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Non-trivial interpretations please...

Matt 10:34 "I did not come to bring peace but a sword." (NIV)

I am contemplating using this (in its slightly wider context) as part of my Remembrance Sunday sermon.

One commentator, offering a reasoned interpretation suggests it means, roughly, in my paraphrase, "my coming is not the beginning of the reign of peace, that's still in the future, rather my role is like that of a sword, cleaving flesh from bone."  Well, OK, but I'm not quite sure how that gets me any further on.

Any thoughts?  (Greek words allowed if you explain them - not everyone who calls by reads Greek or has a lexicon to help them; Hebrew I don't understand at all so if you use that I'll definitely need help)

Comments

  • From Hauerwas' 2006 Matthew Brazos Theological commentary:

    'The sword Jesus has brought, the sword that is an alternative to the peace of the world, is the sword of the cross ... That Christians carry no sword other than the cross does not mean, however, that we are sent into the world defenseless. In the book of Hebrews we are told that the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword ... Jesus however is clear. Attempts to secure our lives through means offered by the world are doomed to failure. If we are to find our lives, it seems, we must be prepared to lose our lives ...

  • John Nolland (in his NICNT commentary on Matthew) sets this verse in the context of an eschatological discourse on the consequences of following Jesus.

    vv 24-27 speak of coming persecution, vv.35-37 extend this promise of conflict and rejection to family relationships, v. 38 speaks of taking up your cross to follow Jesus.

    Jesus tells his disciples 3 times not to fear.

    v. 26 not to fear those who will mistreat them, v. 28, not to fear those who can kill the body, v. 33 not to fear given that God cares for them much more than for sparrows (even the hairs on their head are numbered).

    In v. 34 the language is -

    "deliberately paradoxical. Peace is self-evidently the goal of Jesus' ministry [cf. Matt 10:13] and the goal of the Jewish eschatological hope... But the OT prophesies that the day of the Lord will be darkness and not light, "destruction", "gloom", "very terrible" (Amos 5:18; Joel 1:15, 2:1-2, 11, 31; Isa. 13:6; etc.) , and the apocalyptic tradition anticipated a time of great distress to usher in the end (cf. 4 Ezra 6:24 - 'At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies', Jubilees 23:16 'They will strive with each other, the young with the old and the old with the young", cf. 4 Ezra 9:2-3; 1 Enoch 100:1-4, etc.).

    In other words, don't come to me expecting an easy life. "The call is to make a dangerous and unself-regarding choice to follow Jesus".

    I guess you could set this alongside the Johannine discourse (John's equivalent treatment of this material?) in Jn 14:26-28. "My peace I give to you... not as the world gives... do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" and Jn 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble, but do not be afraid for I have overcome the world".

    I think all this sort of agrees with the paraphrase you started with. I'll be interested to know what you eventually make of the passage.

    Posted by: andy jones

  • Thank you both; each of these is helpful and useful, as is, if I'm honest, the Hagner I started with.

    In the end the readings I will be using (which I'd settled on before these comments arrived, honest, something about H Sp. maybe) are...

    Micah 4:1 - 5 as "call to worship"

    Hebrews 4:12 -13

    Matthew 10:34-39 and Matthew 26:47 - 56 (these two basis for sermon)

    John 14:26 - 27 (after sermon)

    We'll see how it goes!

    Posted by: Catriona

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