“I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE…”
LUKE 12:49-53

I. Introduction
We’ve all experienced something that has changed our lives, haven’t we? I believe that the answer to that question is an unqualified, “Yes.” If you’re very young such a life-changing event may not have happened yet, but it will. If you’re well along in years, it’s probably already taken place. Whatever it is and whenever it takes place, you might not immediately recognize it as significant or pivotal. But somewhere down the road of life you will look back and realize that there was a moment in time that changed everything.

Maybe you got out of bed one morning, made a decision that took you in a direction you now wish you’d never gone, and your life was changed because of it. But it’s just as like-ly that the very opposite happened. You got up one morning and made a decision that forever changed your life for the better.

Think about the day you met your spouse. That was an important moment in time, one of the most significant moments of your life, wasn’t it? Think about that moment when one of God’s holy angels intervened and saved you from a disaster. You say, “I can’t think of such a moment.” All right, does that mean it hasn’t happened – maybe even more than once? Both the OT and NT tell us of the angels’ ministry to God’s children.
Psalm 91:11-12
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
Hebrews 1:14
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Often the life-changing event is one that we don’t deliberately or even consciously make. It just happens. You know, you’re in the right place at the right time. Or, you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. As believers in God’s absolute sovereignty, don’t we both acknowledge and accept the fact that God is in control? One common way of saying that is, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” However, God says it better and more clear-ly in His written Word.
Proverbs 16:9; 19:21
9 The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the LORD, it will stand.

The point is that the events that change our lives may not be recognized by us at all. Or we may think we made a decision for ourselves that in reality, God made for us.
Hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving Him by faith is just such a moment.
It’s a decision we think we made until we begin to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and His Word and find out it was a decision He made in way back eternity past.

I don’t believe that anyone understands the magnitude of what their salvation really is, and all that it encompasses the moment it happens. In fact, I’m not at all sure that the most seasoned and mature Christian comprehends the full significance of his salvation in Christ. In any case, all true Christians know that the most important event in their lives was the moment they met Jesus.

It is the watershed event, not only because it determines the course of the rest of one’s life here on earth, but ultimately our place in eternity itself. When someone meets Jesus Christ, they will have come to a crossroads. Either they will go on to eternal life or they will turn away and continue down the path to eternal destruction. It’s almost as if God has drawn a line in the sand. Either you cross to His side of the line and receive the sal-vation He has offered, or you linger on your side of the line and face eternal judgment.
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II. Review
Last week, in Luke 12:35-48, Jesus made it clear that we all need to be ready for His Second Coming because when He returns, everyone, believer and unbeliever alike, will be judged. Now no Christian will ever be judged for his or her sins because Jesus paid the price for those sins at the cross. The believer’s judgment (and subsequent reward) will be based on the quality of our service to and for Christ since we came to saving faith.

Unbelievers, on the other hand, will be judged based on the depth and extent of the evil in their lives. That judgment will determine the degree of punishment and eternal torment faced by each and every lost person. And as the Scripture teaches, those who have received the most light, that is too say, those who have known and subsequently rejected the most truth, will be judged the most severely.

As I said last week, I cannot begin to explain how that will work, but it doesn’t matter that I can’t explain it. Scripture teaches it. Perfect justice is just that – perfect! It is at this point where Jesus directs His teaching to the reason for His coming to earth the first time. It is where Luke’s gospel now takes us.
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III. Text
In this morning’s text Jesus wants us to understand that He has drawn that line in the sand. It forces us to do something. It forces to take a side, and we must take that side before Jesus’ Second Coming. And since He will be coming soon, you and I don’t have much time.
*Luke 12:49-53 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;
52 for from now on five members in one household will be 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 daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

In these few verses Jesus makes it clear that His coming to earth is the drawing of that line in the sand. Everyone must take a side. There can be no neutrality. You either recognize Jesus for who He is, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior, or you do not.

In these five verses, just as we have seen Jesus do again and again, He bores right in on the heart of the matter. He plainly states the reason for His coming.
*Luke 12:49
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!”

What does Jesus mean by fire? Is this the fire of the Holy Spirit coming down on the dis-ciples on the Day of Pentecost? Is it the fire of hell? Is it the fire of purification? Is it the fire of judgment? Scripture uses the word fire in these and other ways, so how can we be sure that we know what Jesus is talking about? We can start by looking at the con-text in which the statement is found.

In this instance, we can get to the bottom of it by using the process of elimination.
• Is Luke 12 talking about the birth of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit? No, it is not.
• Is Luke 12 talking about hell? Hell is indirectly referenced by all that is said, but hell isn’t the central focus of the passage. So, no, Jesus is not saying He has come to cast down hell on earth.
• Is Luke 12 talking about the fire of purification (refining fire) where the quality of the believer’s work will be judged? 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 tells us about that. It’s where our works will be tested. Purifying fire will consume and thus make irrele-vant those works which have no eternal value, while at the same time purifying and making more perfect the works that will stand for eternity. Is that the fire referred to here in Luke 12:49? No, it isn’t that fire either.

