Jesus Came to Cast Fire on the Earth Luke 12:49-53 by Rev. Michael G. Lilienthal Dear people in the household of God, The treasure brought to us by our Lord, that one thing needful, the treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys (Luke 12:33), sounds great when we think of it that way, but it s more complicated than that. At the Savior s birth the angels sang, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace (Luke 2:14). But here the Savior says, Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. This is a solemn declaration. His disciples would certainly be shocked to hear this. He pronounces with gravitas: I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! We like to think of Jesus in pastoral scenes, with children on his lap or a lamb around his shoulders. But don t forget this Jesus, who came to cast fire on the earth. I. A Fire Ignited by the Cross With that statement, Jesus is telling us his mission. It was his intent from the beginning to cast fire on the earth. But, we also see, it hadn t started yet. Instead, when Jesus spoke to his disciples at this time, he was earnestly wishing that it were already kindled! but it was not. Instead, Jesus had to wait for an appointed time. And he explains what would mark this time: he says, I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
Luke 12:49-53 2 Therefore we see the sequence of events: Jesus came to earth, with a view towards casting fire on the earth. But then he had to be baptized and this was a baptism other than what he received from John the Baptist and this baptism would ignite the fire that was to come on the earth. Now we have two figures: fire and baptism. The very word baptism means to apply water, and therefore these two figures would seem to be opposites. But paradoxically, Jesus baptism starts a fire. Really, the fire and the baptism are one and the same. Notice how Jesus is anxiety-ridden when he looks ahead to this baptism he would be baptized with: how great is my distress until it is accomplished! he says. There s a humanity to this distress to which we can all connect. You know what it s like when you re about to undergo something extremely painful, whether physical or emotional. If you ve ever had a speech coming up, or if you ever needed to have a root canal, until it was all done and over with, you were probably filled with distress. You anticipate the pain and discomfort, and inwardly you cringe at the thought, your guts tighten. This is the same way Jesus looked forward to his crucifixion. He knew how he would die, with what immense pain, and was distressed. As he prayed on the Mount of Olives: Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:42, 44). Jesus distress was a very human pain. But this event, this baptism with blood that Jesus was to suffer, would also be the thing that kicked off the fire to be cast upon the earth. There was also, therefore, a
3 Jesus Came to Cast Fire on the Earth divinity to this distress for it to be accomplished. This distress was a human pain, but was also a divine love. When he was crucified, this would mark the salvation of the world! [T]hat is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:19, 21). Both natures in Christ, therefore, eagerly desired this baptism to be accomplished. I ve already made the connection that this baptism was Jesus suffering and death. This is not without foundation. When the disciples James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory, Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mark 10:37, 38). Jesus referred to the cup that he would drink, the very same cup he asked to be taken away from him, if it was his Father s will. This cup is the cup of suffering. The baptism to which he refers is the same suffering. To those same disciples, though, Jesus did say, The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized (Mark 10:39). Those disciples would, indeed, suffer the same way Jesus suffered. This he promised more broadly elsewhere: If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you (John 15:18, 20). For this reason, too, we see that the baptism and the fire it starts are the same: John the Baptist, remember, pointed ahead to Jesus, saying, I baptize you with water for
Luke 12:49-53 4 repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:10). This baptismal fire of pain would come on Jesus, and thereafter it would come from Jesus. And yes, he did baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. The most obvious figure to see in your mind s eye is the occasion of Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus received the Holy Spirit and the tongues of fire on their heads. This was the fulfillment of the promise for the Holy Spirit baptism, as Jesus himself said at his ascension, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now (Acts 1:5). And it was a mere ten days later that the Holy Spirit whooshed in. More baptismal fire came upon believers, however, and still comes. This is in the form of persecution. Just as Jesus was persecuted, as he said, they will also persecute you (John 15:20). Much of this is figurative, but many Christians were also burned alive by the Romans, suffering the fires that resulted from their faith in Christ. Today, we may not fear being burned alive, but persecution comes in other forms as well: the world and Satan desperately want to stamp out the Gospel and our faith. Jesus himself said, Whoever is not with me is against me (Luke 11:23). Whether they know it or not, the sinful world wants to destroy the Gospel, so they react to it with disgust, hate, or legislation that encourages the Freedom of Worship but restricts the Freedom of Religion. You know what? Don t be surprised by that. Jesus told you it was coming. These are more fires. But all these fires are connected to that one source, the match that started the blaze, the wood that kindled the fire: the cross of Jesus. Baptismal fire came on him
5 Jesus Came to Cast Fire on the Earth there, and thereafter, as he said, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47). Here Jesus tells how the fire spreads: repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed, that is, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19); or as Peter preached, inflamed by the Holy Spirit s power on Pentecost: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). The fire is therefore the Word of God, the Gospel of that Cross of Christ, the Evangel, the Good News, of which St. Paul declared, For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Cor. 2:2-5) We can see why Jesus would be so eager for this fire to be kindled! Not only would it mean, humanly speaking, that he was through his suffering, but it would also mean, divinely speaking, that his suffering would have accomplished the salvation of the world! If that fire were kindled and spreading, then the Word of salvation would reach more and more people, and therefore, wherever that fire would catch, souls would be saved!
