Luke 12:49-59 - Peace or Division?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
We have been in a difficult part of the book of Luke. Because we preach book by book and verse by verse at CrossPointe, we don’t get to pick out what the next sermon is going to be. So we have been wading through some difficult teachings by Jesus as we have resumed the Gospel of Luke in chapter 12.
We started chapter 12 by seeing Christ hammer the hypocrisy in the Pharisees. He called out those leaders who were religious but were not righteous. He then warned us of the need to be generous and anxious for nothing. Jesus told us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then our needs would be supplied. And last week, Jesus got even more difficult in His teaching by telling a couple of parables about being watchful and faithful because He is coming back. He warned us of an eternal hell that awaits those who are not ready when He comes.
And this week, Jesus is going to continue in His difficult teaching as He addresses the separation of believers and unbelievers.
When we think of Christ, we think of peace. Consider verses like the following that are commonly mentioned around Christmas time:
Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We think of peace. We think of comfort. We consider our Wonderful Counselor who is there during our times of need.
We are not wrong to consider these common understandings of Jesus. They are certainly part of Christ’s nature.
Consider further in Matthew 12:20:
a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;
He comes to those who are broken and hurting and binds up their wounds. He saves those who are contrite and humble before Him - those who repent of their sins and trust in Him for salvation.
But today, we are going to see the other side of Jesus Christ. Although He is the Savior of the world - although He loves us and desires to save all of those who would humble themselves before Him - He is also a God of judgment.
And today we are going to see Jesus in His zeal for justice and righteousness. We are going to see Jesus ready to right all of the wrongs of the world. We are going to see Jesus ready to rule and reign and punish those who refuse to bow their knee to Him.
Join me as I read our Scripture for today.
Read Full Scripture:
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
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.”
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.
And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.
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?
“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
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.
I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
Prayer
Today we will see four requirements for those who want to follow Christ. The first is…
I. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Accept His Dominion (49-50)
I. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Accept His Dominion (49-50)
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
Jesus tells us multiple times in the Scripture why He has come to earth. In other words, He informs us why He took on human flesh. He tells us about His incarnation and the reasons why God had to take on flesh.
Jesus gives us various reasons for why He came in the Gospels.
1. He came to call sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)
2. He came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)
3. He came to provide abundant life. (John 10:10)
4. He came as a light into the darkness. (John 12:46)
5. He came in the name of the Father and in the will of the Father. (John 5:43, John 6:38, John 16:28)
6. He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17).
7. He came to offer His life on the cross. (John 12:27)
8. He came to save the world and not judge the world. (John 12:47)
9. He came to bear witness to the truth. (John 18:37)
10. He came to cast fire on the earth. (Luke 12:49)
These are all beautiful statements that we like to talk about - that is until we get to #10. We refer to Jesus as Savior. We refer to Him as sacrificial. He is a friend of sinners. He seeks and saves those who are lost. He approached sinners without harsh judgment. Yet, He did certainly call them to repentance.
But this last ‘He came’ statement in verse 49 seems to contradict #8 doesn’t it? In John 12:47 Christ said that He came to save the world and not to judge the world. However, here He says that He came to cast fire on the earth. He even makes this a more intense statement by saying that that He wishes that it was already kindled.
Well first off, this is not a contradiction. The Scripture in John speaks of Christ's first coming. He did not come in judgment the first time. He came as a suffering servant. He willingly laid down His life on the cross for the sins of the world.
But the Bible is clear that Jesus is coming back. Last week we discussed His second coming as Jesus told a couple of parables. Jesus asserted that He would come back and would punish those who were not true believers.
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
But looking back at verse 49, we see Jesus say that He came to cast fire on earth. We have already alluded to the meaning of this statement.
Fire is almost always representative of God's judgment in the Bible. Last week, we discussed some of the many verses that Jesus spoke on regarding hell. He spoke of hell more than anyone in the Bible. Christ came with fire - this fire will consume those who stand against Him and will result in eternal judgment of the lost.
But why would the Savior of the world be the One Who spoke of hell so much? It is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, but Christ speaks of hell far more than anyone else in the Scriptures. The late theologian and pastor R.C. Sproul asserted that it was because He had the most credibility to speak on such a subject. Coming from the One who would defeat death and the grave – coming from the One who would offer His life up on the cross to save lost souls from eternal punishment – coming from God-made-flesh - hell would be easier to hear about from Him.
