to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and

he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

"From now on five in one household will be

divided, three against two and two against

three; they will be divided: father against son

and son against father, mother against daughter

and daughter against mother, mother-in-law

against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law

against her mother-in-law" (Luke 12:52-53).

In this context peace has a much narrower meaning. Here peace is simply the opposite of family strife. In other words, Jesus didn’t guarantee that his coming would solve all family problems.

The fact is that following Jesus can sometimes cause family strife. In these verses Jesus is merely alerting his followers to the upheaval and conflict and discord that may result from their new allegiance to Jesus.

Jesus’ early disciples quickly learned how right Jesus was. In the early church the Gospel turned families against one another. When one or two members of a family were converted to Christ through the efforts of Christian missionaries, this oftentimes caused problems with the other members of the family who continued in their old faith—whether Jewish or pagan. Argument, discord, and bitterness often reigned in families of differing faiths. Foreseeing this eventuality, Jesus wants his followers to be prepared. He wants them to know in advance that in some cases the Gospel will set husband against wife, child against parent, and brother against sister.

But we do not need to look to the ancient world to know that this is true. Many people know these words are true from their own home situations. It is not uncommon to find a Christian and a non-Christian married to each other. A major problem can arise, if one spouse becomes involved in church and the other one does not. This situation often causes a great deal of tension in a relationship. Finally the day may come when one spouse says to the other: "I’m tired of you going to church meetings all the time, and I don’t like you giving our money to the church. So which comes first? Me or the church?"

I try to anticipate this problem in pre-marriage counseling that I offer. I always ask the couple about their religious upbringing and their plans for their future religious life. I am often amazed at how insignificant some people think religious differences are. But I know better, because I have seen on so many occasions how religious differences can create problems for couples.

Why? Because our Christian faith rearranges our priorities. As faithful Christians we are concerned with how we spend our time and our talents and our resources. And the conclusions that we reach in these important areas of life may bring family strife, especially if husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not both seeking to do God’s will. That is the division that Jesus talks about in this passage.

In short, what Jesus appears to be saying is that his disciples can expect hostility and discord in their lives. Christ’s followers do not seek that hostility or enjoy that discord. However, it is the natural reaction from loved ones whose interests and priorities differ from our own.

We often associate the Prince of Peace with the baby Jesus born at Christmas time. The fact is that we associate peace with babies—that somehow babies bring peace into a world or household. Indeed, couples who have troubled marriages will often decide to have a baby, believing that the baby will bring peace to their troubled marriage. And indeed for awhile the baby does bring peace. But what often happens is that it is that same baby that ends up causing the already troubled marriage to break up. Then, in some cases, there is a bitter custody battle. The baby that was to bring peace brings strife.

Likewise, another baby entered a troubled situation and strife resulted. This baby was called the prince of peace, and the situation he entered was the troubled world. But when Jesus came the strife began. The call to follow Jesus is a radical call. And when we decide to follow him we do so with the knowledge that division may follow. Jesus died a violent death, and so did many of his early followers. And we shouldn’t be surprised that the gospel of Jesus Christ still causes conflict in the world and conflict for his followers.

The coming of the Prince of Peace two thousand years ago did not bring about shalom-peace, as described in the Old Testament. But we as Christians look forward to the time when the Prince of Peace will return. Only then will there be no more wars, no more suffering, and no more family discord. But not until then.