What did Jesus mean about His bringing a Sword?
An Investigation of Mat. 10:34b-35a
By Jonathan Mitchell
Our investigation will begin by considering the immediate context, in Mat. 10:
32. "Everyone, then, that will keep on confessing in Me, and acknowledging union with Me and speaking in accord with Me, in front of (before and in the presence of) the People (the humans), I, Myself, also will continue to acknowledge union with him, confessing within him, and will keep on speaking of him in the same way (saying the same thing of him) within the midst of him, in front of (before, in the presence of, and face to face with) My Father - the One within, and in union with, the heavens (or: in the midst of these atmospheres).
33. "Yet, whoever may at some point say, 'No' to, or contradict, Me (or: would decline Me; or: can deny or disown Me), in front of the People (the humans), I, Myself, also will proceed to say, 'No' to, or contradict, him (or: will continue to decline, disown or deny him), in front of My Father - the One within, and in union with, the heavens (or: in the midst of the atmospheres).
34. "YOU folks should not assume from custom or infer from the Law that I come (or: go; came) to throw peace (a joining) upon the Land (or: earth). I do (or: did) not come to throw (impose) peace or joining, but to the contrary, a sword (a curved weapon for close combat)!
35. "You see, I come (or: came; go) to disunite (to make to be two and then pit): 'a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law,'
36. "And so,'a person's enemies [are/will be] those of his own household.' [Micah 7:6]
37. "The person habitually having fondness and affection for father and mother over, or more than, Me is not suitable for Me (or: is not My equivalent, or worthy and deserving one). Likewise, the person continuing in having fondness and affection for a son or daughter over, or more than, Me is not suitable for Me (My equivalent, or worthy and deserving one).
38. "Furthermore, he who is not habitually taking his cross (execution-stake; hanging-pole) and then constantly following after (behind) Me, is not suitable for Me (My equivalent).
39. "The person who is searching and then finding his own soul (his own will, intellect, emotions and self-life as his goals; or: the self, identity and consciousness that he is; or: the life from him), will be repeatedly losing it. You see, whoever may intend (or: should purpose; might set his will; happens to want) to keep his soul-life safe (rescue himself; preserve the conscious life that he is living) will continue loosing-away, ruining and destroying it. And yet the person completely loosing-away, destroying, actively ruining, or losing, his soul (the consciousness which is him; his own will, self-focused life of a self-seeking, self- possessed persona and identity; or: his emotions, his plans and goals) - on account of Me - will be progressively finding and discovering it [i.e., the true self & consciousness]. [cf Mat. 16:24-26]
Jesus begins this passage by speaking about a follower's relationship to Him and to His Father - the One within the heavens and these atmospheres. A vital relationship required that a person would "keep on confessing in Me, and acknowledging union with Me and speaking in accord with Me, in front of (before and in the presence of) the People (or: the humans)" (vs. 32a). Someone who contradicts Him, or denies Him, or declines Him will have this same behavior, attitude and relationship related about him, in front of (or: in the presence of) the Father (vs. 33). There were requirements for being a disciple, or an apprentice, of Jesus. Verses 37 and 38 give further instruction about who would NOT be "suitable" for Him, in this particular and restrictive relationship and position with Him. Apprenticeship (discipleship) required total commitment. One must be taking "his cross (execution-stake; hanging-pole) and then constantly following after (behind) Me" (vs. 38). This begs the question: Where was He going? Well, yes, to His death, on the cross. This does not sound very inviting. No wonder there were only a few who became His followers, at that time.
Verse 39 offers us two existential pronouncements from Jesus. The first one describes the life of an ordinary person who is in the process of trying to find himself. In Mat. 16:25a, Jesus put it this way:
"You see, whoever may intend (or: should purpose; might set his will; happens to want) to keep his soul-life safe (rescue himself; preserve the conscious life that he is living) will continue loosing-away, ruining and destroying it."
The second pronouncement of 10:39 offers an incentive for following His Path:
"the person completely loosing-away, destroying, actively ruining, or losing, his soul(the consciousness which is him; his own will, self-focused life of a self-seeking, self- possessed persona and identity; or: his emotions, his plans and goals) - on account of Me - will be progressively finding and discovering it."
So what does all this have to do with Jesus' Sword? Our theme verse instructs us:
"YOU folks should not assume from custom or infer from the Law that I come (or: go; came) to throw peace (a joining) upon the Land (or: earth). I do (or: did) not come to throw (impose) peace or joining, but to the contrary, a sword. You see, I come (or: came; go) to disunite..." (vs. 34-35a)
This seems to be contrary to the Good News which Jesus brought, and which those like Paul taught. He went on (vs. 35b-36) to make this disunity close and personal:
"a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a bride against her mother-in-law. And so, a person's enemies [are/will be] those of his own household."
But then, in vs. 37, He explains what He means:
"The person habitually having fondness and affection for father and mother over, or more than, Me is not suitable for Me (or: is not My equivalent, or worthy and deserving one). Likewise, the person continuing in having fondness and affection for a son or daughter over, or more than, Me is not suitable for Me (My equivalent, or worthy and deserving one)."
