Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Christ did not come to bring outward ease but a sword of division between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, not literal violence or leave to hate and mistreat kindred. He did not come to give peace at any cost by compromise with evil, sin, error and selfish indulgence, nor to lull the world into complacency. The gospel is that sword because its holy truths expose, condemn and denounce sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires, so defending truth necessarily opposes error and there can be no harmony between them. There is no contradiction with His being the Prince of Peace, for when received and obeyed the gospel brings inner peace, harmony and reconciliation to God and to one another, while its principles provoke hatred and strife from those who love sin and are under Satan's control. That division falls hardest in households, where obedience can turn closest relatives into enemies with scorn and rejection, yet loyalty to Christ must come before father, mother, son or daughter, and be held at the cost of the cross.
Meaning of Sword and Peace
The sword is division and conflict between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, even setting close relatives against one another so that members of one's own household become enemies. It does not mean literal violence, nor permission to hate or mistreat family, nor discord that Christ deliberately creates, but strife caused by resistance to the gospel rather than strife produced by the gospel itself. Obedience to God and living out the truth can therefore bring scorn and conflict instead of earthly peace, and loyalty to Christ must come before love for father, mother, son, daughter or friends even when following Him requires bearing a cross. Ministers who carry His work forward likewise do not find freedom from conflict but must face opposition, hardship, calumny, grief and persecution with moral courage and steadfastness, while His inward peace can remain amid outward strife without meaning freedom from opposition, persecution, betrayal or suffering.
Christ did not come to send outward or earthly peace at any cost, by compromise with evil, sin, ungodliness, injustice, error, worldly ways or selfish indulgence, nor to lull the world into complacency and ease. As Prince of Peace He still awakens deep conflict and strong passions in human hearts, so His followers face strife and persecution while the peace He gives remains within them as the consciousness of doing the will of God and reflecting His glory in good works, enjoyed in the midst of divisions. Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there can be no harmony or peace between truth and error, and God's Word and the Bible as divider have always caused dissension among people and will always continue to do so. That sword has been fulfilled in followers being hated by all for His name's sake, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those esteeming it service to God and religion, because human nature remains out of harmony with Christ's principles and the world still opposes Jesus.
The gospel is called a sword because its holy and exalted truths expose, condemn and denounce sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires. When received and obeyed it brings peace, harmony, happiness and brotherhood and reconciles people to God and to one another, in perfect harmony with Christ as Prince of Peace, yet its principles provoke hatred and strife from those who love sin. The conflict comes because the world at large is under Satan's control, so sinners rise in rebellion against the life the gospel presents, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them.
Christ came manifested to draw all people to Himself, but not all respond to His drawing, and that different response is what brings division. When some accept the truth, repent and become obedient to God while others refuse His call and remain opposed, their different loyalties bring conflict even within a household, with one family member accepting Him while others oppose God. That division comes from conflict between Christ and Satan, not from the believer becoming less dutiful, for faith instead makes the believer more kind, faithful and affectionate even when unbelievers misread good motives and direct toward Christ through His followers the hostility they feel. His work of true reform therefore brings conflict because its self-denying principles oppose selfish interests, requiring His followers to walk in the light of His example at whatever sacrifice or peril of property or life, standing decided, resolute and unflinching to push the triumph of His cross.
Why Division Comes
The division does not originate with Christ himself but with truth working upon the human heart, dividing people over it as some yield to the Holy Spirit, open their hearts to Jesus and submit to God's requirements while others see the cross involved in accepting it and refuse the light from heaven. Those who refuse pull away the shoulder, refuse the yoke and stop their ears, while other members of the same family or neighborhood receive the message from heaven and believe it, and that opposite response creates separation among neighbors and within households. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be, and no one should remain in darkness and unbelief and refuse light in order to avoid separation from those who will not hear and believe, but must choose Christ over the world. Those who keep God's binding law through Christ's merits and hang their helpless souls on Him come into harmony with heaven, while those who pull away from His yoke, close their ears to His word and refuse His plain requirements work in harmony with evil, yet their refusal does not do away with God's law.
Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there can be no harmony or peace between truth and error, and in that sense Christ's coming brings conflict rather than peace between them. The sword describes this conflict, which drew Luther into conflict, tumult, revolution and upheaval rather than allowing him to live in repose through defense of the gospel in the Reformation.
The conflict comes because the world at large is under Satan's control and aligned against Christ, while the principles of life the gospel presents are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires. Sinners rise in rebellion against it, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them, thus warring against the message that offers joy, hope and life, a refusal that led to Christ's rejection and crucifixion. Christianity received and obeyed would spread peace, harmony, happiness and brotherhood and reconcile man to God and thus to his fellow man, but its exalted truths expose and condemn sin, so those who love sin may hate and persecute its followers. Christ did not come to create quarrels among His followers, but His teaching divides people as some receive Him while others, aligned with Satan, oppose Him and His followers with deep controversy and strong passions, making the Prince of Peace the cause of division. That division within households comes from conflict between Christ and Satan when one member accepts His call and others remain opposed to God, not from the believer becoming less dutiful, for faith makes the believer more kind, faithful and affectionate, though unbelievers may misread good motives and direct toward Christ the hostility they show to His followers. This prophecy of hatred, strife and persecution was fulfilled in past ages and will be fulfilled still more markedly because the unregenerate mind remains opposed to Christ and God's law.
The sword also means decided warning and open, aggressive conflict with evil that assails evil, exposes falsehood, error and corrupt principles in their true character, denounces sin and disturbs false peace, so that true peace comes through united zeal and earnest prayer. It brings a decisive break with wrongdoing and with injustice, exposing oppressive and dishonest policies and dividing those who uphold them from those who condemn and leave them. For this time passive piety of patience, kindness and forbearance alone is not enough, but every believer must lay aside little differences that stir a combative spirit among brethren, speak as one, and stand together with soldierly courage against the foes of God, truth and righteousness. God's Word as divider has always been a cause of dissension among people and will always continue to bring that sword of dissension instead of peace on earth. Christ's work of true reform brings conflict because its self-denying principles oppose selfish interests, so although He came to draw people to Himself, some refuse His call and those who carry out God's principles should expect opposition and persecution.
Division in Households and Families
Obedience to God and living out the truth sets close relatives against one another, so that members of one's own household become enemies rather than living in earthly peace. The sword is this division between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, arising when people respond differently to Christ's drawing and to His commandments. When some repent and become obedient while others reject the truth, their competing loyalties bring conflict even among family members. That faithfulness can lead to scorn, rejection, abuse, and separation from relatives, even when the believer seeks peace. Such hostility does not come from failure in kindness or duty, for faith makes the believer more kind, faithful, and affectionate, nor is it permission to hate or mistreat family. Unbelievers may misread good motives and direct toward Christ's followers the hostility that belongs to the conflict between Christ and Satan.
Estrangement from the dearest earthly friends is among the hardest forms of persecution to bear, and the world's resistance that causes this strife will not simply end with time. The strife is caused by resistance to the gospel, not produced by the gospel itself, yet it can divide even a family and separate from family and even church ties. When truth is clearly seen those ties cannot hold back honest believers, because truth is more precious than anything else. Loyalty to Christ must therefore come before love for family, and following Him requires taking up the cross.
Conversion means leaving the controlling pull of worldly connections, opinions, motives, and influences, with a decisive change of feelings and motives and withdrawal from the world's controlling influence. This separation causes pain and bitterness on both sides, and disciples must put Christ first even when friends do not follow. There is no promise of peace with those who resist that choice.
