Stress or Peace

Luke 12:49-53

Introduction:     Jesus throws a challenge at us when he says we must choose between trusting God and spiritual things and trusting the world and its possessions.  This challenge is stressful and it causes us some grief in our relationships.  For example, my oldest son has chosen to trust money and it has caused a great strain on our relationship.  Jesus understands and he even tried to prepare us for it with these words:

I. Judgment   vs. 49

    A. Fire

         1. Could mean division

         2. Could mean holiness

         3. Probably means judgment

    B. Jesus purpose in coming was to die on the cross

         1. You either accept his atonement in faith and baptism or you don’t

         2. Judgment is built into everything Jesus did

         3. John 12:48; Acts 10:42

    C. Jesus was wishing it was over

II. Suffering   vs. 50

    A. Baptism - a symbol for suffering

         1. Mark 10:37-39

         2. Matthew 3:11-12 ?

         3. Refers to the suffering surrounding his death

    B. The urge of the Cross is upon Jesus at the moment of these words. We catch a glimpse of the tremendous passion in his soul that drove him on.               Word Pictures

    C. sunecw - surround, hem in, encircle; stop (of ears); control, rule; hold prisoner, guard ; pass: be sick or suffer with; be distressed, be under tension Lu 12:50, Php 1:23 ; be occupied with or absorbed in; be seized (with terror)

    D. Jesus’ life was full of stress, just like yours (And like Jesus, our stress will end when death comes.)

III. Division  vs. 51-53

    A. There is a sense in which He does bring peace

         1. John 14:27

         2. Philippians 4:7

    B. In another sense His message is divisive

         1. diamerismo -  division, disunity, parting of ways, dissension

         2. Only time the noun is used in NT

    C. Families fighting with each other over Jesus

         1. Divided - verb form of above word

         2. A state of disagreement causing problems with the group

         3. When your basic philosophy of life differs from members of your family, you will disagree about such things as how to spend money and time.

    D. We have too much emphasis on the peace, not enough on the division

         1. The apostles were always disagreeing with the Jewish leaders

         2. Paul disagreed with the Epicurean & Stoic philosophers   Acts 17

         3. Remember that our position (faith) forces us to disagree with the whole world

Conclusion:   When we really emphasize spiritual things in our lives, it brings suffering and division in this life.  Life here will never be stress-free.  But we know that this life is not very important compared to the next; and it is that eternal life that we are pursuing. 

Wichita, KS.  Central.  August 8, 1999.  PM.