Jesus Came to Bring Violence - but What Does That Mean for Us?

Ask Pastor John
Episode: 1447
Transcript: www.desiringgod.org/interview...

[@jesuschristbiblebiblestudy]

Jesus did not come to bring 'violence' ... He came to separate the wheat from the chaff. Amen

[@neverthesame2161]

He divides because he is the truth. The truth brings division.

[@agustinmalagonsanchez8256]

I would say that truth does not bring division. Truth actually brings people together. In Galatians 5:16-22, division is listed as a works of the flesh. Divisions are caused by our reluctant nature to obey God. We don’t want to change, we don’t want to acknowledge the truth because it will threaten our current way of life, it will address things we don’t want to address. But it is by the grace of God, that he prepares us to receive his truth, once we have, we can’t help but to turn away from our sinful life. Praise lord Jesus!

[@neverthesame2161]

Agustin Malagon Sanchez some people don’t want to accept the truth, some people embrace it and there lies the divide.

[@agustinmalagonsanchez8256]

Never The Same Its true, some people don’t want to acknowledge it, but it’s not the truths fault, but our sinful behavior. Sin is the root of division.

[@jethroscooter7214]

@@neverthesame2161 the majority of people can’t handle the truth. Many are called few answer.

[@jethroscooter7214]

@@agustinmalagonsanchez8256 sin is the heart of the issue, correct.

[@HearGodsWord]

Violence against idolatry and sin. Not only that but Jesus has already won this war for us!

[@yeahyeahyeah2935]

Hear God's Word amen!!! What a beautiful and powerful God we worship!

[@Oo7Hola]

How do when Christians are still worshiping idols

[@Zed-Head]

A fight for freedom, justice, and righteousness.

[@Yesica1993]

So many things become clear if we just read whole passages, even books, instead of verses here and there.

[@InfoArtistJKatTheGoodInfoCafe]

Not "violence" but truth. And truth divides between those seeking and finding truth and those running from truth. A sword can be used to cut away what is bad, what is rotten.

[@PETERSUANG]

How important of context. Without reading the context, the text will be contradictions. Love you John.

[@incorruptibleword4513]

He brought the separating sword of truth that devides the sheep from the goats the wheat from the tares the righteous from the unrighteous even amongst a household if need be.

[@psalm1197]

INCORRUPTIBLE WORD A much more truthful and sound answer than the what the Pastor gave....thank you

[@Lexilea68]

Amen. The sentence promoting Jesus brought violence to the world did not sit well with me. The sword need not mean it is used for violence. Ugh.

[@incorruptibleword4513]

@Martha belle indeed and its rarely a peaceful business.

[@psalm1197]

INCORRUPTIBLE WORD Exactly, as the millions of martyrs throughout the ages and today too can testify to by their deaths, their losing their lives in defence of the Gospel, AND many of these people were turned in to the authorities by their own children and family members. It happens daily in North Korea. So Yes, the sword stands for division within families and communities, and division often leads to violence. Jesus uses the word SWORD in direct contrast to the word PEACE, as an opposite. So what is opposite to PEACE. the answer is WAR of course. The sword is a weapon of war, it cuts in a very painful and sometimes deadly way. pastor John's answer was very ambiguous and softly softly because the Truth can be ugly. It is a shame he cannot just be direct about this subject as we in the West are on the point of feeling the division and pain this sword brings very soon. I have personal experience of it and have just barely made it through to the other side, and only through the moment by moment help and love of God and His Word.

[@incorruptibleword4513]

@@psalm1197 Yes spiritual warfare is why we must put on the full armour of God. Those born of the spirit do fight in the spirit, those that are carnal fight the flesh.

[@DrRindeGbenro]

Jesus himself is our peace. There will be peace on our land

[@danball4410]

If by "our land" you mean our new heavens and new earth land, then AMEN. After earth's sword has cut as deeply as it is able, then we who belong to Christ will have peace. And in the meantime we have peace with every true child of God no matter what the ethnicity or earthly status. In the meantime, we are thankful for any limited peace on earth that our Lord grants. But things will grow from bad to worse down here.