Loyalty to Christ must come before love for father, mother, son, daughter, or friends, even at the cost of bearing a cross, and He must be loved and obeyed above parents or children. The division is not made by Christ Himself but by truth working on the human heart, when some open their hearts through the Holy Spirit and submit to God's requirements while others turn away because a cross is involved, refusing light, pulling away the shoulder, refusing the yoke, and stopping their ears. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be when some in the same family receive the message from heaven and others will not hear or believe it. Therefore truth must not be refused to avoid separation from family or neighbors, and no concession must be made to the world in order to keep peace. This was illustrated when Sabbath truth led a wife and daughter to face rejection from husband and father, yet the wife would not disobey God to restore peace at home.
Those who keep God's binding law through the merits of Christ and hang their helpless souls on Christ come into harmony with heaven, while those who pull away from His yoke, close their ears to His word, and refuse His plain requirements work in harmony with evil. Their refusal does not do away with the law of God. Christians long for their unbelieving friends to forsake all for Christ, because otherwise they face final, eternal separation, and the value of those souls calls for taking their choice seriously.
Prince of Peace Amid Conflict
There is no contradiction between the sword and Christ as Prince of Peace, for when the gospel is received and obeyed it brings peace, harmony, happiness and close brotherhood, reconciling people to God and thus to one another. The gospel is called a sword because its holy and exalted truths expose, denounce and condemn sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires, and therefore provoke hatred, strife and conflict from those whose habits and desires oppose it and who love sin. The conflict comes because the world at large is under the control of Satan, so sinners rise in rebellion against the principles of life the gospel presents, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and even destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them. In this sense the sword is in perfect harmony with the declarations that Christ is the Prince of Peace and that His birth brings peace on earth, since Christianity received and obeyed would spread peace, harmony and happiness throughout the earth.
His peace is inward and internal rather than outward peace on earth or freedom from tribulation, opposition, persecution, betrayal and suffering, and it does not prevent divisions. It is His lasting gift, received by faith and enjoyed in the midst of divisions, found in the consciousness of doing God's will and reflecting His character and glory in good works. Christ did not come to send outward peace through compromise with evil, but as Prince of Peace He also brings division by awakening deep conflict and strong passions in human hearts, because people respond differently to His drawing and teaching, some receiving Him while others oppose Him and His followers. The sword therefore means this conflict and these divisions, not that He intended His followers to cause discord, and it has been fulfilled in His followers being hated by all for His name's sake, persecuted, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those esteeming it service to God and religion. The same opposition continues and will be fulfilled still more markedly, for human nature is no more in harmony with the principles of Christ than in past ages, the world is still in opposition to Jesus, the unregenerate mind remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, and the same hatred that cried for crucifixion and the same satanic spirit seen in Dark Ages prison, exile, fagot, Inquisition, St. Bartholomew massacre and Smithfield fires still wars with malignant energy in unregenerate hearts that refuse His reign.
Although Jesus is the Prince of Peace, His coming brought conflict because His kingdom opposed the kingdom the Jews desired. He was treated as an enemy of Israel's religious order, condemned as a transgressor of the law He Himself had proclaimed, and denounced as being on Satan's side even though He came to break Satan's power. His mission was misunderstood by His own family and by His disciples, leaving Him to walk alone.
Fulfilled in History and Prophecy
The sword has been fulfilled in followers being hated by all for His name's sake, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those who esteem it a service done to God and religion. That outward persecution does not contradict inward peace, for peace in Him can be enjoyed in the midst of divisions and does not prevent them. The prophecy of such opposition was fulfilled in past ages and will be fulfilled still more markedly.
The same opposition continues because human nature is no more in harmony with the principles of Christ than in past ages and the world is still in opposition to Jesus. The unregenerate mind remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, so those aligned against Him oppose Him and His followers. The same hatred that cried for crucifixion and the same satanic spirit seen in Dark Ages prison, exile, fagot, Inquisition, St. Bartholomew massacre and Smithfield fires still wars with malignant energy in unregenerate hearts that refuse His reign. That strife is caused by resistance to the gospel, not produced by the gospel itself, and it can divide even a family.
