Christmas Conflict

I’m amazed at how receptive people are to The Christmas Story as told in Scripture. Baffled by the acceptance of a message that for 51 weeks is ignored. Stupefied at the general public's enthusiasm and emotional embrace of a story that is designed to disrupt their lifestyle equilibrium. Therefore, it is my conclusion that our society’s response reveals an insight for which the church should and address.

I am amazed at how receptive people are to The Christmas Story as told in Scripture. Baffled by the acceptance of a message that for 51 weeks is ignored. Stupefied at the general public's enthusiasm and emotional embrace. Such a response reveals an insight for which the church should and address.

Fill in the following blank

Christmas is about ______________________.

Christmas, for most, is summed up in the words of the Christmas hymn “Silent Night”. Silent Night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Christmas is a story about peace (calm) but it pathway to that peace is all together foreign to most Christians. What if I told you that today’s text answers that question with the word conflict.

Christmas is about conflict.

There is a combativeness about Christmas. It is written in the carols and hymns that we sing.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Yet it’s very interesting how it’s in the carols, it’s in the hymns, it’s in the Christmas text, and people just blandly and sweetly listen to them and let them wash right over them. They don’t see there’s a hardness, there’s a combativeness in the message of Christmas. It comes out so explicitly that you can’t ignore it right here in what Simeon says. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room,

It’s written in the Christmas text’s and people just blandly let them wash right over them. There is a hardness and combativeness in Christmas that goes undetected and the result is people are unaffected by its message. Christmas has, in large part, lost its saving virtue and now possess nothing more than sentimental value in our culture.

Its combative message is not evasive it is explicit.

The combative message of Christmas is not being avoided but attenuated.

Attenuated means to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, or value. We read these passages every Advent season and yet most never fully feel the impact of what they are reading.

We read these passages every Advent season.

Luke 2:34 ESV

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed

Luke 2:42 ESV

And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.

Luke 2:34–35 ESV

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2:It comes out so explicitly that you can’t ignore it right here in what Simeon says. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Many, if not most Christians, find themselves in a similar condition as that of the teenage boy in the Febreze commercial. Whereas the teenage boy had gone nose blind to his teenage stench most Christians have gone story blind. We have become sterilized to the shocking message of Christmas. The strong aroma of Christ birth no longer takes our breath away. The Christmas Story is one infuse with a force that is meant to jolt us from our spiritual slumber.

It comes out so explicitly that you can’t ignore it right here in what Simeon says. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

It comes out so explicitly that you can’t ignore it right here in what Simeon says. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

To give you an example of how people, in a sense, don’t get it I could refer you to a review in the New York Times earlier this week. It was in the Arts page, and the reviewer was just talking about whether it’s good or bad that every Christmas, and actually every Easter, we hear Handel’s Messiah so often. He was asking the question, “Is it good that a work like Messiah is performed over and over and over again so it becomes so familiar? Is it good or not?”

He answered the question by saying on the one hand the thing that is positive is no matter how poorly it’s performed, somehow its power always comes through. In a sense, just to hear Messiah performed so many different ways and, so often, so poorly proves to us what a masterwork it is, proves to us it’s an enduring masterwork, because the power comes through no matter who and how it’s being performed. He said something extremely interesting, and it illustrates our point. He says on the other hand, we’ve gotten so used to it we’ve lost the meaning of what it really says.

He says we’ve lost sight of the elemental principles of the “Hallelujah” Chorus. We have lost the sense of its “shocking force,” (those are his words). Let me just read you how he closes his review. He says, “After all, how well do we really know the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus, so warm and familiar? At St. Thomas Church I was paging through the Bible and came upon the passage in Revelation from which ‘Hallelujah’ was taken. The true Messiah, it turns out, wears a linen cloth drenched in blood, and the words ‘Lord of Lords’ are written on his thigh.”

The reviewer says we always get a warm, wonderful, inspired feeling when we hear the “Hallelujah” Chorus. When you actually look at the text on which it’s based, here comes this figure in heaven. He’s wearing blood-drenched clothes. He’s on a horse. He’s coming in as a general. He said, “I’m the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.” He’s staking out a claim on everybody and demanding supreme lordship over all other kings, and all other faiths, and all other people. The reviewer says maybe we’ve heard the “Hallelujah” Chorus so often that we don’t hear it anymore. It has a “shocking force” to it.

