The Christ Who Divides

“And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

‘Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.’

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’” Luke 2:25-35

Christ divides as well as unites. We dare not lose sight of this fact. Isaiah the prophet predicted that the Messiah would become a stone of stumbling (8:14), and Simeon, holding the Christ Child in his arms, affirmed the truth in these words: “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34).

Historically, the people of Israel stumbled over three aspect of Jesus.

First, “there was a division among the people because of” His birth. Hearing the claim of some that “this is the Christ,” and not being in possession of the full facts, some said, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (John 7:41-42).

Second, “there was a division among” them because of His Person. When Jesus restored the sight of a blind man on the Sabbath, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day.” Others said, “How can a man that is sinner do such miracles?” Thus the people were divided as to His identity.

Third, “there was a division therefore again among the Jews” over His teaching. “I have power to lay it [My life] down, and I have power to take it again,” declared Jesus (see John 10:18-19). Hearing His remarkable claims, some said, “He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” Once again there was division.

When the message of Jesus is presented, there is always division. Some accept; some reject. We should not be surprised by the fact, and we should not seek to compromise the message in order to lessen its divisive impact upon its hearers.