Matt 10: 34-35 and Matt 5:9


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Matt 10: 34 – 35

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

Matt 5: 9

 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 

These three verses almost make it look as if Christ might have initiated, or engaged in, conduct inconsistent with what He counselled. This is unlikely to be the case so there must be some other explanation. Any thoughts anybody?

 

Additionally, perhaps its not stretching the point too far to say that if His gospel was to cause variance between family members, then one of the ways in which we could be peacemakers would be to not spread the gospel. Can we be peacemakers but also engage in a course of action that Christ has said would cause conflict?  

 

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You can't really take out those verses in isolation without taking the entire Matthew 10 chapter to put context to it.

 

In Matt 10, we learn that Jesus gathered his apostles and gave them instructions for their mission.  The first instruction He gave was for the apostles to go to the lost sheep of Israel.  These people are steeped in the traditions of the house of Israel but is far from the faith.

 

So, with that in mind, preaching the gospel of Christ to these people will put a rift in the family between those who believe and want to follow Christ and those who do not believe and want to stick to their traditions.  The biggest challenge for these people, therefore, is the pressure from their families to stay within their traditions.

 

Going on past those verses to 37-39, you will read Jesus say to these people - those who do not believe Christ so they can keep their family are not worthy of Christ... those who profess to believe but choose to stick to their traditions to cling to their families are not worthy of Christ... some may be cast out of their families and considered dead if they break tradition and follow Christ - those who would rather remain alive in the hearts of their families than follow Christ will lose them (family relationship will end at death and not eternity)... those who would rather stay with their traditions to be comfortable than follow Christ will lose their lives (again, eternal perspective).

 

The use of the word SWORD is very powerful here.

 

Now, how does this relate to PEACE... Jesus' promise in Matt 5 speaks of our being peacemakers - not cowards.  We can dissent but remain peaceful - this is easily illustrated in Jesus' interview with Pilate and the events from his capture all the way to his death.  He remained peaceful but still stood up to his mission.  Therefore, for those who break family tradition to follow Jesus - they must still do so in peace and goodwill even while turning one's back on the family's desires.

 

Hope this helps.

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Joseph Fielding Smith had this to say regarding Verse 34:

 

"Do you find in this a conflict with the message delivered by the angel thirty-odd years before? There is no conflict. The coming of the Son of God was the message of good tidings of peace and it has been the blessing of peace to all those who sincerely have followed his teachings; but among the wicked, those who have rejected his teachings, even though with their lips they have professed to believe in him, there has come the sword. The preaching of the gospel has brought strife, hatred, bloodshed among those who have failed to grasp the significance of his mission and among those who have opposed it. Moreover, this strife and bloodshed has not been confined to those who have not professed belief in his name. The greatest number of wars and the greatest misery through wars, during the past 1,000 years, have been between those who have professed to be his followers." (The Restoration of All Things, 281.)

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Matt 10: 34 – 35

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

Matt 5: 9

 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 

These three verses almost make it look as if Christ might have initiated, or engaged in, conduct inconsistent with what He counselled. This is unlikely to be the case so there must be some other explanation. Any thoughts anybody?

 

Additionally, perhaps its not stretching the point too far to say that if His gospel was to cause variance between family members, then one of the ways in which we could be peacemakers would be to not spread the gospel. Can we be peacemakers but also engage in a course of action that Christ has said would cause conflict?  

the first part is him describing how people will react to him an dhis word.

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You know, if your threads were about quotes from Joseph Smith or Brigham Young you would have a line of posts reminding you that they were just men who put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you and me (that's not really accurate, I put both legs in at the same time once I recognized the phrase).

 

I wonder why you haven't gotten any of those posts.

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You know, if your threads were about quotes from Joseph Smith or Brigham Young you would have a line of posts reminding you that they were just men who put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you and me (that's not really accurate, I put both legs in at the same time once I recognized the phrase).

 

I wonder why you haven't gotten any of those posts.

 

Huh?  I don't get what you're trying to say.  It sounds like you are implying that Matt 10 is a flawed account... that Christ didn't really say that and Matthew wrote it in error?

