Why Didn't Jesus Bring Peace?

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." [Luke 12:51]

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." [Matthew 10:34]

Quotes like these from the Lord Jesus tell us that peace was not his main goal.  Why didn't Jesus bring peace?  Why did he bring division and a sword?  

For one, he was not a coward. Jesus saw the need for a fight.  He saw that Satan was alive and well, that the forces of evil in the world were not to be bargained with, but opposed and resisted, even if it meant disunity, division, suffering, and strife, even when righteousness and truth are not in vogue, even when Evil is on the throne.

We, as man, are to be the judge.  It is not enough to have a court system.  Each human being must judge what is right and wrong, then stand up for Truth. Those who judge rightly will be on the side of truth, justice, honesty, fairness and peace.  It does not mean we will never draw the sword. If Truth and Justice are to be defended, there will have to be some wars.  If we don't stand up for Right, Evil will prevail.  So it is incumbent upon each person to judge.  Thus, Jesus said,

"Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?" [Luke 12:57]

Judge we must.  So America is divided, probably more than at any other time in history.  This is only right.  Let those who care about truth and justice stand against the tyranny of the elite, whether it be in the "deep state", in the halls of power, or in our own minds.  

Some would call Christianity tyrannical.  They offer evidence such as the Crusades, or the abuses of the Church in the Middle Ages, or clerical paedophiles, or scandals involving money, or cults masquerading as churches, all of which are evidence that the Gospel and truth itself must be vigorously defended by we who claim the name of Jesus Christ.  His war is on, and we must not shrink from it but stand against the wrong wherever it is found in the Church or society.

Indeed, it was just such Christians who founded this great United States of America.  We were not founded by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans or Atheists, but those who claimed the name of Jesus Christ, Christians.  And their fight led many of them to untimely but heroic deaths, to strife that is heartbreaking, such as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and Two World Wars.  

The strife of the current impeachment is also, in reality, a battle of good against evil.  No American can escape this, because the President represents the people of the entire nation, not the majority only, not the cities only, not a particular district or state, but the whole nation.  He was duly elected according to our Constitution, and has not shrunk from the daunting responsibility, but is standing up for US, the people, for all of us, even immigrants (except those who came illegally), and for the many diverse cultures represented in this great melting pot.

I say we ought to stand with him and support him however we can against the little tyrants in some corners who hate him simply for being a common man rather than a career political insider.  For whether you like him or hate him, he was elected, and as always, we Christians believe that such things are ultimately under God's Sovereign control. Until such time as proof can be shown of a real abuse of power, or other high crime on the part of the President, to impeach and remove him would be the height of injustice, particularly when so many real and factual crimes were committed against him by the FBI and other bad actors.

Would Jesus approve such discord and strife?  Of course not.  But neither would he shrink from it. He would stand up for justice and truth, not political spin, chicanery and basement, midnight intrigue.  He was condemned by the political elite in a kangaroo court.  He was also crucified for our sins.  It serves no purpose whatever for Trump to be crucified or removed from office for such crimes as being a rich, egotistical boor, as some judge.  For such judgment they will have to give answer to God. for, as Jesus famously warned, they are going to have to live up to their own standard, as Jesus famously warned:

¹ “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? [Matthew 7:1-3]

Notice that earlier I quoted Jesus saying, "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"; now I quote Him saying, "Judge not, that you be not judged."  These are not contradictory.  They teach us that judging is extremely important: it is part of being human, essential to being a leader, teacher, parent, engineer, pastor, or just being a righteous person. But we must judge rightly, with the sober realization that we are also being judged, and will be ultimately judged by God. This isn't comforting to those who suppress their consciences and live selfishly or condemn others who are good.  Yet is is a call to judge, and a warning not to judge wrongly. It makes for a lot of inward strife, doesn't it, when we have to judge for ourselves if someone did wrong, or if I did wrong, or if someone should be punished, or not.  Yet it is the business of leadership, of being a parent, of being a citizen of heaven or any worldly nation, and of being a Christian.

Jesus didn't bring peace because fallen mankind isn't worthy of peace. We have to work for it, and often even fight for it.  So one Pope last century said, "If you want peace, work for justice." We are wicked from birth. To have peace, one must wage righteousness.  That isn't something everyone wants, and few are willing to stand up and fight for. 

May God help us who belong to Him to fight for His truth, to love justice and to cherish mercy.

"Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."  AMEN