The verse applies to the Reformation, when defense of the gospel drew Luther into conflict and upheaval rather than allowing him to live in repose, bringing tumult and revolution. Its preaching likewise provoked opposition and division when priests and villagers resisted the gospel and persecuted Farel. Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there is no peace between truth and error.
Attempts by rulers to suppress disagreement by persecuting God's Word are fighting against the holy Word and can bring ruin upon those who make them. Such a course brings frightful inextricable dangers, present disaster, and everlasting desolation, because God overthrows the powers that oppose Him. The priests' claim that a gospel bringing war could not be Christ's gospel is therefore mistaken, since opposition to the gospel does not disprove its truth.
Faithfulness to truth has this same character and destiny in every age as of old, for the Bible has always been a cause of division among people and that dividing effect will always continue. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be, as some refuse the light to avoid the cross while others yield to the Holy Spirit and open their hearts to Jesus. Therefore faithfulness is cause for rejoicing even when it exposes the believer to danger.
Call to Faithful Action
The sword means that those who follow Christ must follow His example without regard for convenience, accepting labor, trial, and suffering to uphold the truth, advance the triumph of His cross, and extend His kingdom. He was manifested to draw all people to Himself not by bringing peace on earth but by bringing a sword, and this requires walking in the light of His glorious example at whatever sacrifice or peril of property or life itself. That walk carries forward true reformation after the heavenly order bearing the divine signature to push the triumph of the cross, standing decided, resolute, and unflinching in the light of the cross of Calvary. His coming does not bring peace with sin and ungodliness nor lull the world into complacency, ease, worldly conformity, and worldly ways, but His truth creates conflict with them and brings sword-like division. Upholding the reforming doctrines of the gospel therefore means loss of ease, comfort, reputation, property, or even life, waging earnest warfare against sin while battling self, resisting selfish desires and temptation, giving up ease and selfish indulgence, and maintaining the gospel standard even through labor and suffering.
Those who carry forward His work in ministry must face opposition, hardship, calumny, grief, and persecution as the early Christian church did, for His work brings conflict rather than ease or freedom from conflict in the world. The sword represents this conflict, not a call to literal violence, and the work requires meeting such trials with strong moral courage, spiritual strength, and steadfastness. The sword means decided warning and open conflict with evil, assailing evil, exposing falsehood and error in their true character, denouncing sin, and disturbing the false peace that exists among God's people so that true peace comes through united zeal and earnest prayer. It therefore calls every believer to speak as one, laying aside little differences that stir a combative spirit among brethren, and to stand together with soldierly courage against the foes of God and truth and righteousness, because passive piety of patience, kindness, and forbearance alone is not enough for this time.
The gospel is not all peace but brings conflict and inward battle, meaning wakeful hours, painful doubts and fears about being faithful in every duty, grief over the sinfulness of others, and times of gloom. When gloom comes it must be battled and fought every inch by faith until triumph in faith, by casting all cares and burdens on Jesus, moving steadfastly on looking to Jesus, learning of Jesus, and obtaining the love of Jesus with hearts melted in tenderness toward each other. The remedy in grieving over the sinfulness of others is praying more and clinging more firmly to the promises, for the religion of Christ is not gloom but gladness.
The sword is unfurling the standard of truth before a world perishing in error, uplifting the living oracles and giving the last warning messages. That work is aggressive warfare in new fields rather than spending all time and means on work for the poorest classes in one place, doing home and foreign missionary work resembling the work Christ did. It multiplies camp meetings in different localities, warning the cities and those who come to the meetings, and establishes churches in new fields that can then help care for the needy and destitute in different localities. In institutional management the same sword appears as friction instead of peace, meaning conflict within the institutions when workers fail to meet prejudice and difficulties with tact and ingenuity. Workers facing others' burdens need divine help and Christ's unselfish, loving spirit, and their faith, love, patience, and constancy will be tested.