Take note of the parenthetical alternate renderings. Apprenticeship, or discipleship, meant becoming a worthy and deserving person, i.e., becoming His equivalent. Remember that He said,
"The person habitually trusting and progressively believing into Me, the works (actions; deeds) which I Myself am constantly doing (habitually performing; progressively making, constructing, creating or forming) that person also will proceed doing (performing; making; creating; producing), and he or she will progressively be doing and producing greater than these, because I Myself am progressively journeying (going from one place to another; [cf vss. 2-3, above]) toward (or: facing; face-to-face with) the Father" (Jn. 14:12).
This is the goal of an apprentice of Jesus. The apprentice of a master normally becomes a master of the craft. Think about Peter and Paul, in the book of Acts. Recall the pastoral admonition in 2 Tim. 2:15,
"Make haste and hurry on, with earnest endeavor and diligence, to place yourself alongside as an approved and qualified workman, in, with, and by, God (or: to hand yourself over to, and for, God, as a tried and approved workman), one without cause for shame, consistently cutting straightly and directly [cf Prov. 3:6 and 11:5, LXX] the Word of the Truth, [following] the Blueprint from this Reality (or: habitually cutting an upright and erect [line through] the Logos of the Truth; continually cutting with the message of reality in a straight direction; constantly making a straight cut {or: wound} with the speech of this Reality; also: = dealing straightforwardly and plowing a straight furrow with the discourse of Reality; or: repeatedly dividing and marking out straight [boundaries] by the Reason which is the Truth: that Flow of Information that is a Pattern-forming Influence, which is this unconcealed and open Actuality)."
And so, the apprenticeships continue, from generation to generation.
Jesus' life, ministry and death disunited Himself and His followers from the leadership of first century Judea, and from the cultus of the established priesthood. His resurrection, His departure, and the resulting empowerment of His apprentices, began disrupting the status quo of Second Temple (Babylonian [Walter Brueggemann]) Judaism, and then brought the sword of the Romans upon Judea and Jerusalem in AD 70. In the period between the beginning of Jesus' ministry and the destruction of Jerusalem, the Sword of His presence made personal and family divisions. Some accepted Him, others rejected Him.
There are in the NT, however, other references to the Sword. In Eph. 6:17 we are instructed:
"And at once accept (or: receive and retain) for yourselves the helmet of the means of Deliverance (or: which comes from the Imparter of Salvation; that belongs to the imparting of health and wholeness; which is the means of restoration to the original realm and condition) and the Spirit's sword (the short sword from the Attitude; or: the dagger which is spirit; the dirk which is the Breath-effect) - the one being God's gush-effect (or: which is the result of the flow from God; the one existing [as] a result of a flux or an effect of a continuous movement, the source of which is God; or: which is a spoken Word of God; or: that being an utterance or declaration which is God)" [cf 2 Cor. 10:3-6]
Then, in Heb. 4:12, we read:
"You see it follows that, the Word of God (or: God's Thought, Idea, Reason, and Message; or: the expressed Logos and Blueprint from God; or: the Pattern-forming Influence, which is God) [is] living (or: alive), and active (working; operative; energetic; at work; productive) and more cutting above every two-mouthed (-edged) sword, even passing through (penetrating) as far as a dividing (or: parting; partitioning) of soul and spirit (or: of inner self-life/consciousness and breath-effect), both of joints and marrows, even [being] able to sift, separate and discern (or: and [is] skilled in judging and deciding) concerning thoughts (ponderings; reasonings; musings; reflections; in-rushings; passions; sentiments) and intentions (notions; purposes; mental inclinations) of a heart (= from the core of one's being; or: which are [the] "heart")."
The Fruit of the Joining - which would be Union and Peace - was "phase two" which followed the Word of God "passing through" and then "dividing," or the "sifting and separating," of which we read in this verse from Hebrews. We find the same message from John the Baptizer, in Mat. 3:12, which used the metaphor of threshing wheat: separating the grain from the chaff. Jesus would do this: it would be Judea's "baptism with Holy Spirit and Fire" (Mat. 3:11b).
With these clues in mind, we turn to the symbolism in An Unveiling (Revelation). In 1:16 we find:
"a sharp two-mouthed (= double-edged) broadsword is continuously (or: repeatedly) proceeding (issuing forth) from out of His mouth..."
Then, in 2:12,
"The One constantly holding (having) the sharp, two-mouthed broadsword is presently laying out and saying these things..."
And in 2:16,
"I will proceed waging war (doing battle) with THEM within the broadsword of (or: from; which is) My mouth."
Revelation 19:15a offers us a dramatic, symbolic picture of the victorious Christ:
"Also, a sharp two-edged broadsword repeatedly goes out (issues forth; proceeds) from His mouth, to the end that in it He would bring a blow to (or: could touch; should strike) the multitudes (nations; ethnic groups). And then He will continue shepherding them with an iron staff..."
