As we continue to confound the common sense of the Just War Theory, let's keep examining the typical objections cited from Scripture and see if this theory holds up from Jesus' perspective.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
(Matthew 10:34 ESV)
Unlike the prior passage, this saying of Jesus concerns His mission, thus having direct implications on His followers. As I said when introducing the objections in part four, these objections only appear to have any validity when not examined and this particular case is a great demonstration of that fact. This is the only part which is quoted when one claims that Jesus allows for violence; but let's look at the entirety of this Scripture.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
(Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)
Before we even look further into this passage, let us remember the explicit peace teachings of Jesus as cited earlier in this series. This theme is not minor in the Way of Jesus, but is a prominent motif which is often recalled. We must also keep in mind that this is one odd occurrence in the midst of multiple clear teachings. Whenever we encounter peculiar passages in the Bible, we want to be wise and careful (II Timothy 2:15). One good interpretive principle when reading the Bible is to interpret the unclear sections in light of the clear ones. Simply put, you cannot define an ocean by one random wave.
Nevertheless, what is Jesus trying to communicate in this instance? The context speaks of familial relations. In that light, is Jesus telling us that we should murder our families?! Not only is this untenable, but blatantly absurd. Jesus lived a life that closely kept the fifth commandment to honor your parents. What makes this ironic is that when people typically attempt to justify violence with Jesus' words, they are referring to using violence in order to protect their families!
One helpful thing to realize is that Jesus is echoing the prophet Micah here:
Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
(Micah 7:1-6 ESV)
Micah is in the midst of a tumultuous time when no one is Israel can be trusted, for they have all become corrupt. Certainly, Jesus' ministry takes place in an analogous period, as Israel is confused, scattered and drifting from God. Looking at the broader context, Jesus is instructing His disciples about a coming persecution (10:16-25), followed up by a teaching on fearlessness (10:26-33). One can quickly see that the Lord is preparing His disciples for a turbulent time that they will have to endure.
When facing difficulty, our character becomes revealed and we will make some significant choices that will surely alter the course of our lives. Jesus is calling His followers to pledge their full allegiance to Him, even above our most natural alliances, our own family. Instead of reverting to what is familiar 'when the going gets tough,' Jesus is calling us to step up our game and place our full trust in Him. He is certainly not calling us to forsake our families, but to be on guard to ensure that He has our complete, undivided commitment. Therefore, Jesus has a dividing effect. Just as you cannot worship both God and money, (Matthew 6:24) you cannot worship both God and family. If for whatever reason, we are forced to choose between Jesus and family, we cannot forsake Him.
Metaphors have multiple meanings and the meaning in each use of a metaphor is determined by the way it is used. Jesus is called a lion (Revelation 5:5) as is Satan (I Peter 5:8). Clearly, there is a nuanced way that the depiction of a lion is employed in each passage. The sword is symbolic of violence in many instances, but in this case, it is clearly pointing to a sword's work of dividing, because Jesus will divide families with His polarizing effect. Elsewhere in Scripture, we see that Jesus is depicted as a sword which divides (Luke 2:34-35; Hebrews 4:12-13).
Finally, Jesus concludes this teaching with the recurring theme of willingness to die. As noted earlier, willingness to die is starkly contrasted with self-preservation, typified by murder. How then can one understand this passage as advocating violence? Perhaps seeing this Scripture as advocating violence is so much easier to digest than the exact opposite. Are we willing to take the teachings of Jesus THAT serious?
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