Rather, what Jesus is speaking about is the fire of coming judgment – the judgment that is coming for sin. This fits the context of the passage. The Lord has already made refer-ence to it in Luke 12:4-5, 8-10, 20-21. Last week’s passage, vv. 35-48, was all about coming judgment for sin. And Jesus will say still more about in vv.58-59; 13:3, 5, 9.
So there is really no need to speculate. Jesus is saying He has come to earth to judge sin.
But wait a minute! Isn’t that a contradiction? Didn’t Jesus specifically say that He did not come to judge the world?
*John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”

So someone says, “See? Luke 12:49 cannot mean that Jesus came to judge the sin of the world. John 3:17 says so.” But hold on – Context, context, context! In John 3 Jesus is telling Nicodemus about the reason He had come to earth. Jesus had come to preach the gospel and pay for sin, not judge it. That was the purpose of the First Advent. That’s what John 3:16-17 is all about.

But then we are faced with the question, “How would Jesus pay for it?” Jesus would be our substitute. God would put our sin on Him and literally crush Him under the weight of it. The fire of God’s judgment for our sin would fall on Jesus.

So John 3:17 is right. Jesus didn’t come to judge our sin – He came to be judged as if He Himself were sin! That’s what Luke 12:49 is about. Jesus is talking about Himself and what He is about to suffer. He knows His suffering will be intense. So it’s easy to see why the Son of Man wishes this fire of judgment was behind Him. “…how I wish it were already kindled!” It’s only when we understand v. 49 that v. 50 will make sense.
*Luke 12:50
50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!”

“Baptism” is used here in a figurative sense. Just as a new believer is plunged into water and completely immersed, so too will Jesus be plunged into an abyss of horror the likes of which no one human being has ever experienced. He knows the agony He is facing, and He knows that only a small part of it will be physical. The real horror of it will come when the Father pours out His wrath against sin, turns away, and leaves Jesus hanging between heaven and earth. Yet this is the reason Jesus has come – to be our substitute.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, (so) that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

It is this pending horror, grief, and agony of the cross that will make it possible for you and me to be made righteous in God’s sight. So the “fire” of Luke12: 49 is the judgment at the cross, and the “baptism” Luke 12:50 is Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus will suffer these things so you and I don’t have to. This is the point of division. This is the cross-roads. This is the line in the sand.
Every man, every woman, and every young person must sooner or later face the fact of this fire, this judgment to come. Wouldn’t you think every single person who hears the gospel would run to embrace Christ and His work on their behalf? But, of course, that’s never been the case, and it isn’t the case now.

Why? Because most people refuse to admit they’re sinners fully deserving of God’s wrath. Some may admit their sin but think they can somehow atone for it themselves by so-called “good works” and adherence to man-made rituals and religion. So for them the cross of Jesus becomes a stumbling block. It leads directly to the division between those who believe and receive God’s grace, and those who do not. It’s the line in the sand.

Let me say a word to those of you who have been, or are even now, being cast aside or ridiculed by loved ones. They may see your faith in Jesus as a rejection of your religious training and background. There’s little doubt that in some ways at least, it is. So it may be that they think of you as a fool or a fanatic or worse. Please do not blame yourself. Yes, you have stepped over that line in the sand, but you’re not the one who has drawn it. Jesus has drawn it! May you take great comfort in that! Now listen to Him…
*Luke 12:51
51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division…”

Again someone asks, “But isn’t this yet another contradiction? Isn’t Christianity about love and peace on earth?” The short answer is, “Yes, Christianity is about love and peace on earth, but not now, not yet.” This is one of the things that Israel didn’t under-stand about the coming of her Messiah. The OT promises of peace on earth refer to the Millennial Kingdom when the Jewish Messiah sits on King David’s throne in Jerusalem.

Israel thought their Messiah had come for that purpose. After all, the Prophet Isaiah had said it again and again.
Isaiah 9:6; 55:12a; 66:12a
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the govern-ment will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
12a “For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace…”
12a For thus says the LORD, “Behold I extend peace to her like a river…”

Israel thought their Messiah had come to bring peace. After all, the Prophet Ezekiel had said it again and again.
Ezekiel 34:25; 37:26
25 “And I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.”
26 “And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.”

Those are just some of the OT promises of the peace Messiah will bring when He comes. But now the one claiming to be that Messiah comes and He tells them, “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division…” They don’t get it. Isn’t He contradicting God’s prophets? No, He is not. What they don’t understand is that all those OT prophecies will come to pass at the Second Coming, not the first.

They didn’t understand that their Messiah had come the first time to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to pay for sin. They didn’t understand that their Messiah will come the second time to judge sin and to establish peace on earth. So here, in the First Coming, here in the Gospel of Luke, as Jesus preaches to the nation Israel, He tells them He is here to divide. This division of which Jesus speaks is one that most of us are able to comprehend because most of us have already seen it and experienced it.