Luke 12:49-53 6 And therefore we can also see why this fire is so divisive: Paul also said, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18). II. A Fire that Causes Division Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. This is itself a message the world would like to reject. No doubt you yourself tense up a little when you hear this: For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. You mean families will be divided? You mean that Jesus is going to cause me to get into a fight with my parents, with my children, with my brothers and sisters? That s exactly what you can expect. This should hit home. This division is not faceless. That closest of human connections, the family, will be split in two over the Gospel s fire. Although it s no longer in living memory, the American Civil War was an occasion wherein we could see brother fighting against brother, killing one another on the battlefield. This is what occurs over the Gospel: 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. Therefore you believers will be divided against your family members who do not believe. Don t be surprised. For 2,000 years this prophecy has been in existence, and the experience of the Christians of every generation before us have reinforced it: families have been divided, and still will be divided, over the fire of the Gospel. So don t be surprised, but instead mourn the division, as Jesus does.
7 Jesus Came to Cast Fire on the Earth He looked out over some of those whom he loved, wishing that they had not rejected him and his Gospel: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! (Luke 13:34). But Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6)! His birth was hailed by the angels song on earth, peace (Luke 2:14)! How can he say, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34)? Here is where human nature rebels against this Jesus, and we demonstrate the division. We would prefer to have a Jesus of peace among men, we would prefer a Jesus that meant that we could all just get along. We would prefer a Jesus who encouraged earthly happiness. If what Jesus meant was that we could all sit together with the whole world singing Amazing Grace, that s a Jesus we could love. But the message of this Jesus means we ll also sing Day of Wrath, and The Day Is Surely Drawing Near. It was not Jesus advice to relax, eat, drink, be merry (Luke 12:19), but instead, Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning (Luke 12:35), and as St. Peter warned, Be sober-minded; be watchful (1 Pet. 5:8). Earthly peace is a false peace. It is an ignorant peace, because it turns a blind eye to the fires that have burst out from the cross. It is a peace that sits in the midst of scorching heat and says, This is fine. Peace with the world means enmity with God. But peace with God means enmity with the world: therefore we look to a greater peace, a peace within these flames.
Luke 12:49-53 8 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Eph. 2:14-18) This is what true peace is. It is not a peace among men. If you would seek that, you are like the man who would follow Jesus, but asked, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 9:59-60). What s more important? Peace among your family? or peace with God? In the Old Testament Lesson the prophet Jeremiah proclaims God s judgment against false teachers, but notice what those prophets were saying to deceive the people: They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, It shall be well with you ; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, No disaster shall come upon you (Jer. 23:16-17). False prophets always declare to people exactly what they want to hear. In this case, these prophets were hiding the harsh Law of God from the people. Their message was essentially, Do whatever you want! There will not come any judgment from God! This sort of false prophecy was not restricted to the time of Jeremiah, but St. Paul again prophesied, For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2
9 Jesus Came to Cast Fire on the Earth Tim. 4:3-4). Instead of hearing what the Word of God says, and letting God s own word interpret for you what it says, people of every era have sought to place their own interpretations on the Word of God. People have come up with all sorts of false ideas, false teachings, teachings that sound better to them, although they directly contradict what God s Word says. No doubt most, if not all of you, have someone in your family who has gone astray after teachers that suit their itching ears. Whether the teaching is a false understanding about the End Times, about the Sacraments, about faith versus works-righteousness, no doubt the thought has crossed your mind that it would be easier and maybe better! to keep the peace and simply agree with them. Maybe, instead of coming to this church where you ll hear about your sin, hear about the condemnation and judgment coming on the world, it would be easier to go to a church that accepts people for who they are, or a church that places its own tradition over Scripture. But Jesus also said, Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me (Matt 10:37), and the apostles declared, We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Are you ready to be at peace with your God, even though this means being at enmity even with your own family? This sounds like a harsh message. Indeed it is. This harshness comes, however, not because God is mean. No, the harshness comes because the world is false and hates God. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, St. Paul writes to Christians, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
Luke 12:49-53 10 carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph. 2:1-3). By nature the world rebels against the truth of God s Word. Thence comes division. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, and so those who have rejected the Gospel are naturally at odds with us. But the comfort is this: I have a baptism to be baptized with, said Jesus, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! He was in pain and torment until he came through the baptismal fires to the other side. And this was a fire he would cast on us as well: can we expect to avoid the same pain and torment? No, we do not avoid it. Rather, we are borne through it. Just as at your baptism with water you passed through the flood from death into life, so you will pass through the remaining fires of this life divided from friends and family, in physical and emotional pain until you pass through the fulfillment of your baptism in your physical death, brought through that final flood into eternal life. You can be certain of this because your Savior did the same, for you: he passed through the fire of death on the cross, paying for our sins, and finally coming through death and bursting from the tomb on the third day, declaring to you that your death now means life. We have no need to fear any fire, any torment, any division, because we are baptized by our Lord with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This means eternal life. Amen.