Matthew 10:34....Meaning?

Matthew 10:34...."Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword". What was Jesus saying?

My take.....:) paraphrased: "I have come to perform surgery and not to distribute painkillers that will alleviate your pain. Painkillers might bring peace from pain but they do not remove the source of pain. The surgery, IMO, is to separate us from the hold that the ego has on us. There will be pain involved because of our attachment to the ego. However, if the surgery is successful the net result will be the peace that "passes all understanding". Companion and explanatory verses would be the means for eternal life(ye must be born again) and "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly".

Is this way off base or simply ridiculous?

[firstandlast]

Peace is not what is desired; we simply desire peace as a stepping stone to greater joy--

You see, it is not conflict that is truly an issue, it is undesired conflict-- Conflict can be desired on both ends and such can be a beautiful thing, we can see this in competition and games-- It is entertainment, it is satisfaction, it is skills and craft; it is another way of dancing in our interaction--

The issue is when conflict is a means to an end, and the quality of that end is diminished by the means-- War does not bring about peace, it brings a comparative peace-- it brings an equilibrium, but not a higher quality equilibrium for the greater joy of all, but rather a lower quality equilibrium often done in view of necessity and survival or as a tactic for self gain-- You see, the intent of conflict matters, if you intend something and simply use conflict to gain it, than it is not necessarily the higher path--

That being said, the idea of equality in the sense that we should have all the same social behaviors in order to reach an equilibrium of peace cannot be sustained without force, because you will always find someone whom does not fit the mold-- And thus is far from liberation, and ultimately I see most spirituality as far from it, just liberation from one box to another-- Or one aspect of being to another-- Just like people who try to go to unity from duality, well duality doesn't cease existing, and thus is never reconciled into the greater freedom with unity-- People trying to go backwards instead of forwards, not that this doesn't play a vital role--

A sword is two sided, it is a choice between two things (at this density it appears to be many choices) the choice you make cuts through all possibilities into manifestation-- Thus, it is not peace that will be brought; but the wise decisions that bring about a peace that surpasses your current comprehension and into that which is beyond our imagination-- Not the peace of life without conflict, but the peace of greater joy in all experience without cutting it apart, but by cutting our way through experience in a manner more direct to our heart--

[lemex]

I imagine he was talking more about the bigger picture, Israel and it's people. There is another reference to "the" sword in Luke. I'm thinking it's the same sword which is why I say the.

[Baile]

The sword in occult-speak is any human thought, word or action that penetrates with clarity and precision into the question, for the purpose of uncovering truth.

If you are someone who believes the ego must be eradicated, you will interpret that as the need to take the sword to one's ego activity.

If you are an End of Days prognosticator, you will interpret that as Jesus and his army, coming to clean house.

I'm a moral self-development Middle Path type of guy. The sword, to me, represents this evolved form of understanding and consciousness that we are all experiencing now. We no longer rely on religion for our truths. We understand that truth is within us. And so we take the sword of our new-found consciousness, and apply it to ourselves and to the world as a kind of truth-revealing weed-whacker. And for anyone who works this way in life, you know there is little peace in revealing truth. People do not like truth. It's too naked.

All Jesus ever talked about was what we'd all be doing eventually on our own, in our own lives.

[Jyotir]

Hi Molearner,

Peace without discrimination is complacency.
Complacency does not transform status quo.

~ J

[firstandlast]

Originally Posted by Baile

All Jesus ever talked about was what we'd all be doing eventually on our own, in our own lives.

Except that, we might want to think about the nature of light and why darkness appears to exist-- And that is, the same light is true through out it; except that the brighter light is true to it to a greater degree-- Like, ripples out upon the surface of the water when you drop a stone, each ripple is an expansion upon the central truth of the cause of the ripples--

[Baile]

Originally Posted by firstandlast

Except that, we might want to think about the nature of light and why darkness appears to exist-- And that is, the same light is true through out it; except that the brighter light is true to it to a greater degree-- Like, ripples out upon the surface of the water when you drop a stone, each ripple is an expansion upon the central truth of the cause of the ripples--

I don't understand your reply and what you're saying here. Here is what I am saying: Jesus saying "I have come to..." is Jesus saying "I have come to show all of you, how you too can and will accomplish this."

Originally Posted by Jyotir

Hi Molearner,

Peace without discrimination is complacency.
Complacency does not transform status quo.

~ J

Jyotir,

Not only is it complacency it is also acquiescence necessarily to another. Lacking the ability to discriminate the nature of the 'other' is, indeed, a surrender to complacency.

[Frozen Ghost]

Traditionally, this verse talks about the conflict between those who believe and those who do not. The sword, is the persecution spoken of by Jesus elsewhere in the Gospels. He knew, some individuals would hate, turn on and persecute harshly those who chose to follow his teachings. This verse can be broadened to encompass all who follow the way of love and light. There will always be those, who for whatever reason, hate the light and want to extinguish it. Do they fear the existence of a supreme being? Does it make them face their own sinful nature and ego, thus angering them because they do not wish to evolve or change? The reasons are many, I suppose, why some souls would want to hang onto the darkness and shun the light. But nonetheless, that struggle betwixt the two is the "sword."

[firstandlast]

Originally Posted by Baile

I don't understand your reply and what you're saying here. Here is what I am saying: Jesus saying "I have come to..." is Jesus saying "I have come to show all of you, how you too can and will accomplish this."

Yes; but what is accomplished is always in relation to what he accomplished, or what someone else accomplished.. you never accomplish the same thing--