On Sunday, one of our brothers stopped me downstairs and said, “If you think about it, Jesus came in peace to bring about conflict. And when He comes back, it will be in warfare to bring about peace!” I thought he summarized that irony quite well, and so I wanted to further unpack for you what it means, and also what it means for your life.
In the Gospel of Matthew we see that Jesus truly has come in peace. In fact, that’s much of the disappointment that the crowds experience: where’s the warrior Messiah who would conquer in God’s name and end the long chain of Assyrian/Babylonian/Persian/Greek/Roman oppression that God’s people had been suffering under for centuries? Instead, he lets Herod arrest and execute his forerunner, John the Baptist (11:1-19, 14:1-12). He epitomizes peace in fulfillment of prophecy: “He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory” [not on a battlefield, but on the Cross!] (12:19-20). When he arrives in Jerusalem to be enthroned, he comes not armed with an entourage, but “humble, and mounted on a donkey” (21:5).
But what is the result of the coming of the Prince of Peace? “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household….whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Families, friends, and nations have been torn apart because of Jesus’ demand of total loyalty. Yet the sword of division isn’t in the hand of his [true] people, but rather in the hands of their enemies. If there’s any doubt about that, the book of Revelation makes it plain that the wicked will be “allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them…If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword he must be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints” (13:7-10). The one behind this conflict is Satan himself, who after Christ’s ascension “became furious…and went off to make war…on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (12:17).
There would be absolutely no reason to follow a Lord who would give his people over to such destruction….unless He’s coming again to right all the wrongs. And He is! His people are safe, sealed with the Holy Spirit and due to inherit Resurrection Life. As for the conflict begun by His peaceful first coming, Matthew 24-25 and especially Revelation 18-19 show that it will be answered with a violent second coming to establish true justice and peace: “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows bug himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (19:11-16).
What do we do with such a shocking contrast of appearances, and with the disappointment of injustice now coupled with the mouth-shutting vindication of that Final Day? We take on Christ’s disposition as men and women of peace in a hostile world. We understand that this life will be marked by division and heartache and cross-bearing in His footsteps. We plead with our enemies, because we know the end of the story. But also our hearts are full of hope and joy. Because justice does not sleep, and every harm to the people of God is merely a seed for Resurrection beauty. The Prince of Peace is the Man of War (Exodus 15:3), and in the end, the wisdom of God’s plan will be meditated upon throughout eternity!