Matthew 10:34

II. PEACE OR. SWORD.

34. Think not that. am come to send peace on earth.

These seem like strong words from him whom the prophet called "The Prince of Peace," at whose advent angels sang of peace and good will among men; and he pronounced. blessing upon peace makers. At first glance it would seem that this passage was inconsistent with those who describe him as the Prince of Peace. It is not, however. He came to create peace, peace among men, peace between man and God, peace in the human soul; but the immediate effect of his mission was to stir up commotion. Often. place has to be conquered. All who attempt to reform the world, deliver men from thraldom, or lift them to. higher life will meet with opposition and arouse contention. Elijah, John the Baptist, Luther, Wilberforce, the anti-slavery and temperance reformers are examples. Christ has to conquer. peace by overcoming the evil that is in the way of peace. Hence, to preach the gospel of purity and peace always arouses the opposition of the evil doer. Evil has to be put down before peace can prevail. Hence, while the great end that Christ proposes is peace, the immediate result of his coming, and of the preaching of the gospel, was opposition and bloodshed.

I come.. but. sword.

The only sword that Christ or his followers use in the conflict is the Sword of the Spirit, but the persecutor has in every age turned upon them the carnal sword. Christ and almost every one of the apostles listening to him died by violence. Their preaching unsheathed the sword, but it was bathed in their own blood.