Luke
12:49-59
49 “I have come to
set the world on fire,
and I wish it were already
burning!
The
reference to fire suggest judgment. Jesus’
coming is like a fire. You can ignore it and you will perish or You can get on the right side of it and it
will purify the dross
out of your life. You have to deal with it or it will consume you!
50 I have a terrible
baptism of suffering ahead of me,
and I am under a heavy
burden until it is accomplished.
Jesus understands that he will bear the force
of judgment, a judgment that will be propelled by
persecution and rejection.God's plan and the Spirit's judging work
cannot come until Jesus dies. He
would be immersed under the flood of God’s wrath against sin. The thought of
the cross deeply distressed Him. The worst agony of the cross was the reality
of the sinless One becoming the sin-bearer.
51 Do you think I
have come to bring peace to the earth?
No, I have come to divide
people against each other!
52 From now on
families will be split apart, three in favor of me,
and two against—or two in
favor and three against.
The offer of the gospel necessarily divides
people into two opposing camps. There is
no neutral ground If we proclaim a message that everyone loves,
we can be sure that we are not proclaiming the gospel. The gospel confronts sinners with their
rebellious hearts before God, and the fact is, many sinners take offense at
that.
54 Then Jesus turned to the crowd
and said,
“When you see clouds beginning to form
in the west, you say,
‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right.
55 When the south wind blows, you
say,
‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is.
56 You fools! You know how to interpret
the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.
They could predict the weather in Palestine by
making a few simple observations. But they cannot tell what breezes are blowing
through their lives from Jesus' ministry. The signs of the time are everywhere,
and so was spiritual blindness. Not
reading this weather correctly is dangerous--more dangerous than missing a
hurricane.
They do not see the cloud of grace and
blessings which appears with Him to all who believe in Him, nor do
they observe the glowing heat of the judgment which He brings for those who are
disobedient.”
We hear a weather forecast and plan our day
accordingly. If we hear that the Son of God has come,
bringing salvation to all who believe, but judgment to all who ignore the
message, should we not respond by immediately embracing Him?
57 “Why can’t you decide for
yourselves what is right?
58 When you are on the way to
court with your accuser,
try to settle the matter before you get there.
Otherwise, your accuser may drag you
before the judge,
who will hand you over to an officer, who will
throw you into prison.
59 And
if that happens,
you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.”
What Jesus means here is, “You don’t have to blindly follow the
Pharisees on spiritual matters.” Jesus’ point is simple: If you know that someone
has a case against you, settle up before it is too late. From the context we know that Jesus wants us
to apply this spiritually. God has a
case against every sinner. We owe Him for our debt of sin. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only
acceptable settlement. God is offering to settle in full His claim
with any sinner who will trust in Jesus Christ. But if we do not settle, there will be no
escape on the day of judgment. We will never get out of hell because our debt
is infinite since it is against an infinitely holy God. The person who discerns the true situation
will be quick to get on Jesus’side.
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