As I am sure we have all heard at some point - God is a God of love. In fact, the Bible asserts that God is love in 1 John 4:8. But God is also a God of justice. You actually can't have one without the other. It is not loving to allow sin. A judge would be unloving and unjust to allow a murderer to go free without any penalty.
In the same way, Jesus Christ is love, but He is also full of justice. His statement at the end of verse 49 expresses His desire for things to be made right.
Jesus looks forward to the day where He will rule and reign without evil present. He looks forward to the day where His enemies are forever judged.
This is really hard for us to hear. It is hard for us to see Jesus looking forward to the judgment to come. However we must understand the justice and righteousness of God.
As we look around our world and we see all of the pain and suffering, we only see the surface level. Jesus saw what was under the surface. He saw the evil of this present world at its worst. And He looked forward to the time where justice would be served. Sin would be no more.
But Jesus doesn’t end there. Although He longed for justice to be served and God’s wrath to be appeased, He would first sacrificially and willingly offer His own life for the world by appeasing the wrath of God by taking on our punishment on the cross. Listen to verse 50:
I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
At first glance, many may be confused by this verse. We know that Jesus has already been baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17). So what is He discussing here?
Jesus is using the metaphor of baptism for His crucifixion. The word baptism in this sense is being used as one overwhelmed and immersed by divine judgment.
He was in great distress until His crucifixion would be accomplished. This distress was two-fold.
He knew the difficult road He was traveling. As we see in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46), Christ expressed this distress of knowing the coming torture that He would endure and the wrath of God that would be placed upon Him as He sweat drops of blood.
But He also was looking forward to accomplishing His purpose on the cross. He was ready to finish His work on earth by taking on the wrath of God for those who would place their faith and trust in Him for salvation.
We may miss the grace of God in these first two verses of judgment. However, Christ took the judgment and punishment that we deserved on the cross. The wrath of the Father was placed upon His beloved Son. The punishment that we deserved was placed upon Christ. By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
We only must repent and turn from our sins and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Moving forward, we see Jesus continue His hard words…
Scripture References: Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 12:20, John 12:47, 1 John 4:8, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 22:39-46, Isaiah 53:5
II. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Suffer Division (51-53)
II. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Suffer Division (51-53)
Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
Christ continues confusing His disciples and us today by saying that He did not come to bring peace but instead came to bring division.
This is confusing to us because we call Christ the Prince of peace as we discussed at the beginning of today’s message. However, this name of Christ refers to the peace that Christ provides between God and man for those who are believers (Romans 5:1). And it refers to the peace that surpasses all understanding that fills believers because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised to those who would trust in Him (Philippians 4:7).
For us who are saved, He is the Prince of peace.
However, for those who are not His, He is a stumbling block. The Bible says that He is a rock of offence.
Listen to Jesus refer to Himself like this in Matthew 21:44.
And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
This is warning against rejecting Jesus. He is an immovable stone. He is a crushing stone. He is the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Zechariah 10:4, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-8).
These warnings are a call to repent and be saved. Just like you cannot break or move a huge stone with your human strength, you cannot oppose Christ. You will be crushed if you oppose Him. He is exalted and rules and reigns without any hope for His opposition. He will crush all of His opponents.
Those are some harsh words. Many in our church culture today stay away from such understandings of Jesus. As we mentioned last week, they portray Jesus as a weak and timid man. Yet He was and is God-made flesh. He is all-powerful.
Christ is the Rock of Offence - The Chief Cornerstone.
And this strong message of Christ’s exclusivity and judgment has caused division in many ways.
History and time has been divided because of Christ - consider the calendar dates of BC and AD. Despite modernity trying to cancel Jesus, we know Who caused the hinging of our dating system.
Moving further, Jesus divides even today.
Business relationships may be divided because of Christ. Christians may value certain things that are not viewed as favorable in the business world.
But even more pressing, Jesus states that familial relationships - the closest of earthly relationships are divided because of Christ.
For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 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.”
He mentions the relationships that may be affected on account of those who would follow Him. While He was on earth, He knew that some hearing Him teaching and choosing to follow Him would be turned over to the authorities for flogging and even death by their own family members. Some would be disowned and kicked out of their families.
