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"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come 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 person's enemies will be those in his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Jesus of Nazareth, circa 30 A.D. Matthew 10:34-38. (ESV here and throughout.)
How do we make sense of these seemingly contradictory statements? The best way to answer such questions is to look at the context of each. In this instance both statements are made to Jesus' disciples. They are not statements to the world at large.
The context of the Matthew quote is Jesus sending out his disciples and how as they go out, "Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:21-22.
So, in context, Jesus at Matthew 10:34-38 is saying that his disciples, i.e., Christians, can expect that being his disciple will lead to divisions in even the closest of human relationships. It can get to the point of being hated by non-Christians, the antithesis of peace, i.e., a "sword." But, they are encouraged to endure to the end and be saved.
The immediate context of Jesus' statement in the John quote is him telling his disciples that "the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:26. Accordingly the peace spoken of in verse 27 is spoken to those in whom the Holy Spirit will abide, i.e., Christians. See 1Corinthians 6:19.
So, the short of it is that Jesus says his peace is for Christians and that they can expect to be rejected, even within their own family.
Note that at John 14:27 Jesus specifically says that the peace he gives is "not as the world gives." In other words, his peace is not what people think of generally. Without going into detail, Jesus' peace is peace with God the Father and within the community of believers. It is not peace in or with the world.
In James' letter he addresses this by writing, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4.
What James wrote is difficult for us. It is difficult because we like harmony in our lives, particularly with those closest to us. The temptation is to accept how the world around us defines and expects peace. The temptation is to go along to get along. Who doesn't want a life without acrimony?
But, as Christians we need to deal with what Jesus said before his "not peace but sword" statement. "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father in who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10:32-33.
At what point in seeking to live at peace in/with the world do we start denying Jesus? At what point is accepting non-Christian definitions of, and demands for, peace denying Jesus? At what point do we become "an enemy of God"?
And, this brings us back to the opening quote from Matthew 10:34-38. Nearly two thousand years ago Jesus told us to expect divisions even in our closest relationships because we are his disciples/followers. With that truth, why or how do we expect to have harmony with the "world", i.e., non-Christians, on matters involving Jesus?
The peace the angels proclaimed at Jesus' birth, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14) is peace with God. It is that peace that we jeopardize when we seek peace with the world.
Shalom