What Did Jesus Say about Eternal Punishment?

A summary of Jesus’ teaching:

• Punishment is given after an evaluation of one’s deeds.  Every person will be evaluated and they will be sent to reward or punishment depending on what one has done.
• Eternal suffering was originally prepared for the devil and his angels, others enter there because they assist in the devil’s acts, namely judging and hurting those in need and causing people to sin.
• The kinds of evil one has done to go into hell are:
• a.       Lawlessness, i.e. a lack of love to those who suffer in this life
• b.      Oppression, i.e. hurting an innocent person or ignoring a person in suffering
• c.       Hypocrisy, i.e., acting judgmental when representing the God of love
• d.      Stumbling blocks, i.e., causing the innocent to do evil
• Angels, at God’s direction, sends those who did evil acts into punishment.
• Everyone suffers, either now or after death.
• The body and soul is destroyed in the place of punishment.
• The suffering after death is physical (involving a body) and it is torment, not light.
• Words such as “fire” or “gnashing of teeth” are symbols.  The reality behind the symbols is being outcast and suffering.

The texts:

Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’  Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25:41-46

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.   Matthew 13:41-42

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ Mark 9:43-48

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. Matthew 5:22

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried,  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:19-31

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Luke 12:5

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.  You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Matthew 23:29-35

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36

Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:25-29

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:45-51

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:26-27

So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13: 49-50

If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. Mark 9:42-50

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. Luke 10:15

What we do not know:
How long is the suffering?
What does the suffering consist of?
Is the suffering toward redemption?

Yesterday in Portland and Beyond...

Yesterday a pastor in Portland died. He was well loved in the community, was very popular and was known as a good speaker. He lived comfortably with his wife and children. He will be missed.

At the back of his church was Lazarus, a homeless man, often without a coat and eating from dumpsters. It used to be that the pastor would walk by Lazarus every night, pray with him, and ask him when he was going to quit drinking. But he never gave him food or allowed him to sleep inside the church, because that would be "enabling."

It so happened that Lazarus also died yesterday. He was taken to Jesus, who fed him well and cared for him. The pastor, however, was taken to be punished. The pastor was allowed to see Lazarus and he prayed to Jesus, "Lord, this punishment is severe! Couldn't Lazarus come over and give me a little help?"

Jesus replied, "Unfortunately, it isn't allowed for Lazarus to give you any more help than you offered him in his life. Justice requires him to be comforted now and for you to be punished for your damnable apathy."

The pastor prayed again, "Lord, would you please send Lazarus to my congregation! They need to know the truth!"

Jesus replied, "The one good thing you did, pastor, is to give your congregation Bibles. They just need to read my words without the blinders you set on them and they will see this truth clearly. That's the only visitation from a Risen One they need."

Luke 16:19-31

Beatitude Living

Jesus was poor.
He gave up his profession, his home, his family to accept a life of wandering, of not knowing where his next meal was coming from, of depending on the Father for all his needs.

Jesus was poor in spirit.
He sought out those of greatest need in his society and met those needs.  He reveled in relationships with the outcast, and gave up his comfortable lifestyle to find them.

Jesus mourned.
He wept at suffering, his own as well as others.  He wept at the limitations that kept people from thriving.  He wept at the systems that kept people oppressed. 

Jesus was meek.
He spoke boldly, which led to his incarceration.  He acted out truth, which led to his condemnation.  He was silent about his own innocence, which led to his death.

Jesus hungered and thirsted for justice.
Jesus taught his disciples to cry out for justice in the Lord’s Prayer.  Jesus acted for justice in small towns, in the wilderness, in the midst of a busy temple, before the governor.  Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus hungered.
He fed the thousands before eating.  He spoke to the outcast woman and was satisfied.

Jesus was merciful.
He saw, really saw, the poor.  And then he acted, meeting their needs although he had nothing to give.

Jesus was pure of heart.
Jesus wasn’t a teacher who spoke of love but hated.  He never took advantage of another, but always gave. He didn’t just speak the truth, he acted it. 

Jesus was a peacemaker.
He met needs.  He comforted.  He showed that the “enemies” of the people were often friends of God. He created a community of love.

Jesus was persecuted.
Jesus was rejected.  Jesus was threatened.  Jesus was hated.  Jesus was beaten.  Jesus was tortured.  Jesus was killed.

For all this, Jesus obtained new life.

A second chance of life is only obtained through the path of Jesus.

A Brief Summary of Jesus' Method of Using Violence

I just want to make it absolutely clear about Jesus and violence.  If we are going to follow Jesus' method of violence, then:

-We only carry weapons if we are pretending to be thugs in order to fulfill Scripture (Luke 22:35-37)

-We never use weapons to harm another because that results in our own judgment (Matthew 26:52)

-We should bring out a whip and turn over tables only in response to hypocrisy in churches, never against those who attack us (John 2:14-16)

-When people try to kill us, we pray for their forgiveness (Luke 23:33-34)

Okay, got that straight?