Christ did not come to bring outward ease but a sword of division between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, not literal violence or leave to hate and mistreat kindred. He did not come to give peace at any cost by compromise with evil, sin, error and selfish indulgence, nor to lull the world into complacency. The gospel is that sword because its holy truths expose, condemn and denounce sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires, so defending truth necessarily opposes error and there can be no harmony between them. There is no contradiction with His being the Prince of Peace, for when received and obeyed the gospel brings inner peace, harmony and reconciliation to God and to one another, while its principles provoke hatred and strife from those who love sin and are under Satan's control. That division falls hardest in households, where obedience can turn closest relatives into enemies with scorn and rejection, yet loyalty to Christ must come before father, mother, son or daughter, and be held at the cost of the cross.
Meaning of Sword and Peace
The sword is division and conflict between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, even setting close relatives against one another so that members of one's own household become enemies. It does not mean literal violence, nor permission to hate or mistreat family, nor discord that Christ deliberately creates, but strife caused by resistance to the gospel rather than strife produced by the gospel itself. Obedience to God and living out the truth can therefore bring scorn and conflict instead of earthly peace, and loyalty to Christ must come before love for father, mother, son, daughter or friends even when following Him requires bearing a cross. Ministers who carry His work forward likewise do not find freedom from conflict but must face opposition, hardship, calumny, grief and persecution with moral courage and steadfastness, while His inward peace can remain amid outward strife without meaning freedom from opposition, persecution, betrayal or suffering.
Christ did not come to send outward or earthly peace at any cost, by compromise with evil, sin, ungodliness, injustice, error, worldly ways or selfish indulgence, nor to lull the world into complacency and ease. As Prince of Peace He still awakens deep conflict and strong passions in human hearts, so His followers face strife and persecution while the peace He gives remains within them as the consciousness of doing the will of God and reflecting His glory in good works, enjoyed in the midst of divisions. Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there can be no harmony or peace between truth and error, and God's Word and the Bible as divider have always caused dissension among people and will always continue to do so. That sword has been fulfilled in followers being hated by all for His name's sake, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those esteeming it service to God and religion, because human nature remains out of harmony with Christ's principles and the world still opposes Jesus.
The gospel is called a sword because its holy and exalted truths expose, condemn and denounce sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires. When received and obeyed it brings peace, harmony, happiness and brotherhood and reconciles people to God and to one another, in perfect harmony with Christ as Prince of Peace, yet its principles provoke hatred and strife from those who love sin. The conflict comes because the world at large is under Satan's control, so sinners rise in rebellion against the life the gospel presents, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them.
Christ came manifested to draw all people to Himself, but not all respond to His drawing, and that different response is what brings division. When some accept the truth, repent and become obedient to God while others refuse His call and remain opposed, their different loyalties bring conflict even within a household, with one family member accepting Him while others oppose God. That division comes from conflict between Christ and Satan, not from the believer becoming less dutiful, for faith instead makes the believer more kind, faithful and affectionate even when unbelievers misread good motives and direct toward Christ through His followers the hostility they feel. His work of true reform therefore brings conflict because its self-denying principles oppose selfish interests, requiring His followers to walk in the light of His example at whatever sacrifice or peril of property or life, standing decided, resolute and unflinching to push the triumph of His cross.
Why Division Comes
The division does not originate with Christ himself but with truth working upon the human heart, dividing people over it as some yield to the Holy Spirit, open their hearts to Jesus and submit to God's requirements while others see the cross involved in accepting it and refuse the light from heaven. Those who refuse pull away the shoulder, refuse the yoke and stop their ears, while other members of the same family or neighborhood receive the message from heaven and believe it, and that opposite response creates separation among neighbors and within households. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be, and no one should remain in darkness and unbelief and refuse light in order to avoid separation from those who will not hear and believe, but must choose Christ over the world. Those who keep God's binding law through Christ's merits and hang their helpless souls on Him come into harmony with heaven, while those who pull away from His yoke, close their ears to His word and refuse His plain requirements work in harmony with evil, yet their refusal does not do away with God's law.
Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there can be no harmony or peace between truth and error, and in that sense Christ's coming brings conflict rather than peace between them. The sword describes this conflict, which drew Luther into conflict, tumult, revolution and upheaval rather than allowing him to live in repose through defense of the gospel in the Reformation.
The conflict comes because the world at large is under Satan's control and aligned against Christ, while the principles of life the gospel presents are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires. Sinners rise in rebellion against it, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them, thus warring against the message that offers joy, hope and life, a refusal that led to Christ's rejection and crucifixion. Christianity received and obeyed would spread peace, harmony, happiness and brotherhood and reconcile man to God and thus to his fellow man, but its exalted truths expose and condemn sin, so those who love sin may hate and persecute its followers. Christ did not come to create quarrels among His followers, but His teaching divides people as some receive Him while others, aligned with Satan, oppose Him and His followers with deep controversy and strong passions, making the Prince of Peace the cause of division. That division within households comes from conflict between Christ and Satan when one member accepts His call and others remain opposed to God, not from the believer becoming less dutiful, for faith makes the believer more kind, faithful and affectionate, though unbelievers may misread good motives and direct toward Christ the hostility they show to His followers. This prophecy of hatred, strife and persecution was fulfilled in past ages and will be fulfilled still more markedly because the unregenerate mind remains opposed to Christ and God's law.
The sword also means decided warning and open, aggressive conflict with evil that assails evil, exposes falsehood, error and corrupt principles in their true character, denounces sin and disturbs false peace, so that true peace comes through united zeal and earnest prayer. It brings a decisive break with wrongdoing and with injustice, exposing oppressive and dishonest policies and dividing those who uphold them from those who condemn and leave them. For this time passive piety of patience, kindness and forbearance alone is not enough, but every believer must lay aside little differences that stir a combative spirit among brethren, speak as one, and stand together with soldierly courage against the foes of God, truth and righteousness. God's Word as divider has always been a cause of dissension among people and will always continue to bring that sword of dissension instead of peace on earth. Christ's work of true reform brings conflict because its self-denying principles oppose selfish interests, so although He came to draw people to Himself, some refuse His call and those who carry out God's principles should expect opposition and persecution.
Division in Households and Families
Obedience to God and living out the truth sets close relatives against one another, so that members of one's own household become enemies rather than living in earthly peace. The sword is this division between those who accept the truth and those who oppose it, arising when people respond differently to Christ's drawing and to His commandments. When some repent and become obedient while others reject the truth, their competing loyalties bring conflict even among family members. That faithfulness can lead to scorn, rejection, abuse, and separation from relatives, even when the believer seeks peace. Such hostility does not come from failure in kindness or duty, for faith makes the believer more kind, faithful, and affectionate, nor is it permission to hate or mistreat family. Unbelievers may misread good motives and direct toward Christ's followers the hostility that belongs to the conflict between Christ and Satan.
Estrangement from the dearest earthly friends is among the hardest forms of persecution to bear, and the world's resistance that causes this strife will not simply end with time. The strife is caused by resistance to the gospel, not produced by the gospel itself, yet it can divide even a family and separate from family and even church ties. When truth is clearly seen those ties cannot hold back honest believers, because truth is more precious than anything else. Loyalty to Christ must therefore come before love for family, and following Him requires taking up the cross.
Conversion means leaving the controlling pull of worldly connections, opinions, motives, and influences, with a decisive change of feelings and motives and withdrawal from the world's controlling influence. This separation causes pain and bitterness on both sides, and disciples must put Christ first even when friends do not follow. There is no promise of peace with those who resist that choice.
Loyalty to Christ must come before love for father, mother, son, daughter, or friends, even at the cost of bearing a cross, and He must be loved and obeyed above parents or children. The division is not made by Christ Himself but by truth working on the human heart, when some open their hearts through the Holy Spirit and submit to God's requirements while others turn away because a cross is involved, refusing light, pulling away the shoulder, refusing the yoke, and stopping their ears. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be when some in the same family receive the message from heaven and others will not hear or believe it. Therefore truth must not be refused to avoid separation from family or neighbors, and no concession must be made to the world in order to keep peace. This was illustrated when Sabbath truth led a wife and daughter to face rejection from husband and father, yet the wife would not disobey God to restore peace at home.
