Matthew 10:34-42
Jesus Did Not Come to Bring Peace on Earth
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Isaiah 55:8
God's Thoughts are Not Man's Thoughts
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
Jesus was born on a relative silent, but Holy night...The angels had alerted the nearby shepherds in the fields about Him...And a bright star, an amazing Light in the sky, led wise men to Him on a relatively obscure night to Him...Yet, His birth was that of a loving child -that came so quietly in the night that the residents of Bethlehem did not know of the great news around them...Most people, with the exception of the shepherds and wise men missed the birth of the Greatest One ever born...
He grew as a Baby in a poor family...And as He grew, He continued to live a relative obscure and quiet life...He seems to live and work in a quiet and unassuming way, because not much of anything is written about Him of His young life (until about age thirty)...A carpenter by trade, He it seems to be quietly working and living until He was about thirty years old...Then everything changed...He no longer remained quiet and unassuming...He starts to teach and preach His beliefs...And His beliefs are about His Father, who He claims is our God -the God of Israel...He claims that He can forgive people of their sins, without even asking the people that have sinned against...He tells us He and the Father are One...He tells us He is the Truth, the Life, and the Way...He tells us that He is the only Way to God...He claims to be born before the Patriarch Abraham...And He uses the words I AM, which means God Himself, when He talks about being older than Abraham...
After He started His ministry, He is not longer quiet and unassuming, but He has became very controversial...His teachings and His words are all about God...He gives His teachings to us (in the four gospels) and we can either believe them or be non-believers of them...His teachings and how and what He speaks about Himself, gets Him into much trouble and controversy...But His troubles are not with the Romans and Roman law, and the Roman government -who really are in charge...But His troubles lie mostly with the religious leaders of His own country of Israel...They want Him arrested, because of His teachings and what He says about Himself...He does gets arrested for all the controversy surrounding Him, by the Sanhedrin...And He claims to be the Son of the Blessed One to the High Priest of Israel, right after His arrest...His trial is a mockery of justice...He tells His judge, named Pilate, that He came to testify to the Truth of this world...He is judged guilty of blaspheming God (or so it seems) by His own people...He is nailed to a cross, and dies...He resurrects after three days, and is alive...
He still lives today...He is as controversial today, as He was when He was preaching the Good News of the LORD and Himself...His footprints, His teachings, His Words of His past (which all centered and were completely about God) has not been forgotten two thousand years later...A Baby, who came quietly into our world, has left in the most dramatic of ways and His teachings and words have never passed...He did not bring peace to the world...We have had many wars, since His time ascension...He brings controversy and disruption to people's lives even now...One today, still can either believe in Him or not believe in Him...It is God's free will that gives us this choice...Something, quite unique and different, happened to this world when He started teaching and preaching and it continued after His death, resurrection, and ascension...
A Messiah was to come...Jesus is the Messiah...No one following, studying, or teaching about God wrote or spoke of these things about a Messiah acting and being this way...Man does not think like God...Jesus is the way God thinks, and the way a Man would be if God came to earth...