Recommendations for Your Holiday Meal

When you host a feast this Thanksgiving or Christmas, don't invite your friends or family. They will expect to do the dishes, or to bring something, or invite you back to their place next year. Instead, invite the homeless, the refugees, those in nursing homes, the mentally ill, because the only reward you could expect then would be from God.

And when you go to a feast, don't boast about all the things you did this last year, your great accomplishments, and don't expect to be honored. If you insist upon yourself, you will be a boor, and everyone will ignore you and try to interrupt you. Instead, sit in the corner and say nothing. Then your host will note your silence and ask you, "What do you have to be thankful for this year?" and you will be given honor.

Don't demand respect, or else you will be rejected. Be humble and you will be given greater respect.

-Jesus

(Luke 14:8-14)

Jesus on Posessions

Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Luke 14:31-33

What king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Luke 12:13-15

Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."  He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

Mark 10:17-30

He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'" And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up." Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

Luke 12:32-34

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 16:1-13

"There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.' And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Matthew 25:31-40
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'”

The Normal Church

A Glorious Vision

“You have already become satiated? You have already become rich? Without us, you are kings?” I Corinthians 4:8

Like every other middle manager in the world, the pastor has his dreams.  The average pastor spends his day torn between ennui and overexcitement, a tug of war between the internal war of knowing what to preach and keeping certain parishioners off of each other’s throats.  But in a pastor’s careless moments he might reflect on what his ideal ministry would be, what some church leaders might have already achieved in his lifetime:

• Thousands in the congregation, thirsting after his wisdom.
• A large building, a modern cathedral with stained glass and exalted spires.
• Programs seven days a week, meeting all kinds of needs from 12 Step meetings to singles outings.
• A large paid staff.
• Bible studies every day for different social categories.
• Leading regular retreats for a variety of Christian groups.
• A counselling center advising spiritual life direction at reasonable fees.
• Meetings with the mayor… and perhaps even the governor!... giving counsel on political matters that relate to their constituents’ spiritual health.
• Leading groups of local churches in important matters such as pornography or international persecution of the church.

This lowly pastor can see every Sunday, after worship led by a local conductor, he embarks on a verbal journey through the chosen text that week, which he has studied for almost twenty hours this last week.  His elocution and scholarship is praised and hundreds are moved to follow Christ in a deeper and more profound way than they had ever experienced due to his homiletic skill.

A pastor dreams of this, for this is what is called spiritual success in our society. Mind you, few pastors reach this lofty vision, even as few local basketball stars achieve playing in the NBA, but it is still the standard to which every pastor reaches.  And the local pastor is frustrated at his lack of talent, his lack of organization and, especially, his lack of fund-raising ability to obtain such lofty goals.

It is fascinating to watch what a society, or a segment of a society, calls success, because that determines the everyday goals of those who attempt to achieve that success, whether they have the skills or resources to obtain that particular definition of success.  What is “normal” for a person is determined by how far they miss their ultimate goals.  Some might think they could be president, but they might be satisfied with being on a school board or a state senator.  Some might think that they could be a Corporate Executive Officer, but they are content with being an office manager.   But none of these would be content with being a fast-food worker on minimum wage, because their definition of “success” finds that this occupation is too far from their lofty goals. 

Even so, in the church, there is no honor in being a poor congregation.  Not when the goal is to be a mega-church with thousands of congregants and a huge budget.  According to that definition of success, the house church with an unpaid pastor is a failure.  If they move from this model to another model with a budget or building, that’s wonderful, because it means that it is becoming a “real church”.  There are some denominations that will not call a congregation a member of their denomination until it has a building and enough money to pay for a leader.

Looking at the Gospels

If our goals determine what our measure of being normative is, then perhaps rather than looking at Christianity’s view of success, we should look toward Jesus and the apostles to determine our goals.  If we were going to look at the New Testament’s expectations of churches in general, this would be a very long text.  Instead, I would like to look at the social expectations of the normative congregation.  How is the church expected to compare to society at large on an economic and class level?

The writers of the gospels all had one goal: to communicate Jesus to their groups.  Matthew probably wrote to an early Antiochian Jewish Christian group.  Mark probably wrote to a mixed Jew and Gentile Christian group.  Luke wrote to a Roman and Greek Christian audience.  John probably wrote to a group of Greek and Jewish Christians. 

But they all used a base of sayings and narratives that all the church used to communicate Jesus’ life, mission and teachings to all peoples.  Although the books we have were written after some of the other writings of the New Testament, the foundational words and stories were from earlier, and they are the best representations of the person of Jesus that we have today.  These evangelists were trying to communicate Jesus, just Jesus, with the only resources they had.  They were not communicating a version of Jesus, but rather the only Jesus they knew, the only Jesus they loved and committed themselves to.

