The Mission Statement of Jesus

Opening Comments

Please met me in your copy of God’s word in Luke 12:49-53. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find our text on pg. 819. This is God’s holy word

Luke 12:49–53 ESV

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.”

Prayer

"Father, as we delve into Luke 12:49-53, we ask that you would grant us clarity on Christ's mission to ignite purification and division through His cross. Prepare our hearts to grasp the weight of this truth. May we understand that His judgment brings redemption.Empower us to proclaim this message boldly and grant us the courage to face the division this message brings.

In Jesus' name, Amen."

Introduction:

I’ve titled the message today “The Mission Statement of Jesus.”

Mission statements are a very common thing in our world. But what exactly are they and what purpose do they serve.

A mission statement is a concise, meaningful declaration that defines an organization's, team's or individual's purpose, goals and values. It serves as a guiding document that communicates the reason for existence, objectives and principles.

*Purpose of a Mission Statement*

1. Clarify purpose and direction

2. Inspire and motivates stakeholders

3. Provide focus and unity

4. Guide decision-making

5. Communicate values and culture

6. Enhance credibility and reputation

7. Facilitate strategic planning

8. Encourage accountability

*Characteristics of Effective Mission Statements*

1. Concise and clear

2. Meaningful and inspiring

3. Relevant and timely

4. Unique and distinctive

5. Memorable and communicable

Google-

”Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

Meta

“Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together"

Apple

“to provide the best user experience for its customers through its products, services, and hardware”

Our church

“Heritage Winchester exists to help people in Winchester, Frederick County, and the world KNOW, FOLLOW, SHARE and GLORIFY Jesus Christ.

In the context of Luke 12:49-53, Jesus' words can be seen as a mission statement, defining His purpose.

This is important because by the time in the life of Christ in Luke 12, as he is journeying toward Jerusalem and ultimately the cross; the general attitude toward Jesus had turn to rejection. The primary reason for this objection was that the nation as a whole misunderstood the purpose in Jesus coming.

They were seeking a messiah who would come as a unifying and conquering political figure and Jesus didn't seem to fit the bill.

Was that the purpose of his coming? To be a political savior? Or, was it something else?

Our passage tells us that it was something else entirely and understanding it helps us to understand why the world, as a whole rejects him both then and now.

This mission statement consist of two major components.

Let’s unpack them together this morning.

1.) Christ came came to bring judgement. (v.49-50)

Luke 12:49 ESV

49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!

Jesus has been speaking in parables just prior to this about his second coming. That his followers needed to be prepared for because it would happen at a time that would be unexpected. That when he comes, one of two things will happen, reward for the faithful who responded to the truth and judgement for the unfaithful who did not respond to the truth of his coming. They would be cut up in pieces, beaten and placed with unbelievers.

Here in vs.49 Jesus places aside the parable for a direct statement.

Luke 12:49 ESV

49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!

Fire - is often used in the Bible as symbolism for the judgement of God and that is the context here.

The fire that Jesus brings to the earth is one that both purges and purifies. In the final judgement, Christ will return to purge this world of evil and all those who practice it.

Surely there is coming a day when all those who reject Jesus as their king will be judged by him for doing so at his second coming.

This is the fire Jesus longed to be kindled on the earth, when sin would be utterly purged and God’s eternal kingdom established.

John the Baptist used this imagery speaking of Jesus in Luke 3

Luke 3:9 ESV

9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:16–17 ESV

16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

This fire has not yet occured but it will begin at the cross.

That’s why Jesus said n Luke 12:50

Luke 12:50 ESV

50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

Baptism- to be plunged under or immersed. In greek literature it is often used to describe being overwhelmed with catastrophe.

Jesus is saying before the fire will be kindled he first must be placed under, immersed, plunged under God’s divine judgement. Before he can judge the world for its sin, he himself must be judged by God for the sins of the world.

This took place at the cross. The reality that the cross laid ahead for Christ distressed him greatly. He wanted it to be over with because he knew exactly what it entailed.

