Just another teen Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 This has been bugging me for quite a while. According to the passage, And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself, is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself, shall not stand. You see, I can understand the part regarding family. What I cannot accept was that division will destroy a country. From my understanding of Jesus' character, he was a person who will disobey authority if he deems it is unjust. Now, my question, how could he promote unity of a nation when he is willing to break laws that unify the nation? Link to post Share on other sites
Outcast Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 You have to take these quotes in context. He wasn't meaning that a country shouldn't have different opinions. He's basically saying that a government whose leadership is fighting won't stand, which of course is just political sense. You have to look at the situation and why he used the quote. He was doing things on the Sabbath which the rules said shouldn't be done. He argued that doing good on the Sabbath isn't against the spirit of the law. People were accusing him of being the devil because he was doing bad things on the Sabbath and he was saying that he wouldn't be driving out devils if he was a devil. It's really appalling that people take one sentence out of a whole chapter and try to extrapolate it to entirely unrelated situations!!! Each story is a whole. Link to post Share on other sites
bluetuesday Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 good day to you, oh seeker of the truth. Now, my question, how could he promote unity of a nation when he is willing to break laws that unify the nation? jesus often spoke figuratively - that is to say, he spoke in parables and stories - in order to reveal a truth to people who were not very spiritually evolved. in other words, he was not promoting unity of an earthly nation in the scripture you cited - the nation he was teaching about was the kingdom of god that lies within you. as you rightly say, he wasn't much of a respecter of certain laws and preached repeatedly that people should not be concerned with carnal (or bodily) things. essentially, he was an advocate of throwing aside the laws you think you know, and embracing the ways of god. he was a jew who told jews to stop following the old jewish laws written on stone and to begin finding the laws written on their own hearts. so 'every kingdom divided against itself is brough to desolation' means the same as 'you cannot faithfully serve two two masters'. whether his reference is a nation, a city, a family or an individual, jesus is saying that you cannot be a citizen of the world - consumed by earthly desires and preoccupations - and serve god as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. you cannot have two focuses. you cannot be true to both. i hope this answers your question. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Just another teen Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 Hmm, your explanation is very satisfying. Yes, you have answered my question. Thank you very much. Link to post Share on other sites
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