A Collection of Insurgents

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Mark 8:334

Jesus is speaking to his disciples, but especially to those who were considering to be his disciples.  Jesus’ method of proselytizing is unique in that he more clearly expresses the most difficult requirements of joining his group, instead of the benefits.  The benefits were clear to anyone who spent an afternoon with Jesus: healing and the ability to heal; wisdom and an education that was greater than the teachers of their day (Luke 7:20-23).  So Jesus emphasized the difficulty of obtaining a place in his school, and so the kingdom of God.

The requirement of “coming after,” or following, Jesus that is most shocking is to “take up his cross.”  The cross was not just a symbol of the death penalty, which today is used almost exclusively on murderers.  The Jews never crucified, but when the Romans used a cross, it wasn’t on common criminals, such as simple murderers or thieves (as many mistranslations of the gospels might indicate).  The cross was reserved for those who were the enemy of the state, those who planned the overthrow of the state or who acted against the rightful government or against society at large.  Alexander might crucify 2000 citizens of Tyre who defended their city against him because he saw himself as their rightful ruler.  It was exclusively used of non-citizens who attempted to undermine the proper order of society.  Slaves were crucified for running away because they were teaching other slaves to forsake their proper role.

Jesus is commanding all of his school to take up the mantle of the insurgent, the one who undermines the state.  Yet, at the same time, he implies that this insurgence will be unsuccessful, because they take up a cross, not a crown. The normative Christian is an insurgent who is caught and punished.

A School of Persecuted Paupers

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” Luke 6:20-26

Jesus is speaking to specifically to his disciples, who have already accepted Jesus’ call to repentance. Now he divides his congregation between the rich and the poor, the comfortable and the oppressed, claiming that the former will not obtain the ultimate blessings, while the poor among them receives all that He has promised.

The Lucan version of the beatitudes is less familiar to us than the version in Matthew which begins “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, for the Matthew account, it seems to some teachers, has eyes of the needle to allow the wealthy and important into Jesus’ blessings.  However “poor in spirit” refers to Proverbs 16:19, which commends those who lower themselves with the “anawim” poor, rather than being “haughty” and ambitious for social achievement.

It is certain, however, that Jesus expects his disciples to be of a lower economic status, for even the wealthy among them would be expected to surrender their possessions (Luke 12:33, Luke 14:33).

But the primary economic and status loss occurs not from personal surrender, but from attacks from the outside.  The heart of Jesus’ congregation, those who receive the promises, are those who are declared outcast.  Some of the attacks might be mild (insults), but some would be severe (hatred). 

Not all of Jesus’ congregation would be outcast from mainstream society, but all of those who truly receives the reward of God would experience this and live in this.   The normative disciple is poor and outcast.

Being Like Jesus

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” –John 15:18-20

John 14-16 is a discussion between Jesus and the twelve about the nature of a life of following Jesus without Jesus being physically present.  Many principles of faith and love are explained, which are not only for the twelve, but for the totality of those who follow Jesus.

The basic principle Jesus is drawing from is that a “slave is not greater than his master”, or, as this idea is communicated in Matthew, A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.” (Matthew 10:24-25).  The one submitted fully represents his authority by being like his authority.  Since Jesus was rejected, hated and persecuted, those who are under him would experience the same.   

It is interesting that throughout the history of the church, the typical understanding of imitation of Jesus is ethical: being loving or pure.  But in the New Testament, the almost exclusive understanding of being like Jesus is that of lowliness, vulnerability and rejection.  This passage is no exception.  The normative follower of Jesus is hated and rejected by mainstream society.

The Tough Choice

“Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”  –Matthew 10:32-37

In Matthew 10, Jesus prepares his itinerant apostles to expect persecution and arrests.  Beginning in verse 32, he broadens out his statements to be not only those who are travelling evangelists, but all who is a disciples of Jesus.

Not every follower of Jesus is required to evangelize, but all must be ready to confess Jesus’ name, and this is dangerous business. Jesus’ name and teaching is associated with division and those who stand with Jesus must be ready to accept the consequences. The “sword” Jesus speaks of is not a sword of violence but is a tool of division, that spurs hatred, anger and separation, as his quote of Micah 7:6 indicates.  At the name and teaching of Jesus, the closest-knit families will be divided and those who loved will become the bitterest of enemies.

At this point, the follower of Jesus must make a decision between remaining with Jesus, or remaining with their family.  And those who choose family who hates the name and promises of Jesus will also reject the kingdom Jesus offers.  The normative Christian will be divided from those closest to them.

A Conclusion to the Matter

The normative church isn’t the megachurch, and the normative pastor isn’t the charismatic, popular pastor.  Rather, the standard for church growth, according to Jesus, is persecution and oppression.  Not that everyone in the church must be oppressed, but that as a group, oppression is felt and community is built because of the outside pressure.