However, this persecution is not gone even today. In many Muslim communities, a new convert will be disowned at best and killed or tortured at worst.
Even in areas without physical persecution, Christians may be viewed as ignorant, looked down upon, left out of intellectual academics, oppressed at the workplace and in the home, among other persecutions.
Even in our nation, it is appropriate to make derogatory statements about Christians while it is harshly judged to make any negative statements about other religions or so-called alternative lifestyles. We understand why this is brothers and sisters. It is because the enemy, or little ‘g’ god of this world mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4:4, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel. Satan rails against Christianity but supports all other earthly teachings that are opposed to Christ.
Following Jesus does bring division.
There is a cost for following Jesus. For some it is very great. For some it costs them their life. But for everyone there is a cost of some sort. Listen to Jesus mention the cost of discipleship - the cost for following Him:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Here we see that following Jesus costs us our life one way or another. Most of us will not be martyred for the faith. Praise the Lord that we live in a country that allows us to worship without overt physical persecution. However, following Christ means denying yourself - you no longer live for yourself but instead you live for Christ. You live to follow His will for your life.
If you are ready to follow Christ, you must be willing to suffer division. Next Christ tells us that…
Scripture References: Romans 5:1, Philippians 4:7, Matthew 21:44, (Christ as cornerstone: Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, Zechariah 10:4, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-8), 2 Corinthians 4:4, Matthew 16:24-26
III. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Exercise Discernment (54-56)
III. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Exercise Discernment (54-56)
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. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 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?
If you consider the geography of the middle east, they knew that if clouds arose in the west they were coming from the moisture-rich air from the Mediterranean and were almost certain to bring rain. Like Elijah’s servant saw in 1 Kings 18:44, even small clouds starting to form coming from that direction meant rain was very likely.
And when wind came from the south/southeast, it meant a scorching heat was on its way (see Jonah 4:8). This wind is called a sirocco (sir-ah-kho) wind. It is a dry and dusty wind that originates from the Sahara desert.
They were willing to make observations about the weather, but they denied what was being done right in front of them.
Jesus calls them hypocrites because they would believe the signs seen in the sky and atmosphere regarding the weather, but they were denying the signs done right in front of them that showed Christ’s authority and power.
They refused to apply reason and logic to what they were observing Jesus do. They had the Old Testament and the prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. Jesus was continuing to fulfill each one of them. They saw Jesus raise dead people, heal the sick and lame, and feed multitudes from meager rations. They heard His amazing teaching. They observed His exemplary life on earth. Yet, they refused to acknowledge the truth of what they had seen.
They refused to apply the same reasoning and logic to understanding who Christ was that they applied to understanding and observing the weather.
This is a lot like what we have discussed with science. As a biology major, chemistry minor, and medical doctor – I have a great respect for science. Although there is certainly much we do not know, modern science has allowed us to treat many formerly lethal conditions. Countless persons are alive today because of the advances of modern medicine. Scientific researchers have been pivotal to finding treatments for certain types of cancers, developing better treatment for diabetes, and much more.
However, it is unfortunate that some of the brightest minds in our world refuse to exercise discernment in observing creation. Many of these intelligent men and women believe in the big bang - believing that an explosion led to the creation of everything. This seems illogical at best and insane at worst when one observes created order in our world.
Let’s compare this diagram of the big bang theory with what we observe in actual explosions. Note the order formed from this theoretical explosion here.
And now look at the what happens when a home explodes. I’m not seeing order at all in my observation. No matter how many millions of years that this rubble sits there, I find it extremely unprobable - or better stated impossible - that order will arise from this heap of ruins.
Moving forward…
Many believe that we evolved from single-celled organisms. Yet it is illogical to consider a cell being able to survive without all of the machinery necessary forming all at once. Look at the complexity of a single cell. And to consider all of the DNA base-pairs even from the simplest of organisms forming their double-helix with all of the proteins and folding necessary all at once. Consider the amoeba, which is the simplest of single-celled organisms. It contains 290 billion base pairs. What are the odds of 290 billion base pairs first off forming and then joining together from an explosion? I find it takes possibly more faith to believe that than in a God Who created everything!
