Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay, but rather division. Luke 12:51
Bible prophecy’s great declaration of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:6 includes the title Prince of Peace. When the angel announced to the Bethlehem shepherds that the Saviour was born that night, a major part of the chorus that followed that announcement was the declaration of peace on earth (Luke 2:14). During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus told His disciples, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). When the risen Christ appeared to His followers in Jerusalem, His greeting was ‘Peace be unto you’ (Luke 24:36). Ephesians 2:4 reminds the Christian that He is our peace. Does our text today contradict all of those declarations of peace concerning the Lord Jesus?
Our text is not speaking of the perfect peace that the Lord Jesus gives to His followers but to the animosity and trouble for those who reject Him. The world, in its made pursuit for peace, does not know any peace, nor can it. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked (Isaiah 57:21). The record of human history is the story of wars and battles with scarcely an intermission from one campaign to the next. This account of strife and animosity began with mankind’s first brothers and continues today, making a mockery of those who declare that peace is possible. As long as there is sin and human hearts are wicked, there will be no peace outside the peace within the heart of a believer and the harmony among the Lord’s people. The worst of the wars are often fought around religious issues, so we know that religion does not bring peace; just the opposite. If we study prophecy, we will discover that the antichrist will bring peace into the world, peace of a sort, as he entraps people into his evil system. But he will not be a peace with God, and he will the primary mover of the world’s militaries that will engage the armies of Christ at the Battle of Armageddon. Even today, the devil’s minions exert themselves to cause problems for the Lord’s people. Those problems are some of what the Lord Jesus was speaking about in today’s text.
The devil can’t attack the Lord Jesus directly, but he can, and does, attack His representatives. The evil one is happy when the saints are stirred up in confusion and jealousies and disputes among themselves. He wins major victories when Assemblies are split over personality issues, destroying worship and stifling the spread of the Gospel. The devil wins, too, when groups of Christians are at odds with each other, as the fellowship and harmony that mark the people of God are destroyed.
The divisions that the Lord Jesus predicted in today’s text are not caused by Him, but by those who oppose Him. The peace that He promises is for those who remain true to Him. -Jim MacIntosh