COMPARING JESUS AND MUHAMMAD Prt3

COMPARING JESUS AND MUHAMMAD!!!

Two days ago, I started with comparing the words on the lips of these two men and yesterday, I took the pain to clarify the words of Luke 19:27 that it never meant Jesus' ordering the execution of His physical enemies though it points to the spiritual death (separation) of everyone who refuses Jesus' Lordship (Muslims inclusive).

There was no one who disproved the exegesis of that verse and this implies that my Muslim friends understood perfectly the message of that verse, in contradistinction to what they were taught. I'm grateful to God for that. It's my sincere prayer that the continuation today will do a better job (Amen).

The passage to be considered today is Matthew 10:34 and I pray we would have a clearer understanding in Jesus' name (Amen). This chapter is the ''missionary message''  by Jesus replicated in Luke 9. Jesus said ''Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.''

Peace, in this verse, refers  to lack of persecution of the disciples who are to preach the salvation message to an unbelieving, hostile world. Verses 16-23 detail the persecution. Jesus said the disciples  (and subsequent Christian missionaries/evangelists of future generations) will be delivered to the state leadership for punishment and this will serve as opportunity to bear witness of Jesus before these people. This is seen fulfilled in Paul (Acts chapter 22 onwards).

In verses 21 and 22 of Matthew 10, Jesus talked about domestic and general persecution, ever before He mentioned the word ''sword''. Then, He added that preachers should escape from places of persecution as soon as they can. Apostle Paul did this throughout Acts chapters 13 to 18. The earliest Christians also flee from persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 8: 3-4).

Jesus gave the premise for this persecution which is how He was also persecuted and eventually will be killed (vv. 24-25). He warned the disciples against fear of those who persecute and kill (vv. 26, 28), urged them to preach loudly what He had taught them secretly (v. 27), and then assured them of the Father's sovereignty and concern for them (vv. 29-30). Preachers are to be fearless since they are of great worth/value to God. How we treat Jesus is also how Jesus will treat us on the judgment day (vv. 32-33).

Now, we come to the verse we are to discuss (Matthew 10:34)! Still in this context of evangelism, Jesus declared (as He did in vv. 21 and 22, that His coming was not to  COMPULSORILY establish family ties, especially as one's family and relatives would also be involved in this persecution exercise (v. 36). He said that identifying with Him MIGHT and DO require that we love Him more than we love our families such that the love for our families may compare to hate (cf. Mal. 1:3; Luke 14:26)!

It is inevitable to have unbelieving relatives/family members (like me) and some might even be hostile to the Christian gospel message. And, while Jesus respects family ties, He values and honours the gospel message over and above family ties (cf. Luke 8: 19-21). So, Jesus taught that we should be prepared for hatred and rejection by family members, if need be, as we hold tenaciously to and persistently preach the gospel message to them and the world at large.

So, when Jesus claimed to bring sword, He used it in the figurative sense that He brought ''war'', ''battle'', ''disunity'' and also ''death'' as an expected consequence of persecution (as discussed above). When Jesus said He brought ''sword'', He was not referring to the ''swords'' used in battles, since He NEVER fought any physical battle. He referred, rather, to ''warfare'' as seen in how the earliest disciples were fiercely pursued, persecuted and killed, even by their blood relatives.

Jesus did not bring ''swords'' (plural), He brought a ''sword'' (singular). He did not share swords for people to engage in fight. So, when we treat Matthew 10:34 in light of the whole chapter, we'd see that this singular mention of the singular noun ''sword'' meant absence of agreement with members of one's family and others when it comes to upholding the gospel message.

Can you now see also why non-Christians (no matter how close we are) WILL NEVER agree with Christians concerning the gospel message? Jesus, the All-Knowing, has revealed that His message is one of division among even closest pals of blood ties. The ''sword'' of Matthew 10:34 is not a metal weapon of warfare but a ''metaphor'' for ''division''

God bless you.....

To be continued.........