ALLEGIANCES

He is called the Prince of Peace for a reason. He didn’t come to wage war, condemn or destroy and neither should we.

But didn’t He say that He came to bring division? He said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ - Matthew 10:34-36

Yes, He did. He did say that His teachings would cause division. But not the type of warring we are thinking about. He speaks of the split of people forced to choose between following Him or their own allegiances.

The sword He speaks of in Matthew 10 isn’t a man-made weapon made to break body and bring death, but it is a metaphor for the division and conflict that would come from either accepting or rejecting His teachings. It is an allusion to His word, His gospel and of an unyielding and firm fidelity to only Him. He is a God of order and peaceableness who when Peter attacked the high priest’s servant, He admonished Peter to “put away your sword” Matthew 26:52 To look on the violence of a literal sword one must ignore His teachings of the Sermon on the mount as well as the full breadth of what He taught. To be about this takes His words out of context and bends them into what we want Him to be about. Truth cannot remain within untruth, that sword of truth, in who He says He is and to what His people should hold true is polarizing and does bring about division.

Even so, His claim about the sword and peace is intentional. It is purposely radical. He used it to jolt people awake, to shake their attention and not to leave one iota of misunderstanding as to what He meant. And at the same time, He means that He himself will perform like that very sword and cut into our being, whether bringing about our good or our folly. He is the sword that divides and cuts and pierces “even down to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow.” – Hebrews 4:12

His radical allegiance demands of us to look past ourselves and what we believe to be right whether it be selfish or hurtful to another. He is worthy of our greater affection and greater love then any family, His allegiance stands greater than even those who we worship with and what they deem as righteous. And if it be, His allegiance may cause us to stand alone from our own because He sets the standard.

And He goes to pull the sword down further until it fully severs all allegiances outside of Him,

“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me,” Matthew 10:38 Family, friends, community, they now lose absolute authority in the life of His follower. His disciple loves and follows Christ over mother, father, sister or brother or extended family but now follows Christ above the authority of these same.

A supremacy of fealty and allegiance. What then is radical allegiance to you? In the pulpit we often hear that our checkbooks will determine where our interests and heart are at. We are told that where our money goes determines where our priorities lie.

What we watch, who we quote, who we back and the memes we post and the careless words we speak, all tell where our allegiances truly lie. Indeed He brings a sword and not peace.

And in the end, this means that He lays unyielding supremacy of affection over every national allegiance or party, group or mindset. He is here to shake all human devotion that does not put Him first. To be loved over all people and things. To be followed with both contrite heart and will over all authorities and to hold none before Him.

Disciple, allow that sword to pierce and divide spiritual bone and sinew. He did not lay claim to war over the physical but to war over our hearts in purer ways. Let His sword root out and cut rot and decay of wandering affection and oaths to mammon. Let no other vine or weed into the garden because it inevitably chokes out the good fruit and leaves only the husks. Where your allegiance lies, truly lies, especially in the latter days is extremely important. So be circumspect because it is of great consequence in these rough and final days.