Luke
12:49–53 What
we will study tonight in Denunciation,
Death and Division…01. Denunciation (Luke 12:49);
02. Death (Luke 12:50);
and 03. Division (Luke 12:51-53).
01. Denunciation (Luke 12:49)
Our text that we are studying tonight hearkens us back to Luke 9.
In Luke 9:51–53,
Dr. Luke records for us about Jesus, that He Himself then[1] “steadfastly set His face to go
to Jerusalem”, which is a graphic description that speaks of firmness of
purpose[2] (Isaiah 50:7)
This journey to Jerusalem is what sets in motion all that Jesus discussed with
Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration in Luke 9:31. The phrase “spoke of His decease” in the Greek (ἐλεγον την ἐξοδον [elegon tēn exodon]). Is
written in the Imperfect active, meaning that they were talking about his ἐξοδυς [exodus].[3] Just
as the children of Israel had to go up from Egypt in their journey to the
Promised Land, so too does the Christ have to go up to Jerusalem. Even though
Jesus was with Israel on that first exodus (1 Corinthians 10:1–13), they
repeatedly turned to idols, were filled with grumbling, rebellion and lack of
faith. But on this exodus journey, Jesus will do so in perfect obedience to die
as the perfect sacrifice for not only the sin of Israel, but also the sin of
the whole world (John 1:29; John 3:16–18). For where
Israel fails, Jesus succeeds.
In Greek, words at the beginning of the sentence have more
prominence than the words at the end, as opposed to English, which generally
has the sentence structure of subject, verb and object. Luke 12:49 “I came to send fire” In
the Greek it is “Fire I came to send”
showing the emphasis of what Jesus is saying here. Fire throughout the Bible is
often used as a metaphor for God’s
judgment or wrath (Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 50:3; Psalm 78:21; Isaiah 30:30;
Isaiah 31:9;
Isaiah 33:14;
Isaiah 42:25;
Isaiah
66:15-16; Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 11:16; Jeremiah 15:14;
Jeremiah 17:4;
Jeremiah 17:27;
Jeremiah 21:10;
Jeremiah 21:12;
Jeremiah 21:14;
Lamentations
2:3; Lamentations
4:11; Ezekiel 5:4; Ezekiel 15:7; Ezekiel 19:12; Ezekiel 19:14;
Ezekiel 20:47;
Ezekiel 21:31-32;
Ezekiel 22:21;
Ezekiel 22:31;
Ezekiel 28:18;
Ezekiel 39:6;
Hosea 8:14;
Amos 1:4;
Amos 1:7;
Amos 1:10;
Amos 1:12;
Amos 1:14;
Amos 2:2;
Amos 2:5;
Amos 5:6;
Amos 7:4;
Zephaniah
1:18; Zephaniah 3:8; Zechariah 3:2; Zechariah 11:1; Luke 12:49;
Jude 1:23;
Revelation
14:18; Revelation 18:8). The fire in this
metaphor is certainly physical fire.[4]
YHWH speaking through Malachi (traditionally known as the last prophet of the
Old Testament) says “But
who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He
is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.” (Malachi 3:2)
“Christ
came to set the world on fire, and the conflagration had already begun”[5],
for the Lord’s coming will purify Israel by purging out the wicked.[6]
Luke
12:49 “and how
I wish it were already kindled!” or
“How I wish that this fire were already
burning!”[7] Jesus states that His ministry would be like a large disastrous fire. Jesus longed for the purpose of His ministry to be accomplished.
His life and death would be the basis for His judging Israel. That judgment,
like fire, would purify the nation.[8]
His ministry would set His followers on fire and cause His opponents to
passionately oppose Him (cf. Luke 11:33-54 | A Lamp, A Pharisee and a Lawyer)
02. Death (Luke 12:50)
Luke
12:50 “But I
have a baptism to be baptized with,” The
baptism He spoke of no doubt referred to His death which He said would be
completed.[9] When
we as disciples of Jesus are baptized, Paul tells us that we are baptized into
His death and resurrection (Romans 6:1–5;
Colossians
2:11–13). And because we have been baptized
into His death and resurrection (cf.
Romans 6:1–5;
Colossians
2:11–13) Jesus has purified us from our sins (Titus 2:14; 1 John 3:3). We are now clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27) so that His
righteousness now becomes ours (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are justified by faith in Christ, not by circumcision or by
baptism. But baptism was the public profession and pledge, the soldier’s sacramentum, oath of fealty to Christ,
taking one’s stand with Christ, the symbolic picture of the change wrought by
faith already (Romans
6:4–6).[10] This
is why Jesus came as a man, as Paul tells us making “…Himself of no reputation, taking the form
of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found
in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even
the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) Jesus
was baptized by God who “has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we
esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And
by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) Jesus
knew that He came to bear the wrath of God for us (2
Corinthians 5:21).
In Mark 10:38–39, we read that Jesus makes this same
statement after responding to James and John’s request that they would get to
sit on His right and left in His glory (Mark 10:37).