One writer put it this way:

What made the waiting so terrible was that he knew exactly what his baptism entailed. The artful butchery and prolonged torture were not what distressed him, but rather the necessity of his taking on the raw sewage of our sins—so that he, in effect, would choke and drown in it and become the same

R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 69.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Folks what Jesus would undergo on the cross becoming sin for us and bearing the wrath of God poured out on that sin is what is known as the doctrine of penal substitution.

which “states that God gave Himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin. This understanding of the cross of Christ stands at the very heart of the gospel” (Jeffrey, Steve, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach, Pierced for Our Transgressions [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2007], 21).

John MacArthur, Luke 11–17, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2013), 171.

The Lord was hard pressed between his purpose and his suffering. Between his pain and God’s plan of redemption. Yet, he never wavered from the task.

It is the cross of Christ that brings judgement upon the world and upon Satan.

Jesus longed to bring the fire of judgement upon the earth, he wished it were already kindled. But he had to first go through the baptism of death on the cross, immersed in our sins. And he couldn't wait for it to be finished! So he plunged forward to the cross in order to bring about God’s eternal plan.

The purpose of Christ coming was to bring about judgement upon sin and it is that judgement that brings us to the second part of Christ mission statement.

2.) Christ came to bring division. (v.51-53)

Luke 12:51–53 ESV

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.”

Remember, by this point in the narrative of Jesus life, the people were dead set on rejection of him as their messiah. The reason for this rejection is that they had a fundamental misunderstanding of Old Testament prophecy regarding who the messiah would be and wha he would do. In other words, Jesus didn’t fit their man-made interpretation.

This belief was that immediately upon the Messiah's arrival he would usher in national peace like they had never experienced before.

In fact, one of the most well-known prophetic passages regarding the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6) Calls the Messiah the "prince of peace”.

They believed that when Messiah would come he would set up an earthly kingdom that would vanquish their enemies (especially Rome) And set them back in place as the dominant world power.

Even John the Baptist father Zacharias expressed this and Luke 1:79

Luke 1:79 ESV

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

But, what they misunderstood is that yes there would be national peace set up through an earthly kingdom; but that was a future reality. Christ first game not to set up a physical kingdom but a spiritual kingdom that would bring not national peace but personal peace with God.

Jesus boldly declare's here they were wrong thinking he was coming to bring peace that in fact he was coming to bring division.

That's what the cross has done it separates mankind into two categories believers and unbelievers. Those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ.

There is no middle ground with Jesus, you are either for him or against him. The gospel demand s a response. Loyalties must be declared, commitments must be made and lines must be drawn.

He illustrates this by referencing Micah 7:6 in v.53

Micah 7:6 ESV

6 for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

This senario has played out again and again throughout christian history, maybe even in your own family.

The offense of the gospel often causes those who hate it to reject those who embrace it.

During the first 400 years of the Roman Empire, his name could land one in jail, or worse.

In many parts of the world, becoming a Christian means severing all ties with family. Sometimes, these families have conspired with the government in the person’s death sentence. In more tolerant countries, families may deeply resent converts, shunning them and disinheriting them.

Bruce B. Barton et al., Luke, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 333.

The name of Jesus always brings division, sometimes painful division.

When Jesus says things like John 14:6

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Thats offensive to a society that wants uniformity of religion. That believe all roads lead to the same destination.

Friends, when you follow Jesus, you will experience division.

Conclusion:

Jesus didn't come to bring superficial peace or unity at any cost. Instead, He brought:

1. Judgment: Purging sin through His death and resurrection.

2. Division: Separating believers from unbelievers.

This mission statement demands a response. Will you:

1. Embrace the offense of the Gospel?

2. Stand firm amidst division?

Prayer

Lord, deepen our understanding of Your purpose.

Give us boldness to share Your truth.

May Your name unite and divide, as You intend.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Invitation

1. Reflect on your response to Jesus' mission.

2. Share His message with others.

3. Seek courage in the face of division.

May God empower you to stand for Jesus, the King who brings judgment, division and redemption.