Sabbath Devotional :: The Master Peacemaker’s Diverse Responses to Conflict

As a mediator and disciple of Christ, I have often reflected on Jesus Christ’s varied approaches to conflict. He did not merely “turn the other cheek” or “agree with [an] adversary quickly” every time he was faced with disagreement or difference. Sometimes we oversimplify the Savior’s teachings about conflict resolution and miss opportunities to create peace.

As “the way, the truth, and the life,” I believe Jesus would like us to learn from all of his life experiences and teachings to create more nuanced and diverse approaches to peacemaking. As Eva Witesman wrote in a 2017 Deseret News op-ed on peacemaking, “When I make peace, I want to build it. From the ground up if I have to. Like a first responder who runs toward the flames, or a soldier who runs toward the good fight, I believe a peacemaker is the sort of person who runs toward conflict and builds peace with her words and her own two hands. To be a peacemaker is to be a creator, a visionary, a champion.”

To create peace, we know we must actively follow the Savior’s example with our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. The essence of our discipleship demands that we translate our faith, hope, and charity based in Christ into real-world applications. From our current situations, the Spirit may inspire us to do very specific things that the Savior would do if he were walking the earth with us now.

Yet how did he actually respond to conflict during his mortal journey in the Holy Land? We know he met with disbelief among his family members (John 7:5), personal betrayal by close associates (Luke 22:47-48), community rejection (Luke 4:16-30; Mark 6:4), and longstanding death threats by political leaders (John 7:1, 3; John 5:18). While many recognized his divinity and flocked to him, he was often surrounded by those who were critical of him and even dangerous.

How did he revolutionize the religious world forever without starting a political revolution? Culminating in the atonement, Christ demonstrated throughout his ministry his absolute commitment to minister according to his Father’s will, no matter the situation. Despite the risks he faced, he continued to advocate for truth in word and deed while exercising compassion toward the multitudes across race, class, gender, and privilege. Truly, he came “to minister and not to be ministered unto” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

Our scriptural accounts of the Savior’s mortal ministry illustrate beautiful and specific responses to questions, requests, and opportunities to bless others. From his interpersonal interaction with the doctors of the law at the temple as a 12-year-old (Luke 2:46-50), his questioning of the woman of Samaria at the well (John 4:1-42), or his response to the Canaanite woman’s pleading for Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28), we can begin to imagine possible ways to create peace with our own two hands. Each situation required a different response and varied skills related to truly seeing the individual(s) in front of him and meeting their respective needs according to truth.

When his mother requested his divine help in providing wine at the marriage feast, Christ explained to her that his hour had not yet come (John 2:1-11). Yet, in recognition of her need and as an illustration of his love and respect for her, he accommodated her request. Later, as he hung on the cross, bereft of the care and help of his four younger brothers, he fulfilled a responsibility as the oldest son to make sure his mother was taken care of after his ascension (John 19:26).

Upon announcing the beginning of his ministry in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus was openly challenged by those he had known all his life. He did not shy away from their disbelief but addressed their rejection openly by saying, “No prophet is accepted in his own country” (Luke 4:24). Escaping their plans to destroy him, he left his home for good and began formally preaching and healing in other nearby lands. He spoke the truth directly to those he had grown up with, but he did not remain among them. His calling urged him to find people who were ready to receive the truth at that time.

Jesus Christ took many social risks in order to follow the Father’s will and teach his children the truth rather than condone or ignore false traditions that did not lead to salvation. When he healed the blind man near the pool of Siloam, he carefully applied spit and clay to the man’s face, which was forbidden by Jewish law on the Sabbath (John 9:6). While provocative, I assume he carried out the miracle this way because he loves his brothers and sisters enough that he does not want any of us to remain blind and steeped in our particular culture’s false ideas. He openly dismissed the possibility that either the blind man’s parents or this blind man were sinners. Expanding understanding, he refuted the idea that such physical disabilities evidenced wrongdoing. Instead, he honored the blind man with not only physical healing but also with spiritual rebirth. His confrontation of authorities in this case paved the way for greater love among all of us more than two thousand years later.

As we “go about doing good” and meeting natural resistance, I like to remember the Savior’s treatment of Zacchaeus, Jericho’s chief tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). Hated by the Jews but excited to see the Savior in person, Zacchaeus climbed up a tree to get a glimpse of the infamous Jesus. While up on his perch, the Savior called Zacchaeus by name and asked to dine with him. Zacchaeus responded with excitement and generosity, despite the crowd’s disgust with him as a traitor to the Romans. Like in Jericho, Jesus was often surrounded by skeptics (and he knew perfectly well of the ill will in the hearts and minds of many who surrounded him) but he remained undeterred from his mission to minister even “to the least of these” (Matthew 25:40).

In our ministry to create peace in our souls, homes, communities, and throughout the world, let us follow all the teachings, examples, and courage of the Savior. With the Spirit as our guide, as we reflect on specific and varied examples from his mortal ministry, we are better equipped to create peace even with the swirl of opposition that often surrounds truth.

When we may be tempted to occasionally despair that our peacemaking efforts are in vain, I urge you to remember God’s role in helping us overcome all causes of such discouragement: “There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man [or woman], but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” and “come off conqueror” (1 Corinthians 10:13; Doctrine & Covenants 10:5). We concur with the apostle Paul who wrote: “For the Lord hath not given us a Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (1 Timothy 1:7).

Emily Taylor is the senior director of the peaceful root for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.