There’s a lot to unpack in today’s scripture from Matthew, and there’s not enough time to get into everything Jesus says here. But suffice it to say, he outlines for the disciples just how costly their discipleship might be. Jesus tells the disciples that things will not be easy and that they will face trials to the point of death. But then there’s this curious little thing Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” This seems to upend so many of the things we have heard and been taught about Jesus. I think it’s easy for folks to cling to the idea of Jesus as a peacekeeper, as someone meek and submissive. But even Jesus would disagree with that description. His goal was not to “keep the peace” or to play nice. His goal was change- change for the people, change for Israel, change for the future.
Change management is a difficult thing. Folks do NOT do well with change (myself included). When working through a big change, sometimes, you have to be a peace-maker and sometimes you have to be a sword. The challenge is knowing the difference.
Jesus understood the spiritual conflict and opposition that his message and presence would provoke. His teachings challenged the religious and societal norms of His time, leading to conflicts with the religious authorities and even divisions within families. We’ve seen this again and again in his various teaching and in the reactions of the authorities to his words. We know that Jesus' message of truth, love, and righteousness had the potential to cause division and strife. It was this division that would eventually lead to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. We know all of that.
But this scripture takes place before that happened. We are at a point in Jesus' ministry where things are starting to get a bit spicy. When Jesus was sending his disciples out to do the work, he realized that things were not going to be perfectly ideal. He understood that his message could be divisive to the point of turning family members against each other and causing unrest. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand the magnitude of what they were about to do. Last week we heard the admonitions to “Go nowhere among the Gentiles” (10:5), and “Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff” (10:9–10). We heard the dire warnings of “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves” (10:16), for “they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues” (10:17). And just to be sure they understand, Jesus reminds them, “You will be hated by all because of my name” (10:22).
Great Jesus, this sounds just fantastic. What are we signing up for again? And as if to seal the deal entirely, in today’s reading we hear, ““do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (10:28). So clearly, some folks aren’t even going to make it out of this whole venture alive. These are dire warnings, and a sure recognition that the work ahead was dangerous. It is in this context that Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Things are going to be dangerous. When walking in to a truly dangerous situation, do you go in expecting peace and hoping for the best? Or do you go in expecting trouble and hope for peace to happen eventually?
I think Jesus understood that sometimes hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst is the best strategy. And I think that’s what Jesus means about being the sword. Of COURSE, Jesus wants peace and for everyone to be safe and happy, but he is prepared to be the sword.
This is the side of Jesus folks like to forget- the Jesus that turned over money changers' tables and wielded a whip. The Jesus who tells his Disciples they might need to sell their clothing to purchase a sword if they need one. The revolutionary Jesus, a Jesus who wants to lead his followers away from a legalistic religion and political pandering. The Jesus who wants the crowd to get riled up and angry. The Jesus who came to start a fire and watch the structures of the world burn and tumble to the ground. Just because his motivation was love, doesn’t mean his methods were always pacifist.
To be clear, peace and pacifism have their place. Sometimes “playing nice” can get people to change, but it can rarely get large systems to change. History has demonstrated again and again the futility of peacefully denouncing unjust social structures. And to be clear, not all uses of force are the same. The violence employed by the marginalized to overcome oppression is in reality self-defense against the oppressor’s institutionalized violence designed to sustain and maintain subjugation. Unconditional love for the very least might lead to the unselfish act of standing in solidarity with the oppressed in their battle for self-preservation.
And I think that’s what Jesus means by being the sword. He is prepared for his words to cause division and anger. He is prepared for violence to occur because of what he says and does. He is prepared to rock the very foundation of the structures holding oppression in place. Sometimes, the conflict and disruption of Jesus' message are the entire points of the message. Oppression has to be overturned. Sometimes that requires resistance, sometimes it requires peaceful protest, sometimes, it requires a sword.
To be clear, I am not advocating violence for violence's sake, and neither was Jesus. But, sometimes the move toward peace requires upheaval, conflict, discord, and yes, sometimes even violence.
Change doesn’t always come peacefully. In fact, it usually doesn’t happen at all without some sort of conflict. While conflict is often seen as a negative or disruptive force, it can also serve as a catalyst for growth, innovation, and positive change. Conflict can bring underlying issues and tensions to the surface. It highlights areas of disagreement, dissatisfaction, or misalignment, making them visible and requiring attention. By exposing these issues, conflict acts as a trigger for change by signaling the need for resolution. Jesus certainly brought underlying issues to the surface and made them more visible.
These were desperate political and financial times steeped in violence and greed. And in the middle of all of this, there’s Jesus who sees people under the painful yoke of Roman occupation and taxation. And while the religious authorities could have worked to help the people, they instead operated as spiritual elites, mostly ignoring the people most affected by Rome’s occupation.
Jesus loved the people and wanted them to be clothed and fed. He didn’t want them to suffer. He knew the only way forward was division. Division from Rome, division from spiritual elitism. He knew that the only way to be able to build something new was to burn the old systems to the ground and start over.
When he did this, he was a sword.
The good news here is that we have a broader understanding of Jesus than just one moment in a gospel text. We know that Jesus was a complicated man who was working against a system of oppression. We know that Jesus was a kind and peaceful person, for the most part, and that he advocated for those who were marginalized and maligned by the authorities and the law. But today’s scripture is a powerful reminder that Jesus understood that change isn’t always a peaceful process. He understood that sometimes he needed to be the sword.
Amen.