Provoking a Response in Boston Harbor
Since we’re celebrating America’s 250th birthday this summer, let’s think about the Boston Tea Party for a moment. In late 1773, as tensions were rising in the British colony of Massachusetts, the British Parliament voted to give the East India Company a monopoly on tea sold in America. This move did not go over well with American merchants. So on December 16, 1773, a group of men dressed like Native Americans (one of which was Paul Revere) boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and proceeded to dump forty-five tons of tea (worth £10,000) into the harbor. This act of defiance poured gasoline on an already growing fire of tension between Britain and her American colonies.
With the “Tea Act,” Parliament wanted to provoke a response. But the response they were looking for was one of renewed American submission to the British Crown. Their intent was to reassert their authority over their colonies. But unfortunately (for them at least), as one historian says, their action “nudged American moderates toward common cause with radicals who deplored all British meddling in American affairs.”[1] Their heavy-handed action inspired a little song that went like this: “Rally, Mohawks, bring out your axes, and tell King George we’ll pay no taxes on his foreign tea.”[2] Parliament’s words provoked a response, just not the one they were hoping for.
Sometimes people say things to provoke a response. This happens when children know exactly what to say to aggravate each other. It happens on social media when people purposefully say things a certain way in order to enflame their opponents. Words are often used to provoke action.
Jesus Came to Provoke a Response
This isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes action needs to be provoked, and certain words said in a certain way are just the way to get the wheels of action moving.
This is why Jesus came with some very strong words, such as, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Lk. 11:23).
Jesus came with a message intended to provoke a response. He made it clear again and again that neutrality was not an option for those who heard his word. People must respond to him, either by receiving him as the Son of God and Savior from their sins, or not.
In our text today, Luke 12:49-59, Jesus talks about one of the responses his coming generates, namely, division. But he also talks about the urgent necessity of acting on his words. The main point of this text is that Jesus brings division but we must make a decision to follow him. We’ll see that following Jesus creates division (vv. 49-53) and requires discernment (vv. 54-56) and decision (vv. 57-59). Jesus will divide humanity; you must decide which side you’re on.
Division
In verses 49-53, we see that Jesus creates division. Jesus has been teaching on the effects of his coming, mentioning more of them here. The crowds love Jesus, but he knows that his words will eventually lead to division. He knows that his gospel will provoke a response and that neutrality isn’t an option. So he tells it like it is.
A Flood of Fire
In verse 49, he says he’s come to “cast fire on the earth” and wishes that “it were already kindled.” “Fire” is a common image of God’s judgment in the Old Testament (Isa. 66:15-16, Ezek. 38:22, Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 14). So Jesus says he’s come to bring God’s judgment, and he’s anxious for it to come. John the Baptist said the Messiah would come with the fire of God’s judgment (3:16-17). Now Jesus says that John was right.
But then he says in verse 50 that he has a “baptism to be baptized with.” He’s already been baptized by John the Baptist, so he isn’t referring to water baptism. He’s referring to his impending death. Baptism pictures someone being overcome by a deluge of water, pictures someone drowning, pictures someone dying. This is why Paul says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death” (Rom. 6:4).
Jesus knows he has a “baptism” still awaiting him, a deluge of death that will overtake him. And he’s ready to be on the other side of “the dreadful fate that awaits him.”[3] “How great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (v. 50)
When we put these images together, fire and baptism, we see that Jesus is saying that there’s a flood of fire that’s coming for all those who don’t trust him. He’s even suggesting that the flood will overtake him first.
Peace for Some
Then he says in verse 51 that his coming will bring division, not peace. To Jesus, some things are more important than peace. But didn’t Jesus come to bring peace? Yes, he did! But only for those who receive him. For those who don’t there will be conflict between them and God, and between them and God’s people.
Jesus came to divide humanity, to separate those who belong to God from those who don’t. This is a hard teaching. Many prefer to think that God will save everyone in the end. A common belief in our culture is that we’re all spiritually unified no matter what we believe. One of my favorite actors when I was a teenager was Jim Carey. In an interview on 60 Minutes, he said, “I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian. I’m whatever you want me to be…it all comes down to the same thing.”[4] Carey’s words embody our culture’s belief that all beliefs are the same.
But truth by definition is narrow. Truth by definition divides. Jesus is either the Son of God or he isn’t. He either died and rose or he didn’t. He is either Lord of your life or you are lord of your life. You have to choose a side. You will believe one side or the other. If you take the agnostic approach and say, “Well no one can know for sure, so I’m just going to remain undecided,” you’re deciding to not believe that Jesus is who he said he is. By not deciding for him, you’re deciding against him.
What do you believe? Where do you think your loved ones and coworkers and kids and grandkids and neighbors will be five seconds after they die? Will they go to heaven because they were basically good even though they rejected Christ? The Bible says no, they will not.
A House Divided
In verses 52-53, Jesus says that the eternal division that will take place when he returns begins to show up even now. Jesus’s coming will divide up family units. Why is this? Because some will receive him and some won’t.