Those who keep God's binding law through the merits of Christ and hang their helpless souls on Christ come into harmony with heaven, while those who pull away from His yoke, close their ears to His word, and refuse His plain requirements work in harmony with evil. Their refusal does not do away with the law of God. Christians long for their unbelieving friends to forsake all for Christ, because otherwise they face final, eternal separation, and the value of those souls calls for taking their choice seriously.
Prince of Peace Amid Conflict
There is no contradiction between the sword and Christ as Prince of Peace, for when the gospel is received and obeyed it brings peace, harmony, happiness and close brotherhood, reconciling people to God and thus to one another. The gospel is called a sword because its holy and exalted truths expose, denounce and condemn sin and are wholly at variance with sinful habits and desires, and therefore provoke hatred, strife and conflict from those whose habits and desires oppose it and who love sin. The conflict comes because the world at large is under the control of Satan, so sinners rise in rebellion against the principles of life the gospel presents, hating the purity that reveals and condemns their sins and persecuting and even destroying those who urge its just and holy claims upon them. In this sense the sword is in perfect harmony with the declarations that Christ is the Prince of Peace and that His birth brings peace on earth, since Christianity received and obeyed would spread peace, harmony and happiness throughout the earth.
His peace is inward and internal rather than outward peace on earth or freedom from tribulation, opposition, persecution, betrayal and suffering, and it does not prevent divisions. It is His lasting gift, received by faith and enjoyed in the midst of divisions, found in the consciousness of doing God's will and reflecting His character and glory in good works. Christ did not come to send outward peace through compromise with evil, but as Prince of Peace He also brings division by awakening deep conflict and strong passions in human hearts, because people respond differently to His drawing and teaching, some receiving Him while others oppose Him and His followers. The sword therefore means this conflict and these divisions, not that He intended His followers to cause discord, and it has been fulfilled in His followers being hated by all for His name's sake, persecuted, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those esteeming it service to God and religion. The same opposition continues and will be fulfilled still more markedly, for human nature is no more in harmony with the principles of Christ than in past ages, the world is still in opposition to Jesus, the unregenerate mind remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, and the same hatred that cried for crucifixion and the same satanic spirit seen in Dark Ages prison, exile, fagot, Inquisition, St. Bartholomew massacre and Smithfield fires still wars with malignant energy in unregenerate hearts that refuse His reign.
Although Jesus is the Prince of Peace, His coming brought conflict because His kingdom opposed the kingdom the Jews desired. He was treated as an enemy of Israel's religious order, condemned as a transgressor of the law He Himself had proclaimed, and denounced as being on Satan's side even though He came to break Satan's power. His mission was misunderstood by His own family and by His disciples, leaving Him to walk alone.
Fulfilled in History and Prophecy
The sword has been fulfilled in followers being hated by all for His name's sake, brought before kings and rulers, and visited with indignity, reproach, cruelty and even death by those who esteem it a service done to God and religion. That outward persecution does not contradict inward peace, for peace in Him can be enjoyed in the midst of divisions and does not prevent them. The prophecy of such opposition was fulfilled in past ages and will be fulfilled still more markedly.
The same opposition continues because human nature is no more in harmony with the principles of Christ than in past ages and the world is still in opposition to Jesus. The unregenerate mind remains hostile to God's law and Christ's principles, so those aligned against Him oppose Him and His followers. The same hatred that cried for crucifixion and the same satanic spirit seen in Dark Ages prison, exile, fagot, Inquisition, St. Bartholomew massacre and Smithfield fires still wars with malignant energy in unregenerate hearts that refuse His reign. That strife is caused by resistance to the gospel, not produced by the gospel itself, and it can divide even a family.
