Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 12:51–59 (CSB) 51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.

55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.

56 Hypocrites!

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

58 As you are going with your adversary to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way.

Then he won’t drag you before the judge, the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.

59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.”

The Text In Its Context

Divided Over Jesus

Luke 12:51–52 (CSB)

51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division.

52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

We think of Jesus as bringing peace and inclusion.

When Jesus was born, The angels proclaimed to the shepherds

Luke 2:14 (CSB)

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

Isaiah prophesize that Jesus would be the Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6 (CSB)

6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders.

He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The NT the New Testament tells us to live a peaceful life.

Romans 12:18 (CSB)

18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

God speaks harshly against the spirit of contention that divides people unnecessarily, and Jesus Himself was not argumentative: he was patient and kind.

John 3:16–17 (CSB)

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God sent Jesus to save the entire world, yet Jesus also divides the world.

John 3:18 (CSB)

18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Jesus offers peace with God, But anyone who decided not to follow Jesus, stands condemned before God.

So how is the Prince of Peace also the great divider?

It is because true peace is only available to those that surrender their rebellion against God and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus divides people into two groups of people.

People who truly follow Jesus, doing what He commands, who are adopted into the family of God.

Believers receive the unearned gift of eternal life and enjoy peace with God.

The other group also lives forever, but it isn’t a gift.

They earn the penalty of their sin and live forever in Hell.

The most painful example of this division is when families are divided in their love of Jesus.

Parents against children, siblings against siblings.

I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t say husband against wife, it is a very interesting omission, but I am not certain of the significance.

If you have thoughts on that omission I would love to discuss your perspective.

There are many places in the world where a person’s decision to follow Christ means that they will damage their family relationships.

In the very worst spots this decision can lead to their family killing them or treating the new disciples as if they were effectively dead.

In RI this decision to follow Christ may introduce awkwardness into the life of a family or tension into a marriage.

Those things are very difficult to deal with, but none of them constitute legitimate grounds for not following Jesus.

We simply cannot hold any loyalty above our loyalty to Christ; he is no ordinary teacher and his disciples may have to pay a very high price in order to follow him.

There will always be tension and conflict between disciples of Jesus and those who don’t know God.

It is important to realize that Jesus is not the cause of the division, He is the reason why people divide.

You are either with Jesus, or against Him.

There is nothing in between.

There will always be tension and conflict between disciples of Jesus and those who don’t know God.

It is important to realize that Jesus is not the cause of the division, He is the reason why people divide.

You are either with Jesus, or against Him.

There is nothing in between.

Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening.

They lived in paradise till their sin resulted in them being cast out of the Garden.

The people who were in rebellion against God mocked Noah as he faithfully built the ark.

They remained on the outside of the ark as those faithful to God were safe during the flood inside that very same ark.

God’s covenant with Abraham divided people into either circumcised members of Abraham’s family or they were cut off from God’s people (Genesis 17:10–14).

Ephesians 2:19 (CSB) 19 So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household,

We seem to prefer to dwell on Jesus being the Prince of Peace, but we can never forget that the peace is peace on earth to people God favors!

God must punish unrepentant sin.

Obviously, that calls for an urgent response to a deadly threat.

We must

Be Prepared To Meet Jesus

Luke 12:54–55 (CSB) 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.

55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.

God created the world and everything in it.

When He did so He created natural laws and patterns that allow us to understand that world, and see how it works.

Jesus spoke of common weather patterns His hearers would readily recognize and understand.

The same as if I said red sky at night sailor’s delight.

Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.

Do islanders need to watch the news to learn what the weather will be this time of year?

Bah- we know it will cool with a good chance of rain.

We plan our clothing and activities according to our knowledge of what the weather will bring.

Luke 12:56 (CSB) 56 Hypocrites!

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?

Hypocrisy is the characteristic of acting in way that is inconsistent with one's character, belief system, or speech.

In order for the failure to understand the time they lived in to be hypocrisy they needed to be pretending not to understand.

Intentionally acting like they didn’t know better.

It is hypocrisy to pretend that you don’t know the storm that is coming when you know you should hunker down and get ready for the storm.

In RI that often starts with a run for Storm milk and bread, enough to last for months.

Are you prepared to meet Jesus.

Remember, Salvation isn’t the end of the journey but rather the beginning.

If you don’t have a saving relationship with Jesus take that first step of surrendering your fight against God and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

If you have done that you still need to continue preparing to make sure that you are ready to meet Jesus.

God’s word tells us that everybody can tell what is coming, because God wants them to know it is coming.

God wants us to be prepared for what is coming.

Romans 1:18–22 (CSB) 18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.

20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made.

As a result, people are without excuse.

21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude.

Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.