It is not just many modern scientists that refuse to acknowledge Christ. Many churches today refuse to recognize Christ as they deny the authority of His Word. Many apostate so-called churches teach a Jesus who is inclusive of all types of sin and refuses to judge anything. These hypocrites refuse to acknowledge the God of the Bible. They twist the words of Christ and seek to mold Jesus into an idol that appears more like them than the God of the Bible.
Friends… the people of Jesus day were no different than people today. In order to follow Christ, one must exercise discernment. One must humble one’s self and be willing to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Only then will your eyes be opened to the truth.
Why is this so difficult for most people? The Bible says it is because they want to do what they want to do. Listen to Paul’s statement in Romans 1:18-22:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
The Bible teaches that we all know there is a God. Just like I know there is a microphone maker because I am talking into one, we all know there is a world-maker because we can see and observe it. Yet, in man’s unrighteousness, we are told that he suppresses the truth. Despite the general revelation of God through creation being plain to man, he denies what is plainly obvious so that he can live his life in unrighteousness and fulfill the lusts of his flesh.
Friends, may you exercise discernment by humbling yourself before your Creator.
Finally we see…
Scripture References: 1 Kings 18:44, Jonah 4:8, Romans 1:18-22
IV. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Make a Decision (57-59)
IV. In Order to Follow Christ, You Must Be Ready to Make a Decision (57-59)
“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 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. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
The Bible uses court cases many times as illustrations. Jesus told many parables involving a courtroom scene. This one is a very interesting and difficult one.
This is a small parable of sorts where the judge is God and prison is hell. The rest of the characters in the parable are there as a metaphor for the fact that we are still on earth and there is still time to settle the case - in essence there is still time to be forgiven and saved.
This parable is about a person who is in trouble. And it is directed at the hearer - namely you.
We are intentionally not told the exact offense that you have done, but Jesus gives the picture that you are going to be found guilty. There is no hope for your case.
Jesus tells you to make every effort to settle the case with the magistrate and accuser on the way because once you appear before the judge, you will certainly be found guilty. The magistrates of Jesus day would provide a type of preliminary hearing before the case would be brought before the judge. He would determine whether the case had enough bearing to be brought to the courtroom. And Jesus asserts that your case has plenty of evidence stacked up against you.
Jesus doesn’t hold back here. He allows you to feel the weight of your sin. The settling that needs to happen is the settling of your sin debt. There is no hope for you once you are brought before the judge. Your sin debt is immense.
In your hopeless case, you better do everything you can to settle matters before court. Once all of your bad deeds are exposed by the light, the verdict is more than certain to go against you. Yet, there is still time to settle before court. And as you are obviously guilty, now is the time to act.
Jesus is using this small parable to encourage you to get your affairs in order before you stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Once you get to that point, there is no amount of argumentation or defense that you have that will prevent you from eternal punishment. It doesn’t matter how great at rationalizing you are - all hope is gone before the perfect and all-knowing judge. You might be able to fool people on earth, but you will never fool God.
No matter how good that you think you have been, you will be found guilty. Listen to Romans 3:23:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
This has been pretty depressing and hopeless thus far hasn’t it?
But praise God that isn’t the end of the road! Romans 6:23 reveals to us the only way to settle our debt:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Christ’s death on the cross was a type of judicial payment. He took your punishment that you deserved on Himself. The wrath that you deserved was taken upon Jesus Christ on the cross. His righteousness may now be credited to your account and your sin can be eternally removed by the blood of Christ. The righteous dying for the unrighteous.
My friends, there is only one way to settle your debt before you die, and that is by believing in Jesus Christ, trusting in Christ, and repenting (or turning away) from your sins.
Jesus said in John 14:6:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
All of us have an immeasurable debt of sin before God without Christ.
There is only one way to be saved from the punishment of the Judge. It is only by the grace of God and the blood of Christ that we can be set free.
Scripture References: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 14:6
Conclusion:
Friends, as we close today:
Have you settled your account with God?
Have you heeded Christ’s warning?
Are you ready to make a decision to repent, place your faith and trust in Christ, and follow Him?
Time is running out. The Judge is ready to drop the gavel. Trust in Christ and allow Him to settle your account. He is so wonderfully good. He offers forgiveness to you. It is a free gift - the best gift you could ever receive.