In this age, this “Church Age,” God’s peace is granted to all true believers. We have been given the peace with God that comes as a direct result of our justification by faith.
John 14:27
27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

For Christians this peace reveals itself in at least two distinct and very specific ways. There is peace with God and the peace of God.
Romans 5:1
1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then all true believers have access to the peace of God that comes by resting in His pre-sence through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.
Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But the lost know nothing of either of these – either peace with God or the peace of God. That’s one of the consequences of the division Jesus is talking about in Luke 12:51. This division is part and parcel of the First Coming. Today, the Church Age, is when we are seeing this division taking place. We are living in the very day and time of which Jesus is speaking. The intensity of this division should not surprise anyone. Why? Because it’s a spiritual battle between the powers of heaven and the powers of hell.
*Luke 12:52-53
52 for from now on five members in one household will be 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 daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Let me repeat something I said earlier. If this is happening to you, you are not alone. And if this is happening to you, it is not your fault. If you are being told you are divisive or causing trouble in your family or among your closest friends who have not yet come to faith in Christ, know that you are not the one doing so. Rather, you are seeing Jesus’ words come true before your eyes. “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division…”

I know that one of the hardest things for Christians to accept is that this division can so readily come among family and close friends. I know how painful it can be. But don’t miss this – Jesus makes no apology for it. We need to understand that this division can be a part of the self-denial and cross-bearing to which you and I are called. Do you recall when Jesus said this?
*Luke 9:23-24
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

The fact is that because Jesus is the Son of God, we must follow Him, even if it costs us everything we have and everyone we hold dear. In Luke’s gospel these teachings are separated by three chapters, but in Matthew’s gospel they’re tied directly together. Let me repeat just a part of what Johann-Peter read this morning.
Matthew 10:34-38
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 …and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

This isn’t a gospel of “easy believism.” This isn’t the popular “prosperity gospel.” This isn’t the false gospel of the “Word-Faith” crowd. This isn’t, “Okay, I believe in Jesus. Now leave me alone and let me live my life.” This isn’t dabbling in heaven on Sunday and living like hell the rest of the week. This is whole-hearted commitment to Jesus Christ and to His Word. You’ll still slip and fall, you’ll still be a sinner, but you’ll be forgiven. You’ll be following hard after Jesus and becoming more like Him.
We say, “But Lord, whole-hearted commitment can be so hard.” Is it really that hard? Do you think it’s as hard as what Jesus faced? The writer of Hebrews tells us why Jesus faced the fire of judgment and the baptism of death at the cross.
*Hebrews 12:2b
2b (Jesus) who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The joy that was set before Jesus is set before us. So James instructs us as to how we are to respond to the earthly consequences of our whole-hearted commitment to Christ.
*James 1:2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and com-plete, lacking in nothing.

Jesus Christ has committed Himself to us? “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Can’t we commit ourselves to Him?

Listen, when it comes to divisions within families, we should never be the cause of them. On the contrary we should always strive for harmony and never do anything that could cause a rift. We should always love and honor family members. We should always be kind and gracious, even when they aren’t. But if family members are offended by your Lord and Savior and by His gospel, so be it. All you can do is pray for them.
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IV. Conclusion
It’s as true today as it was two thousand years ago: It’s the most religious people who take the most pride in their own righteousness, and it’s the most religious people who are the most offended by the gospel. It just is.

So it’s also true that there’s no gulf as wide, and no division as deep as the one between the most religious people and the true followers of Christ. That is not an exaggeration. One only needs to look at those whom Jesus rebuked the most and at those who hated Him the most in order to see the truth of those statements. Who was it that plotted His murder – professing atheists?

Further, it’s those who attempt to devise a system of human works co-mingled with the grace of God who are most offended by the cross. When true believers decline to com-promise the truth and separate themselves from such people, the true believers are always accused of compromising unity and being divisive. But how can there be unity and peace between truth and error? How can there be unity and peace where none exists?

In Luke 12:51 Jesus asked and then answered a most important question – “Do you sup-pose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division.”
In the 1880’s Charles Spurgeon was accused of being divisive when he left the Baptist Union in England. The Union was beginning to deny basic biblical truth and tolerating liberal theologians. In November of 1887 Spurgeon, to his everlasting credit, said…
“Where there can be no real spiritual communion there should be no pretense of fellowship. Fellowship with known and vital error is participation in sin.”

What can we take with us from Jesus’ words today? I hope it is this: He has clearly taught us that if we proclaim and cling to the one true gospel, we must be prepared for division, even among our closest family members.

J. C. Ryle said it well…
“It is not the gospel which is to blame (for such divisions), but the corrupt heart of man.”

Our lesson this morning is a hard one, isn’t it? But we are called to stand with Jesus, and we must stand with Jesus, even when it results in painful division among our families and loved ones. “Oh God, give us the will, the strength, and the courage to obey you in this.”

~ Pray ~