Matthew 10:34-39

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JosephFraser

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Hello,

I was reading the Bible passage Matthew 10:34-39, and I find myself not understanding the message being put across, as it is quite severe and unrelenting. Why would Jesus and God himself want to turn us against our families, and make them our enemies? What is the reason for bringing a sword instead of peace? I do love Jesus and God more than anything else, but I do not comprehend the manner and meaning of this particular chapter.

Thanks
 
JosephFraser said:
Hello,

I was reading the Bible passage Matthew 10:34-39, and I find myself not understanding the message being put across, as it is quite severe and unrelenting. Why would Jesus and God himself want to turn us against our families, and make them our enemies? What is the reason for bringing a sword instead of peace? I do love Jesus and God more than anything else, but I do not comprehend the manner and meaning of this particular chapter.

Thanks
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There have been threads here, one recently, about how estranged people get from their families when the convert to Catholicism. To follow Jesus, to love God, it to put that first, before everything and everyone. I think the word “hate” sometimes used in translations is an unfortunate choice, but I think in English the closest thing would be some sort of phrase.
 
[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 10:34-39[/BIBLEDRB]

Is this an example of how reading the bible outside the church’s understanding can lead to confusion?

I found the Haydock Commentary on this helpful.
 
Here is what Fr. William Most has in his commentary
To deny Christ before others, especially in a pagan court, means Christ will deny that one before His Father in heaven. So the result - not the purpose - of His coming is not to bring peace, but discord. We notice that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic each have structures that can mean either purpose or result. Which translation to use depends on the context. Strangely, many versions often make it seem like purpose, e.g., here, the purpose of Christ’s coming is to bring discord. That of course was not His purpose - it was a result.
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It will happen at times that one member of a family will be against another, for the sake of Christ. But the love of Christ must be the dominant thing: If anyone loves father or mother more than he loves Christ, he is not worthy of Christ. So we must take up our cross and follow Him. That means, accept the providentially sent mortifications, but also take on some things for His sake (cf. the fuller treatment in Supplement 2, after 3:10). This may, in persecution, go so far that one must lose his earthly life, to find his life in heaven. So that those who find their lives, i.e., save their lives in persecution by denying Christ, will lose their eternal life, while those who in persecution lose this temporal life, will find eternal life. Again, the NAB version is very unfortunate: “He who seeks only himself brings himself to ruin, he who brings himself to nought… discovers who he is.” Lk 14:26 has the correct understanding, but expressed in a very Semitic way: “He who comes to me and does not hate Father and Mother… even his own soul, cannot be my disciple.” Hebrew and Aramaic lack the degrees of comparison, such as good better best etc. So they use different ways of speaking. We would say: Love one more, the other less.
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Thanks for the feedback, different translations and different understandings conflicting just confused me. God bless!
 
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