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You know, if your threads were about quotes from Joseph Smith or Brigham Young you would have a line of posts reminding you that they were just men who put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you and me (that's not really accurate, I put both legs in at the same time once I recognized the phrase).

 

I wonder why you haven't gotten any of those posts.

 

Yes, but these posts are about the teachings of Christ, as reported by Matthew, and He was not just a man, and He probably never wore pants :)

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Huh?  I don't get what you're trying to say.  It sounds like you are implying that Matt 10 is a flawed account... that Christ didn't really say that and Matthew wrote it in error?

 

No, he's saying that people are unforgiving jerks when it comes to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

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I still don't understand... I don't get how it relates to the Matthew verses.

 

Christ's apostles and prophets teach the same doctrine that Christ himself teaches, yet those who find joy in diminishing the prophets and magnifying their error-prone humanity would take the selfsame doctrine Christ taught in Matthew and crucify the prophets with it, if the prophets had taught it and it were not found in Matthew. So the prophets, who by definition are mouthpieces for God, are esteemed as dross.

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Christ's apostles and prophets teach the same doctrine that Christ himself teaches, yet those who find joy in diminishing the prophets and magnifying their error-prone humanity would take the selfsame doctrine Christ taught in Matthew and crucify the prophets with it, if the prophets had taught it and it were not found in Matthew. So the prophets, who by definition are mouthpieces for God, are esteemed as dross.

 

Vort, I am sorry for my foggy brain and obtuseness.  I just can't seem to grasp what you are saying.  "Selfsame doctrine that Christ taught in Matthew... not found in Matthew" - my brain is not processing this.  Maybe it will help if you give a specific example to shake my lightbulb.

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anatess, you're over thinking this. Mordorbund (as Mordorbund is wont to do) was making snide commentary that people do back flips to explain Christ's words that seem contradictory, but won't do the same for His prophets.

 

Oh.  Okay.  Lightbulb.  LOL!  Sorry...

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Matt 10: 34 – 35

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

Matt 5: 9

 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 

These three verses almost make it look as if Christ might have initiated, or engaged in, conduct inconsistent with what He counselled. This is unlikely to be the case so there must be some other explanation. Any thoughts anybody?

 

Additionally, perhaps its not stretching the point too far to say that if His gospel was to cause variance between family members, then one of the ways in which we could be peacemakers would be to not spread the gospel. Can we be peacemakers but also engage in a course of action that Christ has said would cause conflict?  

 

In Matthew 10:35 Christ is paraphrasing Micah 7:6. If you can figure out what Micah chapter 7 is talking about, if might explain Christ's use of the verse.

 

M.

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Matt 10: 34 – 35

 

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

FINROCK RESPONSE: Here is how I understand this scripture and it also reconciles both scriptures you mention.

 

God's word is a sword that cuts to the core of a person. Once that core has been penetrated and God's words sink deep in to a person's heart they must now chose. Will they continue with the traditions of their fathers and mothers or will they reject them and follow Christ. This decision to follow Christ will cause variance against those who have no desires to follow Christ, even variance between sons and fathers, daughters and mothers, or dauther-in-law against mother-in-law.

 

-Finrock

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  • 2 weeks later...

Matt 10: 34 – 35

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

Matt 5: 9

 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 

 

Additionally, perhaps its not stretching the point too far to say that if His gospel was to cause variance between family members, then one of the ways in which we could be peacemakers would be to not spread the gospel. Can we be peacemakers but also engage in a course of action that Christ has said would cause conflict?  

 

I think this discussion illustrates some of the issues and scenarios that I hinted at in my posting on Matt 10:34-35 and Matt 5:9. For some people, they will be faced with a choice of either being a peace maker by attending the wedding, or living the gospel in the way they see proper, and not attending the wedding, thereby creating the possibility of conflict. 

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I think this discussion illustrates some of the issues and scenarios that I hinted at in my posting on Matt 10:34-35 and Matt 5:9. For some people, they will be faced with a choice of either being a peace maker by attending the wedding, or living the gospel in the way they see proper, and not attending the wedding, thereby creating the possibility of conflict. 

 

You are correct askandanswer!  This is a prime example, indeed!

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