What I’m trying to say is the Bible tells us Jesus Christ came at Christmastime to stake out a claim, an enormous claim. We see this in the word used for Lord.

Luke 2:29 ESV

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;

It means one who has absolute power.

The New Testament usually uses the word (kyrios) but in this case it uses the word for which we get our English word (despot). It means one who has absolute power.

In using this word for Lord Simeon is reinforcing the truth that the Lord has staked out every inch of the physical universe, every inch of the spiritual universe, every inch of the mental universe, every inch of your and my lives, our lives and hearts, and he has claimed it as his. He stakes it out and he says, “Mine!” Every inch. Therefore, it’s very clear he comes to divide. He comes to cause conflict.

The New Testament shows us that with Christ there is no neutrality. When a person encounters Christ he is either for him or against him. He either trips over him, or is established by him, which fulfils, of course, the prophecy of Simeon.

Sproul, R. C. (1999). A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (p. 38). Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.

He’s coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Somebody says, “Doesn’t he come to bring peace on earth?” Yes, of course he comes to bring peace on earth. Here’s how he brings peace on earth: notice in the very beginning of Simeon’s prophecy,

Luke 2:29–30 ESV

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation

Luke 2:29 ESV

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;

you have the very familiar part where he says, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation …” We see peace, but how does Jesus bring peace?

We see peace, but how does Jesus bring peace?

you have the very familiar part where he says, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation …” We see peace, but how does Jesus bring peace?

Luke 2:34 ESV

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed

Luke

Jesus brings peace on earth, but he brings a sword that goes right through your heart in order to bring that peace.

Luke 2:34–35 ESV

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against …” Jesus brings peace on earth, but he brings a sword that goes right through your heart in order to bring that peace. That’s the message of Christmas. Jesus brings peace on earth, but how? How do the Allies bring peace to occupied France on D-Day? They pick a fight! How does a surgeon bring peace to your body, which has a tumor in it? The surgeon spills your blood. The surgeon cuts you wide open. That’s the only way for your body to have peace.

Jesus brings peace on earth, but he brings a sword that goes right through your heart in order to bring that peace.

How did the Allies bring peace to occupied France? They entered the conflict by landing on the beaches of Normandy! How does a surgeon bring peace to your body? The surgeon spills your blood. The surgeon cuts you wide open it’s the only way for your body to have peace.

In Jesus says,

Matthew 10:34 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Jesus brings peace through conflict. He brings peace through the sword. He brings the peace through dividing people. This text teaches that Jesus comes as the great divider; he comes to cause conflict. I’d just like to show you two principles out of the passage of how Jesus brings peace. .

He causes conflicts between people

Luke 2:34 ESV

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed

1. He causes conflicts between people

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against …” That’s verse 34. What’s he saying? Simeon is saying Jesus Christ came to polarize people. He causes you to rise or he causes you to fall. The word cause in the verse controls both of those. He comes to cause you to rise or cause you to fall. Jesus Christ will cause everyone to either rise or fall. There’s no in between. He comes to polarize you. He comes to push you up or push you down. How could that be? Because he is divisive. Simeon predicts it and the Bible talks about it.

What’s he saying? Simeon is saying

Jesus Christ came to polarize people.

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against …” That’s verse 34. What’s he saying? Simeon is saying Jesus Christ came to polarize people. He causes you to rise or he causes you to fall. The word cause in the verse controls both of those. He comes to cause you to rise or cause you to fall. Jesus Christ will cause everyone to either rise or fall. There’s no in between. He comes to polarize you. He comes to push you up or push you down. How could that be? Because he is divisive. Simeon predicts it and the Bible talks about it.

Luke 2:34 NIV

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

He causes you to rise or he causes you to fall. The word (causes, NIV) or (appointed, ESV) in the verse controls both of those. Jesus Christ will cause everyone to either rise or fall. There’s no in between. He comes to polarize you. He comes to push you up or push you down. How could that be? Because he is divisive. Simeon predicts it and the Bible talks about it.

He causes you to rise or he causes you to fall. The word (causes) in the verse controls both of those. Jesus Christ will cause everyone to either rise or fall. There’s no in between. He comes to polarize you. He comes to push you up or push you down. How could that be? Because he is divisive. Simeon predicts it and the Bible talks about it.

