Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am thankful for the fact that I am able to post these messages. I hope that everyone is having a good week. I had to delay the sermon one day because I had to get a dead tree that was right by my house cut down. We were afraid that it might fall on the house. Thankfully, it is now safely removed. Thanks be to God, I did not have to pay anything to have it taken out.
This has been another good week in writing, and I am thankful to the Lord for that. I am still praying that I can get my house sold, and I would like to find a little more writing work or a part-time job. Please pray that the Lord will direct my ways in these matters.
Please continue to pray for those in Puerto Rico who are having problems due to the hurricanes. There are still many who need help and have a long way to go to recover.
Let us continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Pray for peace in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, South Sudan and Congo.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Myanmar and Kosovo. Pray that the message of Jesus' love will reach many in these two nations.
Today, we are continuing with our series of messages on passages and verses in the Bible that are misinterpreted or taken out of context. The passage that we are going to focus on today is a passage that is usually misinterpreted by those who are not Christians. They use it incorrectly to say that Jesus did not come to this earth to bring peace, and the the Christian religion is a violent and not a peaceful religion.
The passage in question is found in Luke 12:49-53. There is a similar passage in Matthew 10. The verse of controversy is verse 51 which states, "Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." Jesus would go on to state that there would be people in families that would be divided against each other because of Him. Father would be divided against son and daughter would be divided against mother.
What does this all mean? First of all, let's get the misinterpretation of this verse out of the way. Jesus is by no means saying that He is not for peace and is for war or violence. This is nowhere found in the Bible.
When Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds that peace was upon the earth. One of the names of Jesus recorded in the book of Isaiah is that He is the Prince of Peace.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that the peacemakers would be blessed, and they would be called the children of God.
When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He did not resist. He told Peter to put away his sword. He said that those who live by the sword would die by the sword.
Jesus clearly taught the way of peace and non-violence in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that we should love our enemies. He told us to turn the other check. He told us to do good to those who were opposed to us.
Jesus was the man of peace, and Jesus brings peace. Jesus brings peace to every aspect of life.
We can only know spiritual peace through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and to be our Savior and Lord, we can have a peace that comes from Jesus that will pass all understanding. Jesus said that He would be our peace. He ascended into Heaven and left peace in our hearts through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Following the teachings and the commandments of Jesus is what will bring peace to every human relationship. If people would follow the teachings of Jesus, there would be peace in families and within communities. The nations of the world would know peace if they would follow the way of Jesus Christ.
Now, let me be clear. There has been a lot of violence and war perpetrated in the name of Jesus over the course of the last 2,000 years. That is not because of anything that Jesus taught. That is because people that claim to follow Jesus don't actually do what He says.
I have a degree in theology, but I also have a degree in history. I have extensively studied the history of the Byzantine Empire. Here is an empire that claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ. There were many great saints and theologians in Byzantium. However, this empire was constantly at war. Many of these were wars of aggression. If you read the history of the Byzantine Empire, it was filled with corruption at the highest levels. Some of the things that people did in this place in the name of Jesus will make you sick.
Many have used the Christian faith and the name of Jesus for wrong. People have preached crusades that tried to motivate people to take up the sword. Of course, this isn't something that Jesus would have ever advocated or condoned. Nothing is more antithetical to who Jesus is than those who want to conquer under the sign of the cross.
Jesus taught that we are to treat others in the way that we would want to be treated. He taught us to put others first. He taught the way of love and compassion.
Now, what was Jesus talking about then when He said that He had not come to bring peace? Jesus knew that His teachings would cause division because some would absolutely follow His way, while others would be vehemently opposed to His ways and His teachings. We see this right in Jesus' own time. The religious leaders didn't want to have anything to do with Him. The sought to have Him killed. Others followed Jesus and loved Him with all of their hearts.
When you seek to follow the way of Jesus, you will face opposition, and that might come from your own family and friends. I know that after my Dad became a Christian, none of his old friends wanted to have anything to do with him anymore. I've known some people who were members of a different religion who when they came to faith in Jesus Christ, their family disowned them and treated them as if they were dead.
This is what Jesus is speaking about. Following Him will have consequences that might even be at the most intimate family level. The apostle Paul speaks about the fact that some in the church even had their husbands and wives abandon them after they came to Jesus.
Even though many people will reject those who try to faithfully follow Jesus, that doesn't mean that Jesus is not the way of peace. If everyone would follow Jesus, there would be perfect peace. And that perfect peace will come one day when Jesus comes again to rule and reign on this earth in power and great glory.
There is one last thing that I want to mention. Jesus does not need anyone to defend Him through violence. Jesus does not want us to retaliate against others when we are persecuted. One day, Jesus was going through the area of Samaria, and the people of Samaria rejected Him. Some of Jesus' disciples wanted to call fire down from heaven in judgment. However, Jesus sternly rebuked them for even thinking this. This wasn't who Jesus was. He was and is the man of peace and love.
Jesus extends His peace and love to the world. He desires that all people everywhere come to Him and receive His love, forgiveness and peace. I hope that if you have not already come to Jesus as Savior and Lord that you will do so today.
Next week, we will continue in our current sermon series. I will post the message on Friday. I will post the verses on Monday, and there will be a review on Wednesday. On other thing, they are already calling for tornadic storms in my area for midweek. Please pray that these do not materialize. May God bless you all. Amen.
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