Matthew 10:34 (Jesus: Not Peace but a Sword)

SOME MUSLIMS try to defame the Lord Jesus by giving a wrong interpretation of Matthew 10:34.

The verse reads: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

Using that, some Muslims say that the Lord Jesus was not a peace maker but a warrior. They claim He does not bring unity but division.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

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QUICK RESPONSE:
 A. Simply put, Muslims do not understand or deliberately distort Matthew 10:34.

When the Lord Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace, He was referring to the expectation of the Jews who were waiting for a political messiah.

The Jews were waiting for a messiah who would restore the kingdom of Israel and bring peace to the land. (Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6) It was a political peace. No more wars. No more disputes.

That was the context when the Lord Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth."

His goal was not to bring political peace but "a sword" or a SEPARATION of those who would believe in Him and those who wouldn't.

That point is shown in the succeeding verses:

Matthew 10:35-39
"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 one's foes will be members of one's own household.

"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; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

"Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it."

That TRUTH or FULFILLMENT of the Lord's words has been happening since the time He said them. People have become divided along the line of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and those who do not.

Muslims not accepting the lordship and Godhead of the Lord Jesus is one good example of that. Their insistence that He is not God has SEPARATED them from Christians.

So, the words of the Lord are clearly proven here. It is only unfortunate the Muslims cannot or refuse to see that.