49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settle with Your Accuser
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Luke 12: 49-59 ESV
Luke 12: 49-59
I came to cast fire on the earth - This is the condemnation, that light (truth) has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light. The revelation of Jesus is hope and salvation to those that accept Him, but it is an all consuming fire to those that reject Him. In fulfilling all righteousness, fulfilling that which was spoken of Him by the prophets, as we saw prior to this, judgment is relative to the amount of light which one is given. No one escapes judgment for all have sinned and God is righteous, but there is a difference between those who never knew Jesus, and those who saw Him, saw His works, heard His words, and then rejected Him.
…3And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, 4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 5Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.… Isaiah 11: 3-5
Steven Cole agrees writing that "Jesus has been talking about the coming judgment (Lk 12:4-5, 8-10, 20-21, 35-48). He goes on to talk further about judgment (Lk 12:58-59; Lk 13:3, 5, 9). John the Baptist warned the people about the wrath to come when “every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk 3:7, 9). John predicted that the Messiah would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit and fire, but He warned that Messiah would “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Lk 3:16, 17)....I would contend that the predominant theme is judgment. While Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, His ministry necessarily also resulted in the judgment of those who reject Him. William Barclay states, “In Jewish thought fire is almost always the symbol of judgment.” Then he adds, “However much we may wish to eliminate the element of judgment from the message of Jesus it remains stubbornly and unalterably there”....To encounter fire is by nature a catastrophic, life-changing event. Robert Fulghum (Borrow It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It [Ivy Books], p. 3) tells the odd story of a fire crew that broke into a house with smoke pouring out of the window and found a man in a smoldering bed. After the man was rescued and the mattress doused, they asked, “How did this happen?” The man replied, “I don’t know. It was on fire when I lay down on it.” That story strikes us as funny because it is so strange. Who in their right mind would lie down on a burning mattress? You can’t be passive about fire. You have to deal with it or it will consume you! Jesus’ coming is like a fire. You can ignore it and you will perish or you can get on the right side of it and it will purify the dross out of your life. But the one thing you cannot do is to be neutral toward it. Jesus draws a line that forces us to take sides." (The Divisive Jesus) - Precept Austin
And would that it were already kindled - Jesus is looking forward to the cross I believe and past it. He wishes it was over. The cross is judgment like no other, it holds intact the holiness of God while allowing for His mercy. It takes the only spotless One and offers Him up to the judgment of an infinitely righteous God. This is Him in your place if you have come to repent and believe. If you reject God's One and Only Way to be made right with Him, then the cross is the worst of all your many offenses.
MacArthur notes that "the Jews believed that the fire would fall on the Gentiles and that the peace would come to them. They never expected that the Messiah would come and the fire of judgment would fall on them and it is the fire of judgment.... John 9:39, (Jesus declared) "For judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see and that those who see may become blind." His judgment is...a judgment that saves and it is a judgment that condemns (Ed: In short Jesus' coming and His message divides all mankind into two groups)....In Lk 3:16, John the Baptist says, "The One Who is coming is mightier than I. I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire and He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." So there's the fire of judgment, the fire of destruction that is unleashed....But it's not only a fire of judgment; it's also a fire of purging. You see, the gospel is that fire that either purifies or punishes (cf Jn 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 2 Cor 2:16 says it is "to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.")... Fire consumes what is combustible and does not consume what is noncombustible. It purifies the noncombustible and it destroys the combustible and so the coming of Jesus is a fire. It's a fire cast to the earth. To those who believe, it purifies. To those who reject, it consumes. (Sermon - Jesus the Great Divider) - Precept Austin
I have a baptism to be baptized with - Everyone loves the sweet and gentle light of the manger, Immanuel (God with us), wrapped in swaddling clothes, but the manger was never apart from the cross. The word baptize means to immerse, and we share in Christ's death symbolically through Christian baptism, which represents the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. Jesus is going to the cross to be fully immersed in the wrath of God, taking upon Him the sin of all who believe, but since He is without sin Himself, only our sin is consumed, paid for, and Jesus comes out the way He went in, brilliantly pure. He is refined and the Father justified in His speech because He has accomplished what He said. This is once and for all, that is why it is believer's baptism and once for those who have been born again. We identify with Him in death, that He did not deserve what He received, but in so doing He paid what I owed. We identify with Him in His burial, that we will die here, and this mortal flesh will rot away, but we also know that death could not hold Him, for it belonged to sin, and He was not a sinner. So we identify with Him in His resurrection, that we too will be given new, sinless bodies, fit for an eternity with God.