So we see that the
baptism that I am baptized with (Mark 10:38–39) which is in
reference to His death is also mentioned alongside the cup. To
ask for a place of honor in His glory is also a request to share in His
suffering since you can’t have the one without the other. In
the Jewish mind, the cup was a metaphor for either joy (Psalm 23:5; Psalm 116:13), or for judgment
of sin by God (Psalm
75:7-8; Isaiah 51:17-23; Jeremiah 25:15-28; Jeremiah 49:12;
Jeremiah
51:7; Ezekiel 23:31-34; Habakkuk 2:16; Zechariah 12:2). So Jesus asks
James and John if they are able to drink the cup of God’s judgment against sin
as He is about to voluntarily do for all of mankind (Mark 10:45; Mark 14:36; Mark 15:34; Luke 22:42). In
following Him, those early disciples and we today can “rejoice to the extent that you partake of
Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with
exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:13) The
water of His public baptism (Matthew
3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23) and the blood (John
19:34–35) on the cross that was shed for our sins both
testify that Jesus is the Messiah (1 John 5:6–8). His
passionate plea, here in Luke 12:50 “and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” shows
us that He wishes it was already here. The
prospect of His sufferings was a perpetual Gethsemane: compare John 12:27-28. While He longed to
accomplish His Father’s will, possibly His human will craved a shortening of
the waiting.[11] The
way that that this is written in the Greek is saying that because God is the One who will cause Jesus’ baptism to be
“accomplished”, not Jesus. [12] The
only son of Abraham (cf. Genesis 22:1-2) was rescued by God sending a ram
from being sacrificed as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-19), but God’s Only Son was
completely sacrificed on the cross to quench the fire of God’s wrath (Galatians 3:26–29). Luke 12:49-50 bring to mind as well the words of John in Luke 3:16. What John was saying
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is that those who refuse to repent and
reject Christ will be go to Hell (Luke 16:19–31) and those who
believe will have the Holy Spirit poured out on them (Acts 2:3).
03. Division (Luke 12:51-53)
Luke
12:51 Many
today do not like to hear this, or do not want to hear this. Many today in the
church, and outside of the church have the attitude that Jesus is our homeboy,
He’s someone that we can just hang out with, for after all they say, He was “a friend of sinners” (Luke
7:34; cf. Matthew 11:19).
They say this to convince themselves that Jesus would have approved of their
sinful lifestyle, or approved of socialism, or of sodomy and the union of
sodomites or whatever cause that they have chosen to take up. Instead Jesus
called them to repentance (Matthew 4:17;
Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31; Luke 13:1-5; Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10; Luke 24:46-47) and never affirmed
people in their sin. The Apostles followed this as well in their ministry (Mark 6:12;
Acts 2:38;
Acts 3:19;
Acts 11:18;
Acts 17:30;
Acts 20:21;
Acts 26:20;
Romans 2:4;
2 Peter 3:9).
Luke
12:52–53 Matthew records for us these words of Jesus in Matthew 10:34–36 “Do not think that I
came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
For I have come to ‘set a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will
be those of his own household.’” When the Gospel
comes to a family, it usually brings division in the family because you will
have those who love Jesus and those who hate Jesus. Alfred A. Plummer writes, “It
was the belief of the Jews that the Messiah would at once introduce a reign of
peace and prosperity. Jesus does not wish His followers to live in a fool’s
paradise. He is no enthusiast making wild and delusive promises. In this world
they must expect tribulation.”[13]
(cf. Isaiah 9:6;
Isaiah 55:12;
Isaiah 57:19;
Isaiah 66:12;
Psalm 72:7;
Ezekiel 34:25–26)
Sadly, the nation of Israel as a whole rejected the peace promised by God when
they rejected His Messiah, because it is only through the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) that
peace will come. But to those
who repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark
1:14-15), they now have the peace from God (cf. Luke 1:79; Luke 2:14; John
14:27; John 16:33;
Acts 10:36;
Romans 5:1;
Ephesians 2:17;
Colossians 1:19-20;
Hebrews 13:20-21). The cross
of Jesus is the great divider of all of mankind, and because of it friends and
families are divided. But the schism that comes because of the cross of Jesus is far
better than any unity without Him, for without Him there is no true peace. Peace at
any price is not the purpose of Christ. It is a pity for family jars to come,
but loyalty to Christ counts more than all else.[14] Those who
are disciples of His may have to forsake their family, as was evidenced in Luke 9:59–62,
when man was asked by Jesus to “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the
kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but
let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus
said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow,
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.””
This division in families caused by Jesus was prophesied in Micah 7:6. This
division in families was repeated by Jesus in Luke 14:26 and Luke
21:16–17. Even if we are forsaken
by our biological families, those that are a part of our spiritual family by
the blood of Jesus bring to us a relationship that can only be found through
Jesus (Luke
8:19–21).
A.T. Robertson says that the way this is written
in the Greek “The
aorist infinitive means a sudden hurling of the sword where peace was expected.
Christ does bring peace, not as the world gives, but it is not the force of
compromise with evil, but of conquest over wrong, over Satan, the triumph of
the cross. Meanwhile there will be inevitably division in families, in
communities, in states. It is no namby-pamby sentimentalism that Christ
preaches, no peace at any price. The Cross is Christ’s answer to the devil’s
offer of compromise in world dominion. For Christ the kingdom of God is virile
righteousness, not mere emotionalism.”[15]
[1] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 108). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 945). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[5] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 334). London: T&T Clark International.
[6] Blaising, C. A. (1985). Malachi. In J. F. Walvoord
& R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible
Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1583).
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). St. Luke (Vol. 1, p. 339). London; New
York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[8] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 239). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[9] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary:
An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 239). Wheaton, IL: Victor
Books.
[10] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Ga 3:27). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[11] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 334). London: T&T Clark International.
[12] Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 547).
Exeter: Paternoster Press.
[13] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 334). London: T&T Clark International.
[14] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:51). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[15] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 10:34). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