[@bndfglvllddjdkfkfkf6097]

S_H- IT

[@bndfglvllddjdkfkfkf6097]

Your doctrine is wrong

[@bndfglvllddjdkfkfkf6097]

I ask a debate

[@bndfglvllddjdkfkfkf6097]

@Huey Leadbetter no thats lies

[@JESUSSAVES011]

Lord God I could cry a whole ocean of tears a whole of many rivers with mourning and I would not be able to account for the sorrow that I see in this world. And so I stop to ask oh Soul what use is there in any more crying, what madness it is to be sorrowful! Instead, I will make use of these hours so that my soul shall not regret years of unending woe 20 years from now. Yes, I will find assurance in the God of my salvation and will worship him and align my life and daily work alongside his commandments.

[@jgr7487]

these verses don't read like "be violent", but like "you must follow me 1st, & that will result into you being persecuted". He didn't only say "Blessed are the peacemakers", but he also said "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake"

[@FaithfulandTrue949]

Yes violence against the evil that brings destruction that God hates. The Kingdom has suffered violence, the violent take it by force - we are the peacemakers, we are the meek who inherit it, peaceful protest. Cut off evil like a surgeon's knife. Pursue Holiness, pray always.

[@CHRISTISKING209]

Thank you for clarity

[@JayDUB213512]

Amen Amen Glory to GOD

[@reggiekaz4147]

This video is such a gem. God bless you guys abundantly ❤️🙏🏽

[@simplejuan]

Thank you for the explaination/ God bless.

[@TomStrohOptimalDailyLiving]

Thank you very much for the clarification. This helps me a lot!

[@godschild7909]

He sets us free

[@vico100]

Great!

[@deanweatherly460]

My relationship with my Dad has always been surrounded by spiritual conversation and debate, with tension and uncomfortable disagreements to a level that frustrates me greatly. I fear I have ruined my witness to him by angrily attempting to deliver the truth as it is in the Word properly interpreted through exegesis and discernment but nothing seems to get through and change his mind. He still thinks he believes in Jesus but half of every biblical phrase and idea we talk about we mean different things by since he views spirituality as a more individually principled universal journey disregarding the Bible as authoritative and inspired by God. It always comes back to philosophical assumptions about the nature of truth and where we go to find it, either within ourselves or in scripture and in Jesus ultimately.

[@kayod6611]

Thank God for letting me understand. A few years ago I wouldn’t even have been curious what that verse meant cause of lukewarm ness

[@BROTHERJONATHANBURG]

REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED EVERYONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS AND YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST!!!!

[@emmasophia8897]

Check the political context of the Gospels DURING JESUS' TIME. What did Jesus actually SAY ABOUT HIMSELF (not what OTHERS PERCEIVE of him)? Now, if someone with Jesus' natural personality has been born NOW, what does that mean for us, when it comes to how we view the "establishment"?

[@EJ_Cruz]

John Piper is my favorite pastor.

[@jewishbride5010]

I take matthew 10:34 in accordance with this whole message to be truth at all times, in the name and by the blood of Yeshua, putting unity at all costs under the feet of Yeshua!!!

[@lisahyyppa3360]

🙏🔥🥰🛐✝️ Amen

[@carolina_grace5721]

He is the sword... sword of the spirit

[@SavedByTheBloodOfChrist551]

NO. Ephesians 6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

[@holycats8554]

Radical morning to everyone. Pastor John, Tony Reinke, yes sir, shocked awake, into silence. Pondering the 'sword', armoring up for the day, Ephesians 6:11-18.

