2. Matthew 10:34–39 (NRSV) 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 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; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

3. Matthew 10:34–39 (NRSV) 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

4. “Sword” May 3, 2015

5. machete

7. Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 (NRSV) … they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

8. Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 (NRSV) … they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Joel 3:10 (NRSV) 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”

9. Matthew 10:34–39 (NRSV) 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 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; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Micah 7:6

10. The absolute demand of Jesus brings us back to where we were in the Sermon on the Mount. It isn’t the case that there are some fine ideals in the mid of God, and that Jesus just happens to teach them a bit better than most people. Nor is it the case that Jesus came to show the way through the present world to a quite different one, where we will go after death. N. T. Wright

11. No: Jesus came to begin and establish the new way of being God’s people, and not surprisingly those who were quite happy with the old one, thank you very much, didn’t like having it disturbed. He didn’t want to bring division within households for the sake of it. But he knew that, if people followed his way, division was bound to follow. N. T. Wright

12. “SWORD” May 3, 2015

13. Matthew 10:32-33 (MSG) “Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?”

14. “SWORD” May 3, 2015