Why does Jesus cause both the rising and the falling? Why does he polarize people?

Jesus is both repulsive and attractive.

If you understand both of those things: the overwhelming repulsiveness of his claims and the overwhelming attractiveness of his life, then you will see why he causes people to either rise or fall, but he leaves nobody alone. There is no neutrality with Jesus.

The word for sign is a very strong word, and indicates a manifestation that is so visible, that is so clear, that no-one could miss it. It is a word that is often used in the New Testament for a miracle. It is the sign that bears witness to the identity of Christ, to his power, character and nature as the Son of God. It is a sign that will provoke hostility.

He claimed to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There’s no way you can stay neutral when someone comes and says, “You belong to me.” If somebody comes up to you and says, “I own you. You belong to me,” you can’t be casual about that. You can’t be neutral. You have to either reject that person, you have to fight that person off, or else you have to comply.

Sproul, R. C. (1999). A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (p. 38). Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.

First, look at the overwhelming repulsiveness of his claims. He claimed to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There’s no way you can stay neutral when someone comes and says, “You belong to me.” If somebody comes up to you and says, “I own you. You belong to me,” you can’t be casual about that. You can’t be neutral. You have to either reject that person, you have to fight that person off, or else you have to comply. You have to submit to that person. That is what Jesus does.

Last year we preached through the first half of Mark’s gospel. Mark records very little of Jesus’ teaching. Mark is all about the fact that wherever Jesus went, the big question in front of everybody was not how wonderful his teaching was but, “Who is this?”

This Bible scholar says the real Jesus was really a Jewish peasant who was deeply influenced by the school of philosophers known as the Cynics, the Cynic philosophers. The Cynic philosophers were a school of thought that was skeptical about social tradition and any kind of social obligations. The Cynics said you should find your own way to live and decide what you want to live. (It sounds very modern, I know.) This particular writer suggests Jesus Christ was actually very deeply influenced by the Cynics so he really believed human beings needed to find their own way to live.

The reviewer of the book realized that’s stupid, probably, because the Cynic philosophers were all very urban. They lived in the cities. Jesus was a rural peasant and the chances are there were no Cynic philosophers anywhere around Palestine at all, let alone in the rural sections. The reviewer realizes this is very improbable. Yet at the end the reviewer says, “This is still a good book.” Do you know why? Here’s what he says: “This author shows rightly that the challenge of Jesus shows in his vision of human possibilities and faith should focus on sharing Jesus’ vision rather than holding this or that belief about Jesus’ identity or career.”

Do you see what he’s saying? He says the important thing is Jesus believed in great human potential. What we should really do is just try to believe in his message and not worry about who he is. Who he is, who he claimed to be, really makes no difference. The important thing is he was a wonderful teacher who showed us how much potential we have in us. Friends, I’ll be very careful about this because I don’t, myself, want to be sarcastic. That is an absolute fantasy. Lots of otherwise very intelligent people desperately cling to that view, which has no logical or intellectual credibility at all.

“Who is this that the winds and the sea obey him? Who is this that he forgives sins? Who is this?” People in Mark’s gospel aren’t sitting there saying, “He’s just a wonderful teacher?” You don’t make such statements when confronted with such a force. It’s not logical. You say, “Who does this person think he is? Who is this person?”

There are two or three hundred people, or maybe four hundred, going through the gospel of Mark in small groups this year. It’s the oldest gospel. It’s the one written the earliest, probably. Most scholars agree it was written in the 60s before the fall of Jerusalem. It was written only 30 years after Jesus had died. There’s almost nothing in Mark, very little of Jesus’ teaching. There’s a lot of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew and Luke and John, but very little … Mark is all about the fact that wherever Jesus went, the big question in front of everybody was not how wonderful his teaching was but, “Who is this?”

“Who is this that the winds and the sea obey him? Who is this that he forgives sins? Who is this?” People in Mark’s gospel aren’t sitting there saying, “He’s just a wonderful teacher?” You don’t make such statements when confronted with such a force. It’s not logical. You say, “Who does this person think he is? Who is this person?”