[@amareshkaimal2972]

Sounds very tolerant

[@godschild7909]

He teaches love kindness and good things tho

[@pegasus6724]

Jesus / god came with a sword , becuase we came here to learn from a polarity between darkness and light . This was necessary for our spiritual growth . This polarity was what God had to learn from as god was learning about himself when God was self created . God experienced both darkness and light and experimented with his creations in doing so God experienced pain and hardship and suffering , and after which god grew in power love and consciousness . God became better from learning between this polarity and God better appreciated the love and light God was created as . And this is what God wanted for his angels which is us . We are here to learn .

[@mariavecera7659]

The sword of truth not a literal sword Jesus came to Earth to save your soul his Kingdom is Heaven not this mortal world

[@deion312]

CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT

[@randalljewell679]

I mean all you really got to do is read the rest of what He said.

[@robcostello6788]

I think you missed saying That your children are really His children- You are his child and that everyone are are his children... Your children are on Loan to you as you are assigned to raise them for Christ as you were by your parents....He comes first as everyone's Father and creator!

[@yahsprophet4464]

Remember the word variance or variant points to the you know what 💉and backwards Divoc it means to divide in Hebrew so verse 35 same chpt

[@macromicrodragon]

Only real magi know the difference between sword/word/world.

[@TheBuzz222]

For when you decide to pick up you cross, your family if they are not saved they may go against you. The world will hate you because of his name. The world hated Christ long before it hated you. Who will you follow those of the world, or He who is in Heaven. The choice is yours you cant sever two masters.

[@MichaelGroenendijk]

Why you use the word violence? The sword is the sword of righteousness. He showed it us how to fight evil with righteousness and peace of mind and heart.

[@CJHElectro]

You could use the word forcefully instead of violently. It basically means there is no other choice in the matter. We have to choose Jesus and God the Father over everything else.

[@Tessa22]

Is Jesus coming back real soon or is there time?

[@AtamMardes]

If there was a God and Jesus had Godly powers, then Jesus would still be alive today right here for people to see instead of living a so-called heaven. Religion has got the fools by the balls. LOL

[@soithangsing]

Idk

[@Tessa22]

@@AtamMardes yeah we're all fools and you really should go and get a job rather than telling fools that they are fools because we who follow Jesus spend a happy life even in struggles we live joyfully and don't complain like the rest who are all lost and living dead creation who have no hope at all. Whether we live or die we are at a win but to the rest whether they live or they die they're losing both.

[@AtamMardes]

@@Tessa22 ​ LOL. I have no doubt that you are happier fooling yourself with the religious fairy tales. A child is also happy believing Santa Clause is real.

[@Lethargo226]

@@AtamMardes Keep knocking Atam, I will pray for you again. The ten commandments and the glory of the world confirm God and His perfect character and His power. Acknowledge Him, acknowledge your sin and you will be free.

[@amareshkaimal2972]

Wait..whoever takes his cross??? 😮 jesus said this before dying on the cross 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jonnyshelton2657]

The wheat from the chaff...the truth from deception..satan ruler of this world from God's will...

[@pegasus6724]

Cia found the tunnel going under the river to langly cia building

[@rajanvijayudu1337]

What does the visuals mean sir! I mean on background

[@Psalm146-2]

rajan vijayudu my guess - life’s activities are a web that impact others - sometimes directly sometimes indirectly. Eg. If I share the Gospel and that leads to their salvation then that person shares the Gospel which leads to someone else’s salvation.

[@clydeholiday5907]

so what does that mean that means you need to open your Bible and read the four gospels four times four by four quit being lazy and start reading your Bible

[@edgarmorales4476]

When Jesus said: I came not to bring peace, but a sword; Jesus meant: He came to break down the barriers between people, to show people the Truth as best He could, but very few people were ready for it; very few understood.

[@SavedByTheBloodOfChrist551]

And here you are over on this feed saying the same foolishness! What you said here is a lie! I wish someone would have called you out on this already. This doesn't come from the Bible, which is God's word! Where are you getting this false information from???