…52in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”… 1 Corinthians 15: 52-54
Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth - This was the great hope of the Jews at that time, but Christ's message ends up being divisive. For those that believed in their own good works, their following of the laws they liked, or the one's they invented, His message that they were sinners and on the wrong side of religion caused a huge rift.
Mother against daughter and daughter against mother - For those that believed they went home to those that did not, and I have watched this in a lot of people's lives. I grew up hearing about Christ, saying I was a Christian, until I was tested and it turned out I wanted something more than Him. I wanted my "friends", but how unloving was it to replace Christ with them, now I either deny Him outright or make up a new Christ that fits into this sphere of influence. They can't see Him in me because I am not in Him. Jesus told about other things that following Him could divide us from, and for the rich young ruler it was his material possessions. What if you lose your job, what if following Christ causes you to be an outcast to the present culture?
36A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; 38and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.… Matthew 10: 36-38
A shower is coming - They knew, and it was common knowledge that the sky gave certain signs that were quite dependable. What if a virgin had a baby? What if He was born in Bethlehem, of the line of David? What if the Magi followed His star from the east, and this child grew in wisdom and stature before God and man? What if He had power over the wind, the water, sickness, death, food, and even demons obeyed Him?
…24So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25“I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf. 26But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.… John 10: 24-26
But you do not know how to interpret the present time - This was the time of the long awaited Messiah, but they all had their own ideas of peace, what the Messiah would be like, and He didn't fit the current definitions, the artists' rendering from their own want and imaginations. He was too humble, too lowly, too otherly. They sadly could see many of the signs, or could look deeper into their questions, but like small children they hid their eyes behind their hands and pretended that He was no longer there, that He could not be perceived. They were all about politics and outward show, desiring a world made in the image of their own rebellious and greedy hearts. I know many evangelicals today who would settle for as much, a Messiah who brings back politeness, who solves inflation and restores their comforts. This made them hypocrites because they had discernment when it came to the weather, but they wouldn't apply the same scrutiny to the times. They had the scrolls, the prophets and now God in human flesh before them, but they denounced the evidence.
…43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground— you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 45Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there.… Luke 19: 43-45
And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right - From the crowd we transition to the each of you, the individuals. You are reading this, you have the Scriptures, the testimony of God, the fulfillment of prophecy, this is the time of your visitation. What will you say? I would suggest that you beg for eyes that can see, ears that can hear, a new heart that longs for the things of God. I would suggest that you not write it off until tomorrow, for that is never guaranteed.
As Hendriksen says "each person has to make his own individual decision, and what an important decision it is. The preceding context has driven home the following truths: It is necessary for everyone to ask himself the question, "Am I a faithful or unfaithful servant" (verses 41-46)? The hour of crisis has arrived (verse 49). You must choose sides (verses 52, 53). God is speaking to you in the present critical hour (verses 54-56).In harmony with all this, Jesus is winding up his address with a dramatic appeal to every listener, urging him to make his peace with God; to do so now, before it is too late. Note change of y o u (plural in Lk 12:57) to you (singular in Lk 12:58ff). To each person Jesus is saying, "Be reconciled to God." (Borrow Exposition of the Gospel of Luke) - Precept Austin
As you go with your accuser - This is your chance to settle out of court, to make peace with God through Christ. It is a beautiful appeal, and the penalty is unavoidable, it is either you take it for eternity, or He takes your penalty on the cross. There's no other choices, no other Christ, all else is antichrist. There is no other gospel, all else is apostasy. Jesus made it very clear that He didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them, and those that reject Him are rejecting the Father Who sent Him. This is the offer, no negotiations, one should be shocked that this even available, for the wages of sin is death, and everyone is guilty before God. Are you going to trust your fallen human nature, your limited understanding, your feelings and emotions, or what God says?
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20: 11-15
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