Jesus himself pushes. Look at his teachings. They are repulsive in their self-centeredness. They are relentless. He says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, “On judgment day, whether you rise or fall, whether you go to heaven or you’re cast down into hell,” he says, “all depends on whether you know and love me.” What a claim! He says, “The one who believes in me is not condemned. The one who does not believe in me is condemned already.” That’s Jesus talking. How in-your-face is that?

At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “On judgment day, whether you rise or fall, whether you go to heaven or you’re cast down into hell,” he says, “all depends on whether you know and love me.” What a claim! He says,

Mark 16:16 ESV

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

How’s that for in your-your-face?

When he talks to the rich young ruler in , basically he says this; “Let’s get to the main point here, rich young ruler. I have to be more important to you than your wealth or anything else you have, or else you’re lost.”

He says, “I am so important that if your eye or your hand keeps you away from me, cut the hand off, pluck the eye out. It’s not worth it!” He says, “Eat my body. Drink my life. If you have me, you have the universe by the tail. If you don’t have me, you will be like the chaff that the wind driveth away.”

You can’t get away.

Jesus demands adoration and allegiance.

For many that is utterly repulsive and its incredibly attractive. This is why Simeon said he will be a sign that will be spoken against. You will either have to rise, or you will have to fall. You will either find he repulses you or else you embrace him completely.

Jesus separates Himself from all other Messiah’s, both past and present, by not only being repulsive but simultaneously being attractive. Jesus is like all Messiah’s in the sense that He was always talking about Himself. He made audacious claims and demands of those who listened and followed. Yet He separates Himself by being humble, compassionate, tender, and kind. No other professed Messiah past or present has demonstrated such balance. This is why Scripture says that Jesus is both lion and lamb. This is why to some He is repulsive and others attractive. It is His perfect personality that makes Him polarizing.

The answer is, as we mentioned a minute ago, the reason Jesus polarized people was not simply because he claimed these incredible things, to be God, but also because of the overwhelming attractiveness of his life. People say, “Back then, didn’t a lot of people walk around claiming to be God?” Yeah, but not one of them ever got a major religion started. Never. None of the major religions were started by people who claimed to be God.

Lots of people walked around claiming to be the Messiah, claiming to be God, claiming to be some kind of divine creator, but they only got a little tiny group of maladjusted and dysfunctional people around to believe them. By and large, most people let go of them. They just thought they were crackpots. Of course, because such claims are overwhelmingly repulsive. Then how did Jesus get away with it? How did he get a religion off the ground? The answer is he must have been every bit as attractive, he must have had every bit as much moral beauty as the Bible says he did. There’s no other explanation for it.

C.S. Lewis is absolutely corrected in his assessment of how man can respond to Christ

Nobody but nobody who claims the things he claimed and demands adoration continually and is always talking about himself, nobody combines that with a life of humble, compassionate tenderness, a life of melt-in-your-mouth sweetness and wisdom. There’s never been somebody like that. You have lots of humble, compassionate, tender people who are so attractive, but they never would say the things Jesus says about himself. Then there are other people who say the things Jesus has said and demand adoration, but they’re not like that. That’s the reason why people were utterly polarized.

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

There might be a couple of objections real quickly. Somebody says, “Yes, but the Bible was written many, many, many years later.” No, people want to believe that because they do not want to have to rise or fall. They want to believe Jesus was a nice guy. They want to be mildly religious. They don’t want to have to believe they have to choose that he is the Savior of the world and the God and the Lord of Lords and King of Kings or else an absolute sham, an absolute lunatic, an absolute liar.

Christmas demands a choice. No neutrality. Total adoration and allegiance or total antipathy. You will either rejoice in or be repulsed by His teaching. You will either bow before Him as Lord or blow Him off as a liar. You will either conform your life to the ways of His Kingdom or cast Him off as a lunatic.

Somebody says, “Yes, but it was his admirers that wrote those books.” Of course, that’s my point. What could have made monotheistic Jews, who had been trained all their lives to believe God could never become flesh, to admire and worship him like they did? What could have done it? Don’t you see Jesus will make you rise or fall? Let me just conclude this point and move on to the second point. Before I do, let me just ask this question. If Simeon is right, if Jesus came to divide people, why is it most people are not either rising or falling?

The Christmas message, which is the message of Christ, should evoke the same response as we see in Scripture. There were those who hated Jesus and all of his claims. There are also people who threw everything overboard and with every fiber of their being followed Christ. They made Him the supreme focus of their life. He was at the center of every decision, facet, and aspect of their life. This is real, authentic Christianity.