[@buffplums]

As someone who has pretty much turned away from Christianity, it's an interesting topic. The big problem I've always struggled with it seems like God and Jesus are autocratic and I CANNOT love and worship something or someone who is autocratic, I WILL NOT period. But when I'm in nature, I can see that it has been created in an amazing and beautiful way but nothing in nature is telling me I have to worship it. I'll choose to on a walk in the trees and see the beautiful sunlight shining through and I'll stand there with my arms out feeling the warmth and feeling like I belong. It's the most natural thing in the world and I LOVE IT. Then if I have this discussion with a Christian they will say I'm sinning because I'm worshipping the created rather than the creator!!!!!!! you can't win! So Christianity says I MUST WORSHIP SOME FACELESS DESPOT otherwise I'm not not worthy of him! You know what? I might as well go and worship Allah, total bollocks be on his name, or Adolph, he was a fantastic despot .... Christianity has had its evil grip on me for about 40 years after some lunatic came around my tent at a Boys Brigade camp one night at the age of 13 and told us all if we were to die to tonight and didn't know Jesus then we were going to hell. How the hell can you call that love? Ignoring your argument that we are all born into sin, well yes I can accept that, we are all flawed but it's the way Christianity takes this on and offeres the solution, it's so u friendly for lack of better description .....

[@Lethargo226]

I'm sorry to hear that Chris. Perhaps I can give you a better presentation of the gospel. In the beginning, God created the world and it was perfect, without sin or blemish, and He created mankind, perfect as well and gave them the world to enjoy. God showed love to humanity, and confirmed His love with a covenant to trust Him with good and evil and to pursue happiness in Him. Adam broke covenant with God, and died spiritually. Hence all the evil we now see in the world, and the death and pain, both in humanity and in nature came from the original sin. Now, the right punishment for breaking a covenant with God is death, but God was merciful with humanity, He provided atonement for their sin and promised a son to crush the tempter. You have a problem with hell because you have a low view of who God is. He is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. Totally set apart, high, exalted, worthy of all praise, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. He is the; I AM, THAT I AM. He is "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty". Exodus 34;6-7. The punishment for a crime does not accord with what the criminal thinks of the crime. It is the gravity of the crime that determines the punishment. Stealing from a human being is one thing, stealing from God who created everything and gave it to be enjoyed with faith is another. It is the one who is sinned against that determines the gravity of punishment. Hell gives no one peace, not even Christians, neither do I speak of it freely, no one who knows God wishes it upon anyone. We genuflect before the righteous judgement of God who has been immeasurably kind to us. Do not go by human standards of law and punishment, but it is God who judges. And He will judge by His perfect law. Human beings set laws at their convenience. One person says, 'murder is wrong, but can we really punish people for lying? I mean, everyone lies, right?'. Another says, 'I would never tell a lie, but any man who crosses me will face my sword'. Who is right? They do what is right in their own eyes. And we know that we are criminals, because laws are not set for just people but for criminals. So what is the law of God then, the law by which He will judge? Jesus summed up the laws in two; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself. This is God perfect law in summary. It is the law that exposes sin and by which we will face judgement. And we know sin is real, because we hate it when it is done to us. How do you feel when people mistreat you? The law of God says; You shall not commit adultery, Jesus expands, 'whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her commits adultery in his heart'. Have you done this? You will face God's judgement if you do not repent. The same goes for lying, stealing, taking God's name in vain. Humanity does not know what love is, do not as a sinner judge for yourself, what is love. We cannot. If we do wrong, that is, if we commit sin, isn't our so called 'love', just as sinful as it is? And what is love to us? Isn't it breaking God's law when it suits us and crying foul when others sin against us? Is that love? No, God's standard is higher. God's standard is perfection. You say you have enjoyed God's creation, you marvel at it's beauty? Then why do you not marvel at the mind who created those things? Should not our position be one of constant admiration of the God whose power is so majestic? Look at the stars and planets, the glory and terror of volcanoes, mountains, galaxies, supernovae, black holes? The God who has given you every pleasure to enjoy? Where is your gratitude? Where is your exultation? So you see then that you have failed to love the Lord your God, with all of your being. THAT, is the definition of evil. Evil is defining good and evil yourself, and pursue happiness without God, we can see the effects of this everywhere; war, human trafficking, drug trade, greed, adultery, etc. The bible says the wages of sin is death. The final destruction of hell is for satan and demons, and for those who have sinned against God and have rejected the glory of His gospel. And what is the gospel? Jesus lived a perfect life and fulfilled the whole law, kept it all, all the days of His life, and then paid the price, the eternal price for sin, for ALL who believe in Him, repent of their sin and put their faith in God, by dying on the cross. Thanks be to God who has given us Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, the life! Come, drink the water of life. Acknowledge your sin, repent of it in prayer and ask God to help you understand His ways. Pray for wisdom and read the bible. Your issues with God's rule of the world are ones that we all have, it will be resolved through careful reading and humbling wrestling with God. Faith is not opposed to logic, but to pride. Give up playing god, come home.

