emotions stirred him to action.
We would do well to pay attention to this idea, as Jesus not only showed us by example how to have compassion and to act on that compassion, but the idea is essential to some of his descriptions of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is like the master who “took pity on” his servant, or “was moved with emotion” toward him (Matthew 18:23-30). The Kingdom of Heaven is like the father who saw his wayward son from afar off, and was so moved with emotion toward him that he ran to him and threw his arms around him (Luke 15:17-24). And when Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, he spoke of the Samaritan who, when he saw his neighbor in need, was moved to give him extravagant care (Luke 10:30-37).
Heal the Sick, Raise the Dead (10:1-15)
The Gospels of Mark and Luke both have this story of Jesus sending out the Twelve, though there are interesting differences among them (Mark 6:7-11; Luke 9:1-5). One explanation would be that they are actually records of different occasions, and it is true that Luke records another occasion when Jesus sent seventy-two of his disciples on a similar journey (Luke 10:1-7). Either Jesus used very similar instructions on that occasion, or Matthew has compressed the teachings into one account. Whatever the case, it hardly seems likely that Jesus sent the Twelve out on at least three separate occasions which were different only in whether or not they could wear sandals, carry a staff, or other minor details.
If we were to focus on these differences of detail, however, or on the special circumstances of the commission (traveling in rocky Palestine without a a staff and in bare feet would have been difficult and painful) we might overlook the uncomfortable fact that Jesus sent his disciples to heal the sick and raise the dead! Could we be expected to do the same? The Samaritan was moved with emotion to heal the man who was half-dead. What if we were to go, and do the same?
I Did not Come to Bring Peace (10:16-42)
Many of the sayings of Jesus are hard, in that they ask much of us, but the sayings in this passage are more than hard, they are disturbing. We can first put aside any notion that the attitude he suggests towards father and mother is in contradiction to the law. We know from the larger context of his teaching that he not only respected this law, but raised it from its literal interpretation (Mark 7:9-13; Matthew 12:46-50). We can then begin to grapple with the idea that Jesus did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Many of us have been raised from birth with the promise of the Prince of Peace, and even for those outside the Church it is a fundamental part of the Christmas Story (Isaiah 9:6-7). But even in that story, Luke gives us Simeon’s eerie precursor of this passage (Luke 2:34-35). And in connection to the context of the current passage, Jesus told his disciples to sell their cloaks if they must, so that they may buy swords (Luke 22:35-37). But this exchange is enigmatic even in its context (are the mere two swords ironic?) and almost immediately thereafter he rebuked Peter for using his sword (Matthew 26:51-52).
Whatever the explanation of the exchange of cloaks for swords, the larger context of the teaching of Jesus give us the basis for his rebuke of Peter: the sword of which he speaks will not be used by us, but against us. And blessed are we when this is so (Luke 6:22-24). This saying is a very hard one for me, because by any reasonable measure, I am very rich. I have achieved a life that is free from any hardship, and it is fair to say that it is a life I love (Mark 8:35; John 12:25). Jesus calls me away from this comfortable life to eternal life and perfect peace.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 14:27; 16:33 KJV)
