Is it true that even many of the staunchest defenders of Jesus admit that His comment in Matthew 10:34 "I came not to send peace but a sword"contradicts Matthew 26:52 "Put up again thy sword into his place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword?”
Is there a contradiction?
Well, maybe some Christians might but its possible they haven’t looked into what Jesus meant by the “sword.” It makes you wonder if Atheists have ever heard of a metaphor?
Jesus uses figurative language in Matthew 10:34, which means that it involves figures of speech or symbolism and does or does not literally represent real things. Besides the other significant reasons why Jesus came to earth, Jesus is speaking of the sword as to say that He came to bring trouble (Luke 12.51-53; 14.26, 27).
There are no verses in the entire Bible that mention that Jesus actually carried or handled a real, physical sword. Do people physically “tackle” problems to solve them? Sure, mentally but not literally! Do teenage boys really “crush” on teenage girls? Sure, emotionally but not physically! If a teenage boy were to literally crush a teenage girl, it would be a horrible mess!
Why did Jesus say this and what does He mean? Well, the very next verse explains it. Matthew 10:35-36 “I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 Your worst enemies will be in your own family (CEV).”Ah! So that’s what He means! Why would Jesus want to make enemies within people’s families? Jesus wouldn’t intentionally want family members to be enemies but when people come to Christ and get saved, other people notice, especially close family members. As a result, some people resist God and His people. Thus, sons will turn against fathers and mothers against daughters and so on. You can’t be on both sides and you can’t serve two masters. You either hate one or love the other.
Matthew 26:51-52 “One of the men with Jesus pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest’s servant. 52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will be killed by the sword (NLT).” Isn’t this obvious? There is actually a physical and literal sword at this event that was recorded in Matthew 26:51-52. In one case we have Jesus using the sword as a metaphor (Matthew 10:34) and the other case, He tells one of His disciples to put away the sword that he used to cut off a servants ear!
There is no contradiction.
Well, maybe some Christians might but its possible they haven’t looked into what Jesus meant by the “sword.” It makes you wonder if Atheists have ever heard of a metaphor?
Jesus uses figurative language in Matthew 10:34, which means that it involves figures of speech or symbolism and does or does not literally represent real things. Besides the other significant reasons why Jesus came to earth, Jesus is speaking of the sword as to say that He came to bring trouble (Luke 12.51-53; 14.26, 27).
There are no verses in the entire Bible that mention that Jesus actually carried or handled a real, physical sword. Do people physically “tackle” problems to solve them? Sure, mentally but not literally! Do teenage boys really “crush” on teenage girls? Sure, emotionally but not physically! If a teenage boy were to literally crush a teenage girl, it would be a horrible mess!
Why did Jesus say this and what does He mean? Well, the very next verse explains it. Matthew 10:35-36 “I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 Your worst enemies will be in your own family (CEV).”Ah! So that’s what He means! Why would Jesus want to make enemies within people’s families? Jesus wouldn’t intentionally want family members to be enemies but when people come to Christ and get saved, other people notice, especially close family members. As a result, some people resist God and His people. Thus, sons will turn against fathers and mothers against daughters and so on. You can’t be on both sides and you can’t serve two masters. You either hate one or love the other.
Matthew 26:51-52 “One of the men with Jesus pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest’s servant. 52 “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will be killed by the sword (NLT).” Isn’t this obvious? There is actually a physical and literal sword at this event that was recorded in Matthew 26:51-52. In one case we have Jesus using the sword as a metaphor (Matthew 10:34) and the other case, He tells one of His disciples to put away the sword that he used to cut off a servants ear!
There is no contradiction.
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