Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 | Author: chrisay
Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth: I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
In Judges 6:24 - God is called God of Peace - Jehovah Shalom. Why Jesus in Matt 10:34 said that he has not come to send peace but sword. ?????????
Christina Au Yong
This post was submitted by chrisay.
Category: Questions & Comments
Thursday, 22. January 2009
I feel the confusion, that if God is a God of peace it is inapproraite that the Lord Jesus talked about bringing violence ( ‘a sword’), is due to a contextual problem.
In Matt 10:34, Jesus was not referring to violence when He used the word “sword”. By “sword” He was referring to separation. When a person becomes a believer in Jesus, he or she may be ’separated’ from his close relatives. Peace (Shalom) signifies harmonious living but when one becomes a Christian, naturally there will be a separation between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. This becomes obvious when we read the following verses in 35-37.
In the contrext of Gideon in Judges 6:24, the understanding of peace may be different. In verses 22- 23, Gideon said”Alas,O LORD GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” Then the LORD said to him,”Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”
Gideon feared that he would die because he saw the face of God. That was common view held. Anyone who sees God face to face will surely die. But the LORD assured him that he will not die and the LORD pronounced peace be upon Gideon. As a result , Gideon built an altar to the LORD and pronounced God’s name as YHWH Shalom. In so doing, he was thankful to God for not slaying him and that he had also received peace from God.
Hence, Jesus talked about hormony and separation in the context of the believer’s relatioinships while Gideon talked about receiving peace from God who did not slay him. God gives peace and is a God of peace. There is no contradiction that God gives peace and Jesus brought violence. Jesus brought separation, not violence.