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Peace Through Violence and Peace Through Justice

(Matthew 2:1-3, Luke 2:8-14, Matthew 10:34-39)

Mari Yoshino

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, marking the beginning of the season when we await the birth of Jesus. Christmas is often associated with a message of peace. This is likely because Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace” at His birth, and the image of the infant Jesus laid in a manger connects to this idea of peace. For the past three weeks at Your Church, whether in our Proverbs series or our Gospel of John series, the theme of what God’s peace truly is has continued. Though Andy and I haven’t coordinated this, it’s remarkable how messages from seemingly unrelated Bible passages sometimes converge in their common theme. Today, I’d like to reflect further on the peace God gives us, drawing from a Bible passages related to Christmas. Though we read these Christmas passages every year, reading them from a different perspective this time made me realize there’s another message within them. And that message connected to an important point that hadn’t been touched upon in the messages about peace over the past few weeks. Now, let us first read Matthew 2:1-3.

A. Resistance to peace achieved through violence (The Roman Empire)

1. The irony of asking Herod, “Where is the King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-3)

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:1-3)

The Common Era calendar begins with the year Jesus is believed to have been born, but since there are inconsistencies between biblical accounts and historical records, it is said that Jesus was not actually born in the year 1 CE. However, it is considered certain that he was born during the reign of King Herod, who appears here. This King Herod was Herod the Great, formally appointed by the Roman rulers as “King of the Jews” forty years before Jesus’ birth. At that time, all regions inhabited by Jews were under the control of the Roman Empire. Herod was chosen as king not because he had the support of the people, but because he was favored by the powerful figures of the Roman Empire. In other words, it was the Roman Empire that decided Herod would be the “King of the Jews,” and Herod was able to remain king only because he had the backing of Roman power.

Against this historical backdrop, rereading the earlier Bible passage reveals its profound irony. The wise men from the East asked Herod, whom the Roman Empire had designated as “King of the Jews,” “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” This was an act of rebellion against the Roman Empire, implying that a king appointed by Rome was not the true king. I believe the intention here lies less with the Magi themselves than with Matthew, the Gospel writer who recorded this episode. When composing his Gospel, Matthew was already seeking to convey the message through the story of Jesus’ birth: “Who is the true King? It is not the Roman emperor, but Jesus.” 

The era in which Jesus lived, and the era after Jesus’ death when the New Testament was written, fell within the 200-year period when the Roman Empire solidified its control over the Mediterranean world, a time known as the “Pax Romana.” However, this peace was achieved through violence—through victory in war and the elimination of hostile forces. The authors of the Gospels seek to convey that this peace is different from the peace given by God. Let us also read Luke 2.

2. The claim that the “Lord,” “Savior,” and “Son of God” are not the emperor (Luke 2:8-14) 

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:8-14)

We naturally assume that terms like “Lord,” “Savior,” “Messiah,” and “Son of God” refer to Jesus. However, at the time this Gospel was written, “Lord,” “Savior,” and “Son of God” referred to the Roman Emperor Augustus. The title “Augustus” itself was not a name but meant “divine one” in Latin; his personal name was Octavian. Octavian ended over a century of social turmoil and warfare, bringing peace to the Mediterranean world. Therefore, he was praised as a savior among the people and gradually deified. 

The Pax Romana was a peace achieved through the violence of military force. It was established by crushing hostile forces, suppressing rebels, and creating a social structure centered on the absolute authority of the Roman emperor. Compared to the era of constant warfare, this indeed brought greater stability and prosperity to people’s lives. Unfortunately, however, history proves that peace achieved through violence is only temporary, inevitably giving way to renewed power struggles.

The foolish arms race that continues even today is no different. As discussed last week, putting one’s own country first is the same as excluding others. The belief that possessing more weapons acts as a deterrent to war only benefits arms dealers and politicians. Far from deterring conflict, it merely increases tensions between nations.

Both Matthew and Luke tell us that peace achieved through such violence is not true peace, and that Jesus alone is the Savior who brings us genuine peace. The peace Jesus gives is the peace of God, who became a helpless infant and was executed on the cross. This peace was granted through God’s justice, which judges our sins as sins, and simultaneously through God’s mercy, which forgives our sins. It creates within each of us a heart that seeks God’s justice and trusts in God’s mercy. And it guides us, in any circumstance, not to dominate others by force, but to become weak ourselves so that God’s love may be realized. This is the method of salvation only Jesus could accomplish—saving us from the cycle of hurting and hating one another, and instead making it possible for us to forgive and love one another.

The heavenly host that appeared before the shepherds declared, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, to whom He favors.” In a world where peace achieved through violence is taken for granted, seeking peace through God’s justice is not the same as merely wishing for a peaceful daily life. For God’s justice to be realized, it sometimes means we must fight to resist human injustice.

