Good reflection! In school we used to refer to this passage in Matthew as T"he Jesus Nobody Wants To Know"...it is really hard as humans to first think of this Gospel passages as NOT being in conflict–but it is all about "peace with God" and it is Jesus calling us to love God more than we love ourselves. And Jesus is telling us our God understands our sacrifices to have the same motivation as His–LOVE.
Good reflection! In school we used to refer to this passage in Matthew as T"he Jesus Nobody Wants To Know"...it is really hard as humans to first think of this Gospel passages as NOT being in conflict–but it is all about "peace with God" and it is Jesus calling us to love God more than we love ourselves. And Jesus is telling us our God understands our sacrifices to have the same motivation as His–LOVE.