Luke 12:49-5 - The Signs of the Times
Luke 12:49“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;53they 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.”54He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Background: Today’s shocking passage can only be understood when set into the context of the entirety of Luke and Acts. Everything is urgent and passionate. Jesus knows he is headed for confrontation and likely death. The language is scorching, and even more vivid in Greek. The lesson is set in the midst of a section urging followers to be wide awake and prepared for what is coming next. Jesus knows that what is coming will be excruciating for all of them. The followers will be required to make decisions that none of them ever dreamed they would be called upon to make. The consequences of those decisions will be monumental. Jesus’ movement has powerful enemies. It always has. In these verses, in the most startling language imaginable for Luke who gave us the babe in the manager and called Jesus the Prince of Peace, Jesus tells them and us that to follow Jesus will mean a rupture of the status quo in both cultural and personal ways.
The Role of Family and Tribe: The main building block of society in Jesus’ day was the family. Families provided stability, longevity, livelihood, identity and status. These things were inviolate. One’s primary allegiance was to support and uphold one’s family ties. What Jesus is saying here about bringing division to the family is a picture of not only personal, but also societal upheaval. He is not simply saying that there are things that are more important than family. He, as he does in (Luke 9:57-62; 11:27-28; 14:26; 18:28-30 for example,) is telling his followers that familial and tribal allegiances that are not fully and radically grounded in Jesus will not stand. Jesus has always talked about kinship not based on family ties but on those who recognize and participate in the great reversal of norms and powers that is coming to the world and will soon come to a head in his death and resurrection.
Word Study
Vs. 49 – fire – Please do not take this image literally. That robs it of both its meaning and its power. The image of fire in Luke’s Gospel is twofold. It refers to the purifying of a person and of community when awakening to the truth dawns. The Bible refers to this awakening, and turning in a different direction, as judgment. Judgment is not punishment per se. It is seeing the truth, accepting it and changing as a result of the truth. It is always for the purpose of redemption and reconciliation. The second way Luke uses the image of fire is as a symbol for the Holy Spirit. Remember the tongues of fire that rested on the followers
heads in the Acts 2 Pentecost story. Holy Spirit has many functions in the Bible. One of them is to provide clarity and cleansing of thought and heart. That is what Jesus is saying here. That is also why he can say that he longs for the fire to already be kindled.
Earth – The word translated as earth throughout this passage is ge. It is an interesting word. It doesn’t simply refer to the planet earth. It refers to both the land AND the personal domain and history of a person, particularly to one’s history with God. Ge can best be understood, in its broadest sense, as all the is material and personal.
! – Whenever you see an exclamation point in the scripture it indicates that English can’t adequately convey the power and urgency of what is being conveyed. This like writing something in all caps 24 point type.
Vs. 50 – baptism – This word (the same we use for our baptisms) refers here to passion and grief. Particularly passion and grief that must be undergone in order to take a person somewhere. He is trying to prepare them for his execution.
Stress – This word comes from the root ‘to hold together.’ It is not anxiety but more like the stress of great pressure on metal. It is sometimes translated ‘to compress, to hold fast, to strain, to compel, or even to be taken by force by a throng.’
Completed – This word refers to something that is finished, accomplished, perfected.
Vs. 51 – peace – This word refers to harmonious relationships, rest and contentment. Here the peace that Jesus is speaking of refers to the quiet pseudo peace of the status quo.
Division – This is a stark word. It means to completely divide up.
Vs. 54 – crowds – Notice that Jesus is no longer speaking only to his disciples but to all of those who are following him. This includes believers, seekers, the curious and his enemies.
Vs. 56 – hypocrites – This word originally was used to refer to stage actors. By Jesus’ time, it referred to anyone who wore a mask to look different from what would be revealed without the mask. It is the word used for someone who impersonates someone else.
Interpret – to prove, to understand, to recognize, to discern.
Sky – This image would be clear to the listeners in Jesus’ day. They are references to common meteorological winds and rains.
Time – Here the text uses Kairos and not chronos. Chronos refers to sequential time that can be measured on a clock. Kairos is an urgent time, a right time, a necessary time. It is time that gives a decisive opportunity.
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. Can you think of times when you felt compelled by your faith to take a stand with your family that was unpopular or might have hard consequences? What did you do? What was the response?
2. In today’s passionate passage, Jesus longs for us to wake up and see things for what they are. He wants us to open ourselves to purification, reconciliation and change before it is too late. Take a moment to close your eyes and breathe deeply. Ask God to show you if there are areas that need to come to light in your own heart. If so, write them down and offer those areas to God for purifying Spirit fire.
3. We tend to love and cling to the images of Jesus as gentle, meek and mild, telling us not to worry and just to watch the birds. That is not the aspect of Jesus we meet in
today’s passage. Here, as when he turned over the tables in the Temple, Jesus is upending societal norms, allegiances and power blocks. In what ways have you seen the church do that during your life time? Where have we failed in that task?
4. Sometimes it is hard to know which choice is a Jesus choice and which is not. Sometimes there seem to be no right choices, only less wrong ones. In times like that how do you make your decisions?