The broader Christian culture of our day looks nothing like the one in the Bible. The broader Christian culture has modernized Christianity and calls for only a moderate response to Jesus. This is how we converts without change. Followers who fall away because they possessed no real faith. Our culture has a Jesus that is fabricated. It is one we have fashioned out of our idea of what he should be.

Is your Jesus Christ the one who says, “I did not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword? I came to set the earth on fire.” Is your Jesus the one who polarizes? Is your Jesus the one who makes people rise or fall but allows no one in between?

Jesus must be either abhorrent or attractive. Supreme or sickening. Worthy to take up your cross and follow or worthy of crying out crucify him. Jesus is either Messiah possessing radiant beauty that causes you to leave all that glitters to follow Him or He is a ridiculous myth that can easily be dismissed. He is either everything you heart desires or everything your heart is disgusted by. Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed …”

However, that’s not enough. It’s not just that Jesus causes conflicts between people but . . .

He also causes conflicts within the individual heart

He also causes conflicts within the individual heart

2. He also causes conflicts within the individual heart

He divides the heart. Simeon says, “…

Luke 2:25 ESV

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Luke 2:35 ESV

(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” He says to Mary, “… a sword will pierce your own soul too.” I’d like to be briefer here, but I must say that though Simeon is predicting that Mary herself … He’s talking to Mary and Joseph, but Joseph, from what we can tell, dies early and Mary goes through all of Jesus’ life. In a way, Simeon is predicting Mary is going to have a lot of pain in her life.

Simeon is predicting that Mary is going to have a lot of pain in her life. She stands there as a representation of everybody who loves Jesus. The Bible teaches, if you love him, if you stand by him, a sword will pass through your heart as well.

She stands there as a representation of everybody who loves Jesus. Let me just say to you that I think this text points to, and the Bible teaches, if you love him, if you stand by him, a sword will pass through your heart as well. That means, as J.C. Ryle, the Bishop of Liverpool back in the late 19th century, said, when a person becomes a Christian a new peace comes into your life.

J.C. Ryle, the Bishop of Liverpool back in the late 19th century, said, when a person becomes a Christian a new peace comes into your life at the same time, a new fight comes into your life, new conflict.

At the same time, a new fight comes into your life, new conflict. The peace doesn’t come without the conflict and the conflict without the peace because they’re intrinsically related. Let me just show you two, just two, very brief examples of this, that God’s peace always comes through a sword, that God’s peace always comes through conflict.

Christian peace doesn’t come without the conflict. In Christianity you cannot have conflict without the peace because they’re intrinsically related. Let me just show you two examples of this, that God’s peace always comes through a sword, that God’s peace always comes through conflict.

God’s peace comes after the sting of repentance.

Repentance is like antiseptic. You pour antiseptic onto a wound and, at first, it always stings, but it heals. There’s no way to get into that peace without going through that pain.

The gospel teaches us that anybody can come to God no matter what your record is. Christianity says if you come to Jesus Christ, even if you aren’t good and decent, even if you aren’t wonderful, and even if you don’t have a good record, anybody through Christ can come to God. Somebody says, “How can that be?” Let me just put the gospel in a nutshell: because Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a perfect death, now God treats you, when you believe in Christ, as if you have done everything Jesus has done and you have suffered everything Jesus has suffered. God treats believing sinners as if they had done everything Jesus has done and suffered everything Jesus has suffered.

Christianity is a way that says if you come to Jesus Christ, even if you aren’t good and decent, even if you aren’t wonderful, and even if you don’t have a good record, anybody through Christ can find God. Somebody says, “How can that be?” Let me just put the gospel in a nutshell: because Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a perfect death, now God treats you, when you believe in Christ, as if you have done everything Jesus has done and you have suffered everything Jesus has suffered. God treats believing sinners as if they had done everything Jesus has done and suffered everything Jesus has suffered.

That means when you believe in Christ you’re adopted not on the basis of your record, but on his record. You’re adopted into the family and treated as if you’d accomplished everything he’s accomplished. That’s the gospel. Somebody says, “It’s too easy.” I don’t know how many times people have said, “That’s just too easy. You mean you just receive it?” Yeah, but you have to receive it through repentance, and that’s what’s not easy at all. Repentance is a sword in the soul.

