ABSOLUTE HONESTY
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” - Jesus (Matthew 10:34)
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; 36 and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
1. CONFLICT
Nowhere is the sheer honesty of Jesus more vividly displayed than in these verses.
John 7:41-43 - But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" So there was a division among the people because of Him
John 9:16 - Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.
John 10:19-20 - Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"
2. CHOICE
It is possible for those closest to you to become, in effect, your enemies, if the thought of them keeps you from doing what you know God wants you to do.
Joshua 24:15 – “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
3. CROSS
Galileans knew what the cross was. The Roman General Varus crushed a Jewish revolt and crucified 2,000 Galileans placed the crosses along the roads of Galilee.
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Hebrews 9:26-28 – “But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”