The Sword which Jesus threw (or: imposed) upon the Land of Judea came through the Words which He taught and preached. Since then, it has come upon the rest of the earth. But in the immediate context of our Mat. 10 passage, above, we wonder about the later instructions which Jesus gave to His disciples, in Lu. 22:
36. So then, He rejoined to them, "But in contrast now, the one normally having a purse - let him take [it] up; likewise, also, a food pouch (or: pack; beggar's sack). And the person not now having a sword - let him at once sell his cloak (or: outer garment) and buy [one].
37. "You see, I continue telling (laying it out to) you folks that it continues necessary and binding for the thing having been written to be brought to its goal and finished (or: completed and accomplished) in Me,'And He was logically counted (or: classed; considered; reckoned) with the lawless folks (or: criminals).' [Isa. 53:12; Mk. 15:27-28]For also, that which concerns (or: = what [is written] about) Me is presently having an end (or: continues possessing a [or: the] final act; progressively holds a destiny)."
38. So they said, "Look, Lord, here [are] two swords!" And so He replied to them, "It is enough (or: That is sufficient)."
This instruction, in Lu. 22:36b, seems strange, considering His instruction at His being arrested in Gethsemane, where He told the one who used his sword,
"Turn away (= Return) your knife (or: sword) into its place. You see, all those taking [up] a knife (or: a sword) will proceed in destroying themselves in union with a knife (or: continue losing themselves [being] centered in a sword)" (Mat. 26:52; [cf Jn. 18:11]).
Perhaps in the Luke passage, He was simply using this as a figure of speech, indicating that soon their conditions would change and that they would be facing folks who might be hostile to them. Or, with such folks observing that they were armed, it might deter aggressive actions, and in such a case the minimal possession of just two swords was in reality just to be for "show." Or perhaps, this was actually parabolic language: a prelude to what Paul would teach in Eph. 6:17.
But the division (Mat. 10:35a) which He accomplished was just the prelude to the ensuing effects of this Sword, as we find in Eph. 2:
14. You see, He Himself is our Peace (or: continuously exists being our JOINING and harmony [of Israel with the Gentiles]) - the One making (forming; constructing; creating; producing) The Both [to be] one, and within His flesh (= physical being; or: = system-caused crucifixion) is instantly destroying (unbinding; unfastening; loosing; causing to collapse) the middle wall of the fenced enclosure (or: of the partition; which was the barrier): the enmity (cause of hate, alienation, discord and hostility; characteristics of an enemy),
15. rendering useless and inoperative (nullifying; rendering down in accord with inactivity and unemployment; abolishing) the Law (or: the custom; = the Torah) of the implanted goals (or: concerning impartations of the finished product within; from commandments; which was inward directives) consisting in decrees (or: prescribed ordinances and dogmas which are the results of opinions and perceptions of what seems right or good), to the end that He may frame (create; found and settle from a state of wildness and disorder) The Two into One qualitatively New and Different [p46 & others: common] Humanity centered within the midst of, and in union with, Himself, continuously making (progressively creating, constructing and forming) Peace by a Joining; [2 Cor. 5:17; note: these verses, may fit John Milbank's phrase, "an ontology of peace"]
16. and then should fully transfer, from a certain state to another which is quite different, The Both - centered in, and within the midst of, One Body in God (or: make completely other, while moving away from what had existed, and fully reconcile The Both, in one Body, by, to, with and for God), through the cross (execution stake) - while, in the midst of Himself, killing the enmity and discordant hatred (or: killing-off the characteristics of enemies within it). [cf Rom. 6:6; 1 Cor. 10:17; Eph. 4:4; Col. 3:15]
The division caused by the Christ Event may be compared to the division which God performed upon Adam, in order to create Eve. In both cases, the goal in mind was to "create a more perfect union." Christ cut out the old (2 Cor. 5:17) in order to bring in the new arrangement - the new creation - in which,
"Within [Him; us], there is not (there does not exist) Jew nor Greek (or: Hellenist); within, there is not (does not exist) slave nor freeman; within, there is not (does not exist) 'male and female'; for it follows that, you folks all exist being ONE, WITHIN Christ Jesus (or: for you see, all you people are one person, centered in, and in union with, an Anointing from Jesus)" (Gal. 3:28).
The "old things" passed away.
In one of his lectures, Walter Brueggemann made an inciteful statement: "Words create worlds." We are reminded of the Gospel of John, 1:3, which speaks of The Logos:
"All things suddenly happened and came to be (or: occur and come to be; were birthed; came about) by means of It, or Him (or: He at some point gives birth to all humanity through It), and apart from It (or: Him) not even one thing comes into being (occurs; was birthed; came into being; happens) which has come into being (which has occurred; which has happened or come about)."
The Law, which was given to Moses, created the world of Israel. In American history, the Declaration of Independence, and then the Constitution, created a new world for its citizens. The Incarnation of the Logos, and what followed, created the New Reality within which we now live.
Jonathan
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