There are few other speeches of Jesus in the New Testament that catch us more off-guard than this one. Nobody would deny that these are some of the most intense words of Jesus that we find in the Bible. It would follow that any reader of these words, including those who believe in Jesus, would probably want some kind of explanation. Frankly, the Lord seems to be shouting at the top of his voice here. A little later we will talk about the deeper meaning behind the words that capture our ears here, phrases like, "I came to cast fire upon the earth," and "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division...." Coming from Jesus, these words demand explanation, because we would expect Jesus to say the opposite of what we hear him saying here.

But for now l…