[@Yesica1993]

"As someone who has pretty much turned away from Christianity, it's an interesting topic. The big problem I've always struggled with it seems like God and Jesus are autocratic and I CANNOT love and worship something or someone who is autocratic, I WILL NOT period. " Even in the midst of a horrible global pandemic, people "WILL NOT" (your phrase) bow their knees to the God of all the universe. It's horrifying to witness.

[@Yesica1993]

"But when I'm in nature, I can see that it has been created in an amazing and beautiful way but nothing in nature is telling me I have to worship it." Neither is the God who created all things in nature telling you to worship those things. In fact, it explicitly says not to. Instead, we are to worship the One who created it all. "So Christianity says I MUST WORSHIP SOME FACELESS DESPOT " Jesus Christ - the God of the Bible - is not some "faceless despot." He is the One who created the entire universe. He is a morally perfect being, a loving being, but also a just being who cannot ignore sin. "otherwise I'm not not worthy of him! You know what? I might as well go and worship Allah, total bollocks be on his name, or Adolph, he was a fantastic despot ...." Have these others done what the God of the Bible has done? Have they created the universe & all its wonders? Are they morally perfect? Do they provide atonement & forgiveness of sins? "Christianity has had its evil grip on me for about 40 years after some lunatic came around my tent at a Boys Brigade camp one night at the age of 13 and told us all if we were to die to tonight and didn't know Jesus then we were going to hell. How the hell can you call that love? Ignoring your argument that we are all born into sin, well yes I can accept that, we are all flawed but it's the way Christianity takes this on and offeres the solution, it's so u friendly for lack of better description ....." God's moral standard is perfection. None of us can ever reach that. I know I sure can't! We are all sinners. God is a loving but also a just God. He has provided atonement for that sin by the Cross. Either we pay for our sins ourselves or we accept His gracious offer of forgiveness. The fact that you call this "evil" is horrifying. As I said in my other comment, (and in case you haven't heard) we are in the midst of a global pandemic. One would think such a frightening thing would make people think about eternal matters. Understand that you WILL bow before the King of the universe one day - whether in joy & worship or whether in terror. I do hope it will be the former, not the latter.

[@finishtherace3051]

@@Lethargo226 that was the truth that you just spoke and it was beautiful..it touched me

[@finishtherace3051]

@@Yesica1993 wow.. you're right

[@cryeyres1610]

Let me clear it for you. God won't bring peace, but the war on evil. It's called a JUDGEMENT DAY, remember?

