Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 10:34-36

"Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man`s foes [shall be] they of his own household." — Matthew 10:34-36 (ASV)

Peace will be the ultimate result of our Lord’s coming, but initially, the Lord Jesus sends a sword among men. He wars against war and contends against contention. In the act of producing the peace of heaven, He arouses the rage of hell. Truth provokes opposition, purity excites enmity, and righteousness arouses all the forces of wrong.

During the process of fermentation, in which what is right works for mastery, natural relationships count for nothing as preservatives of peace. The coming of Christ into a house is often the cause of division between the converted and the unconverted. The more loving the Christian is, the more he may be opposed. Love creates a tender zeal for the salvation of friends, and that very zeal frequently calls forth resentment. We are to expect this and not to be troubled by it when it occurs.

Animosities because of religion often excite the fiercest enmities, and family ties inflame rather than quench the hostility. We are to press on in confessing the Lord Jesus, whatever the consequences. Even if our house becomes a den of lions to us, we must stand up for our Lord. The peace-at-any-price people have no portion in this kingdom.

Lord, teach us how to behave in these trying circumstances.