Do you know what it means to repent? It’s to admit you have a sinful heart and that you can’t change it. Therefore, you need both forgiveness and the power to change. Your only hope is through the sheer mercy of God. How does that feel to you? Repentance is hard, repentance is painful, repentance is difficult but it’s the only way to get peace.

The sword of repentance is not wielded by a warrior but by a surgeon. The only way to get that peace is to let that sword come in, to go through that sting. By the way, I’m not just talking to people here today who don’t believe. Christian friends, listen. Luther said all of life is repentance. Let me remind you what repentance is. Real Christian repentance always brings healing.

Do you know why? Because real, true Christian repentance always gets down to the sin underneath the sin. The sin underneath the sin is always that Jesus’ love and work on the cross is not enough. Let me tell you what the language of a repentant heart is. A repentant heart goes like this, “Lord Jesus, I did this thing because I didn’t believe you loved me. Your love wasn’t enough. In this act, I denied that your love is enough for me. Forgive me.”

When you repent like that it immediately shows you, “I haven’t been believing in his love and the sufficiency of his work on the cross for me. The reason I did this was I really didn’t think Jesus was enough. Therefore, the minute you really repent, the minute that sword comes in the peace begins to develop. The sword of repentance leads to peace.

God’s peace comes after the sting of obedience.

What do I mean by that? There’ll be many places where you as a Christian come and you find you’re at a crossroads. Off in this direction is the road to comfort. Off in this direction is the road to obedience. It looks like the road to peace is the disobedient road and the road to conflict is the obedient road.

It looks like the road to peace is the disobedient road and the road to conflict is the obedient road.

Joni Eareckson is a Christian lady who, through a terrible accident, lost the use of her limbs. For a number of years she was very bitter and very angry. Then one day she said, “God, I don’t have the right to tell you how to run the universe.” When she figured that out, she developed a radiance about her. She received peace. When she realized, “God is in control. I can trust him,” even though she had lost permanently the use of her limbs, a peace enveloped her as well as a radiance.

When she realized, “God is in control. I can trust him,” even though she had lost permanently the use of her limbs, a radiance developed about her. A trust developed in her toward Christ.

She became a radiant person, but that radiance cost her her limbs. She would admit now she never ever would have found the kind of joy, the kind of character, the kind of strength, and the kind of power. It cost her her limbs. The sword came in and it cut her, but then the same sword that cut her healed her.

To obey in the short run is the way of conflict; it’s the way of the sword. In the long run it’s always the way of peace. Jesus comes with a sword. He divides people from people and he divides the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. What should we conclude?

Christmas teaches us as Christians not to be crybabies anymore.

The one thing Simeon is telling us here is this child is the cause of the falling and rising again of many in Israel and a sword will pass through your heart as well. Christians expect trouble. They expect conflict as the way to get to peace. They see it in Jesus. The way Jesus brought peace was he went to the cross. They know, therefore, that conflicts are inevitable.

They also know that only through the sting of repentance do I find peace of conscience. Only through the sting of obedience do I find peace with God. Christians have to realize that suffering, troubles, difficulties, and temptations are going to come. It doesn’t mean they don’t hurt. It doesn’t mean they don’t make us sad.

We’re not shocked they’re happening. We’re not distressed that we’re distressed. We’re not surprised that we’re surprised. We’re not depressed that we’re depressed. We know these things are going to happen. Most of all, the last thing we learn is there’s a glory. Where did Simeon get his peace? He says, “Now I can have peace because mine eyes have seen your salvation, a light for revelation of the Gentiles, and for glory of your people, Israel.”

Joni Eareckson knows some day she will run and not be weary. She will walk and not faint. We look ahead. and that’s where we get our peace. We look at Jesus Christ. He was humbled. He became poor. He became a baby. He humbled himself so he would be exalted. Christians know the same thing. Christian friends, if you can get this down, you’ll be able to face anything, and I want that for you more than anything else today. I really do. So don’t shrink.

When Simeon said to Mary, “There’ll be a sword through your soul,” what if Mary had said, “I don’t want a sword in my soul?” What if Jesus had said, “I don’t want a sword in my soul? I don’t want peace that way,” then where would you be? Where would I be? Don’t shrink back. Follow them. Follow him to peace. Let’s pray.