[@buffplums]

You see the one question Christians can’t answer is ‘who says the bible is right.’ ? The stock Christian answer is, because it is the word of God. Well I’m sorry but that does not answer the question, Christians bootstrap the authenticity by repeating it is the word of god well who says? They reply, well the bible says. But do you get what I am saying... they cannot answer it. You can’t just argue and say, end of this is the truth because you need to quantify it. How can you quantify something by just saying because it says so! That is not a reasonable answer to trust it

[@streamylc]

sooooo much of the Bible speaks exactly to the mindset your exercising here... prayers for you my man.... God's words will forever be foolishness to you approaching it like this. You should try answering the question for yourself (that's a good place to start) and not leaving your own personal revelation of who Jesus Christ is up to other people's "stock answers". Your bootstrapping Jesus in this comment as much as the "Christians" your referring to

[@buffplums]

Church Watkins IV I have struggled with it all since I became a Christian when I was 20 some 34 years ago ... all along the way despite some really unusual and intense experience (some might liken to the Holy Spirit) I have always found the Bible and particularly Jesus teaching so judgemental that I feel God is constantly pointing his finger at me and it’s just judgement judgement, doom and gloom, thou shalt not this, thou shalt not that and woe to you every flaming other sentence. I have read the Bible so many times, been to endless Bible studies etc etc .... read countless books, these are the worst, Pilgrims progress and The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.... what a terrible book that was but just left me full of despair and guilt. I have reached the point many times where I just can’t deal with all the pressure it puts in me and I have to walk away and then I go back and the same old thing repeats itself. It’s not the way to life a life of faith. In my head, yes, I see what Jesus did as the greatest thing a person can do, that they lay down their life for their fellow man... I get all that and I get all the theology behind it all .... but it just does not bring me any peace! There’s only so much soul searching a man can do before he goes cold and walks away once again, all I expect is when I die is judgement and that’s no way to motivate a person. As a father I couldn’t bring my child up by constantly scolding them and telling them they were rubbish unless they mend their evil ways....no instead you make them feel happy, know that you love them, yes you have to,punish when they do wrong but they need to know that they are loved.... The best way I can describe how I see Jesus is.... imagine John Lennon....hahah no pun intended, but remember the way he used to speak to,people in his latter days as a Beatle and when he was into all his hippy crap with Yoko in the early 70s? Well I think he used to think he was Jesus himself, he would speak so condescending and flippantly to any of the reporters who interviewed him, often putting them on the spot .... well this is how I see Jesus, you ask him a question and in response he never says anything kind and gentle, it’s like he’s got a massive axe to grind with you. I don’t know I just can’t put it into words , I guess I’ll never find any peace in the remaining 21 years of my life I’ve been allotted, if I live that long.

[@Jake-jh9in]

I feel like reading Cold Case Christianity by homicide detective J. Warner Wallace might really help you. God is a just judge but He's also full of mercy and grace. The only way His commands are seen as good is when we come to know the true goodness of His character. For as many calls to repentance and warnings of judgment He gives, He gives at least as many if not more promises of peace, joy, compassion, mercy, and heart transformation to those who turn to Him in earnest. Please feel free to contact me via email or whatsapp if you want someone to chat with about your doubts. I've resonated with your doubts at various times and I just want you to know that He still wants you to trust Him and experience His goodness, even in the midst of repentance. Fear of hell is not enough to change a heart, but only a genuine invitation to experience the fullness of His heart is. I hear you brother, please know you're not alone and I'm more than happy to chat. My email is [e-mail]

[@Jake-jh9in]

P.S. revisit the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Luke 18:9-14

[@buffplums]

James McHaffie thanks Jim. I’ll send you an email. Cheers buddy

[@vilicus77]

He brought two thousand years of superstition, disagreement, and ignorance.

[@yeahyeahyeah2935]

Caliban i rebuke you! May your darkness and lies be bound by His holy power and be thrown into the fire! He has already overcome everything on earth as it is in Heaven. He is coming. Repent! Jesus is Lord.

[@vilicus77]

@@yeahyeahyeah2935 Ha! What a weird reaction. I can tell you really believe this stuff. Good luck.

[@anniebarreyro3784]

Too long sermon. Get to the point quickly please. He repeats what he has said before.

[@amareshkaimal2972]

False god

[@Ian_622]

Jesus was a homosexual

[@BROTHERJONATHANBURG]

REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED EVERYONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS AND YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST!!!!