B. Peace through justice

1. Was Bonhoeffer’s plot to assassinate Hitler just?

Earlier this month, I went to see this film (Bonhoeffer: The Pastor Who Tried to Assassinate Hitler). Last year, when it was released overseas, I was disappointed it wasn’t coming to Japan, but this November, it was released here on a small scale. Bonhoeffer was a 20th-century German theologian and pastor who joined a plot to assassinate Hitler. The plot failed, and he was sent to a concentration camp and executed. There is debate over whether attempting to assassinate Hitler—committing murder—was the right thing to do as a human being and as a pastor. But reading Bonhoeffer’s own words, one can infer he himself was filled with conviction and had no hesitation. The film itself barely depicts Bonhoeffer’s inner conflict. 

I believe Bonhoeffer’s heart held the peace that Jesus gives. And I believe that very peace was the driving force behind his participation in the plot to assassinate Hitler. It may seem contradictory that the peace of Jesus could lead someone to commit murder. There is room for debate. Yet, reading the following words of Jesus, we understand that the peace He gives is not merely an inner tranquility for each individual. At times, it places us in opposition to those around us and even urges us to fight. Matthew 10:34-39.

2. Did Jesus bring “not peace but a sword”? (Matthew 10:34-39)

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)

This teaching emphasizes the importance of trusting and loving Jesus more than anyone else. It also states that it is only natural to face conflict with family members for this reason.

Families sometimes make the mistake of mistaking each other’s presence as their own possession, attempting to control or exploit one another. Not only within families, but the closer the relationship, the more our self-centeredness tends to cause harm. This goes against God’s love, which desires us to love one another.

Therefore, such flawed relationships must be corrected by Jesus’ cross, and in that sense, Jesus brought a sword rather than peace into families. Within families, and indeed in any human relationship, nothing surpasses the love of Jesus’ cross. At the same time, without Jesus’ forgiveness of sin, any relationship will inevitably break down amid mutual sin. Therefore, any relationship that runs counter to Jesus’ love and forgiveness requires a cycle of breaking and rebuilding. It is an arduous task, but our trust in Jesus is our support and our guide.

And this extends beyond individual relationships to society as a whole, indeed to the entire world. When faced with injustice that contradicts God’s love and forgiveness, I believe we must not turn a blind eye, but sometimes courageously resist. Bonhoeffer’s actions represent the ultimate example of this. He was convinced that remaining silent and doing nothing in the face of Hitler and the Nazis was itself a sin. From here, I would like to share some words from Bonhoeffer’s prison letters. 

We are not Christ, but if we want to be Christians, we must have some share in Christ’s large-heartedness by acting with responsibility and in freedom when the hour of danger comes, and by showing a real sympathy that springs, not from fear , but from the liberating and redeeming love of Christ for all who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behavior. The Christian is called to sympathy and action, not in the first place by his own sufferings, but by the sufferings of his brethren, for whose sake Christ suffered. (From the essay “Ten Years Later,” written at Christmas 1942. Titled “Ten Years Later” in reference to the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s dictatorship.)

The God who is with us is the God who forsakes us.[…] Before God and with God we live without God. God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us. (July 16, 1944)

Humanity is called to share in God’s suffering in this world that has lost God. Jesus does not call us to a new religion, but to life itself. … Is not that life to share in God’s powerlessness in this world? (July 18, 1944)

Bonhoeffer believed that killing Hitler was the only way to stop the tragedy and suffering inflicted by Hitler and the Nazis, and he was convinced that doing so would be an act of divine justice. I think this conviction also contained his disappointment, anger, and desire for atonement toward the German church, which had continued to worship Hitler for self-preservation until the situation reached that point. In the film, Bonhoeffer criticized clergy who worshipped Hitler like a god, stating, “The head of the church is Christ alone; it cannot be a human being. To worship a human being is nothing but idolatry.” While this sounds obvious today, the circumstances that made such understanding impossible back then represent a mistake we must guard against repeating in the future.

As we approach Christmas, we want to remember that the peace Jesus gives us sometimes means not shying away from the struggle against injustice. Bonhoeffer’s actions can be seen as something he was compelled to do because too many people, who could have stopped Hitler at any point before, chose not to. God’s justice is entrusted to each one of us who knows God’s love and forgiveness. It does not begin at grand turning points in history, but in everyday life, within personal relationships. We bear God’s work before God, with God, and without God.

(Prayer) Lord Jesus, please come into our hearts. If there is error in what we believe to be right, please show us. Guide us so that in every situation, we may not be arrogant, but humbly and sincerely seek what You see and where Your justice lies. In each of our relationships, in society, and in the world, show us what we can do and what we should not do so that Your justice may be realized. What can we do to stop the ongoing wars around the world, the injustices that cause You sorrow and anger? Please guide us so that we do not become apathetic, do not stand by as passive observers, but can bear suffering together. Lord Jesus, we pray in Your name. Amen.

Summary

Titles such as “Son of God,” “Lord,” and “Savior” were used at the time of Jesus’ birth to refer to the Roman emperor. The emperor was praised for ending civil strife through military force and violence, bringing peace to the empire. In contrast, Jesus brings peace through non-violence and justice. This means fighting injustice and persistently seeking the realization of God’s justice in this world. To do this, we need an attitude of constant, humble reflection—recognizing that our sense of justice may not align with God’s—and the courage to act based on God’s love.

For Discussion

1) What is wrong with the peace gained by defeating enemies through military force and violence?
2) How can we distinguish between God’s justice and our own?