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The Old Testament also spoke of that aspect of the Messiah's coming. Micah predicted a time when "son treats father contemptuously, daughter rises up against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; [and] a man's enemies are the men of his own household" (Mic. 7:6)-the passage Jesus here quotes. In the ancient rabbinical writings we find a paraphrase of that passage, which indicates clearly that they recognized the messianic age would involve conflict even within the family: "In the period when the Son of David shall come, daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. The son despises his father, the daughter rebels against the mother, the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are they of his own household."
Against is from dixazō, which means to cut in two, to rend asunder, and is used only here in the New Testament. It denoted complete and often permanent separation. Sometimes the rift between believers and unbelieving relatives is lifelong and irreconcilable. Yet a true disciple must be willing to pay that price. The gospels report at least two would-be disciples who did not accept Jesus' call to follow Him because they were unwilling to sacrifice their family ties. One wanted to wait for his inheritance before following the Lord, and the other wanted to delay obedience until he had settled everything with his family. Of such half-hearted, divided commitment Jesus said, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:57--62).
Husbands or wives will sometimes not come to Christ because of fear of separation from their spouses. Children will sometimes not come because of possibly offending their parents, and vice versa. Such fears are often ungrounded, because one member of a family coming to Christ sometimes leads to the whole family being converted. But the conversion of one member often leads instead to bitterness and permanent disruption of family relationships. No one can be sure in advance what other people's reactions to his conversion will be, not even the reactions of his own family. Jesus' point is that the concern for saving one's own soul and yielding to Christ's absolute lordship must be paramount, whatever the cost in relationships may be. The phrase is not worthy of Me identifies the person who will not come to Christ because of other intimate and meaningful relationships that might be affected.
I once talked to a young girl at a Christian conference who told me she had been raised in a pagan family and that since her conversion her father had refused to speak to her. She said, "I can understand why he objects to my decision, because he knows nothing of the gospel and believes all religion is superstition. But you would think he would at least be happy that I am not an alcoholic, drug addict, prostitute, criminal, or a cripple. I have never had such joy in my life, and I have never loved my father so much; yet he has cut me out of his life." Like many others, she had experienced the sword and fire the gospel sometimes brings.
In marriages where one partner is a believer and the other is not, Paul says that "the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. ... Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace" (1 Cor. 7:14--15). If the sword of division causes an unbeliever to sever a marriage, the separation is to be accepted for the sake of the believer's peace.
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