The verse applies to the Reformation, when defense of the gospel drew Luther into conflict and upheaval rather than allowing him to live in repose, bringing tumult and revolution. Its preaching likewise provoked opposition and division when priests and villagers resisted the gospel and persecuted Farel. Defending truth necessarily opposes and seeks to overthrow error, so there is no peace between truth and error.
Attempts by rulers to suppress disagreement by persecuting God's Word are fighting against the holy Word and can bring ruin upon those who make them. Such a course brings frightful inextricable dangers, present disaster, and everlasting desolation, because God overthrows the powers that oppose Him. The priests' claim that a gospel bringing war could not be Christ's gospel is therefore mistaken, since opposition to the gospel does not disprove its truth.
Faithfulness to truth has this same character and destiny in every age as of old, for the Bible has always been a cause of division among people and that dividing effect will always continue. Such divisions have ever been and ever will be, as some refuse the light to avoid the cross while others yield to the Holy Spirit and open their hearts to Jesus. Therefore faithfulness is cause for rejoicing even when it exposes the believer to danger.
Call to Faithful Action
The sword means that those who follow Christ must follow His example without regard for convenience, accepting labor, trial, and suffering to uphold the truth, advance the triumph of His cross, and extend His kingdom. He was manifested to draw all people to Himself not by bringing peace on earth but by bringing a sword, and this requires walking in the light of His glorious example at whatever sacrifice or peril of property or life itself. That walk carries forward true reformation after the heavenly order bearing the divine signature to push the triumph of the cross, standing decided, resolute, and unflinching in the light of the cross of Calvary. His coming does not bring peace with sin and ungodliness nor lull the world into complacency, ease, worldly conformity, and worldly ways, but His truth creates conflict with them and brings sword-like division. Upholding the reforming doctrines of the gospel therefore means loss of ease, comfort, reputation, property, or even life, waging earnest warfare against sin while battling self, resisting selfish desires and temptation, giving up ease and selfish indulgence, and maintaining the gospel standard even through labor and suffering.
Those who carry forward His work in ministry must face opposition, hardship, calumny, grief, and persecution as the early Christian church did, for His work brings conflict rather than ease or freedom from conflict in the world. The sword represents this conflict, not a call to literal violence, and the work requires meeting such trials with strong moral courage, spiritual strength, and steadfastness. The sword means decided warning and open conflict with evil, assailing evil, exposing falsehood and error in their true character, denouncing sin, and disturbing the false peace that exists among God's people so that true peace comes through united zeal and earnest prayer. It therefore calls every believer to speak as one, laying aside little differences that stir a combative spirit among brethren, and to stand together with soldierly courage against the foes of God and truth and righteousness, because passive piety of patience, kindness, and forbearance alone is not enough for this time.
The gospel is not all peace but brings conflict and inward battle, meaning wakeful hours, painful doubts and fears about being faithful in every duty, grief over the sinfulness of others, and times of gloom. When gloom comes it must be battled and fought every inch by faith until triumph in faith, by casting all cares and burdens on Jesus, moving steadfastly on looking to Jesus, learning of Jesus, and obtaining the love of Jesus with hearts melted in tenderness toward each other. The remedy in grieving over the sinfulness of others is praying more and clinging more firmly to the promises, for the religion of Christ is not gloom but gladness.
The sword is unfurling the standard of truth before a world perishing in error, uplifting the living oracles and giving the last warning messages. That work is aggressive warfare in new fields rather than spending all time and means on work for the poorest classes in one place, doing home and foreign missionary work resembling the work Christ did. It multiplies camp meetings in different localities, warning the cities and those who come to the meetings, and establishes churches in new fields that can then help care for the needy and destitute in different localities. In institutional management the same sword appears as friction instead of peace, meaning conflict within the institutions when workers fail to meet prejudice and difficulties with tact and ingenuity. Workers facing others' burdens need divine help and Christ's unselfish, loving spirit, and their faith, love, patience, and constancy will be tested.