Jesus draws a dividing line that runs through the human race. This is why Jesus says he came to bring division, not peace.
Knowing this helps us govern our expectations. Because of this, we can expect some measure of hostility from those who don’t know Christ. Whether that persecution is from a Roman government, an Islamic extremist, a totalitarian government, or a friend or family member who ridicules us for our beliefs, we don’t have to be surprised because we know that Jesus divides.
This division is most painful when it’s in our families. Jesus specifies family relations in these verses to prepare us for this gut-wrenching reality. When someone comes to Christ in a non-Christian family, it disrupts and sometimes threatens to destroy those familial relationships. When we share the gospel with family members who don’t know Christ, our motives will be questioned, our character challenged, our thinking ridiculed, or our words dismissed. And depending on what part of the world you’re in, your family may try to put you to death.
Then there’s the hurt that comes when, though our relationship with family members who don’t know Christ remains close, there’s still an underlying tension and a sadness over not being able to share the joy of Christ together. If that weren’t bad enough, as Dr. Phil Ryken notes, “there is the anguish we suffer when we see people we love – members of our own families – living and dying without making a personal faith commitment to Jesus Christ.”[5]
These divisions in our families over Christ hit us in the depth of our hearts because we love Christ and we love our families. These divisions are worth grieving and persistently praying for. As long as someone breathes, there’s hope that God’s Spirit can breathe new life into them.
Discernment
Nonetheless, people who aren’t following Jesus need to be encouraged to think carefully about doing so. Jesus wasn’t content to leave the point about him bringing division there. He wanted to press his listeners to think about their lives. So in verses 54-56, he points out an inconsistency in many people: they can discern physical realities but not spiritual realities.
He tells the crowds that they can see that rain is coming when they see clouds rising over the Mediterranean in the west, and they can predict hot temperatures when a south wind starts blowing up from the desert. They were good at observing nature and making accurate predictions.
But they couldn’t correctly interpret what was happening right in front of them with Jesus. As Jesus taught and performed miracles, they should’ve understood what was happening. They should’ve understood that he was the promised Messiah and Son of God and followed him. But they couldn’t see what was right in front of them.
One time we were playing hide and seek with the kids in our apartment and I couldn’t find Elisha for the life of me. Then all of a sudden he popped out of the crib right in front of me! He had placed himself so that he blended in with the stuff in the crib and I couldn’t see him even though he was right in front of me.
Jesus is saying that if people can understand weather patterns, they should understand who he is. Jesus calls them “hypocrites” in verse 56 because their problem isn’t incompetence, it’s a willful refusal to see what’s right in front of them. Their problem is hardness of heart.
Jesus says they should’ve discerned who he was. They had all the evidence they needed standing right in front of them. And if they continue in their unbelief, the fire of his judgment would come for them.
Decision
Then in verses 57-59, Jesus makes the urgency of the situation clear. The opportunity to accept Jesus’ salvation will not always be there. A decision has to be made, or all will be lost.
Jesus uses a familiar legal situation to make his point. He says it’s better for a guilty defendant to settle outside of court. There’s no defense he can make to get out from under the penalty that will come if he takes his case to trial. If he doesn’t settle with his accuser, he’ll suffer the full penalty for his crime.
What’s the point of this mini-parable? Jesus is giving us pro-bono legal advice, telling us to settle our case with God before it’s too late.[6]
Settling the Case
How do we settle our case with God? We have to first admit that we’re guilty. Until we understand how sinful we are, we won’t understand our need to get right with God. We need to agree with God that we’re guilty and deserve to be punished for the crimes we’ve committed. We must believe that we’re sinners and that the wages of sin is death. And we must believe that those who die in their sins are sent to the fiery prison of hell, a prison they can never leave because they owe a debt they can never repay. Ryken asks, “How will any sinner find enough righteousness in hell to satisfy the justice of God and get to heaven?”[7]
Once we realize how serious our case is, we’ll feel an urgency to settle it before it’s too late. We’re already on the road to the courtroom, on our way to judgment, so we need to get things right with God right away.
The good news is that our case is easily settled – not because we’re innocent or because we can mount an awesome defense on our own behalf, but because the Judge of Heaven’s Court is also a Savior. The legal remedy is provided by God for us in the gospel. The same Jesus who’s coming in judgment also suffered judgment for us on the cross. When he was crucified, he was baptized by a flood of fire from God the Father, taking all the judgment we deserve for our sins. By dying for us on the cross, Jesus perfectly satisfied the demands of God’s justice for us.
When Jesus rose again from the dead, it proved that the Father received his sacrifice for us and that he is truly the Son of God. Now he offers to settle anyone’s case who comes to him in faith and repentance. When we come to him, confessing our sin to him and trusting in him to be our Savior, we’re given peace with God, knowing that we’ll never have to suffer the punishment our sins deserve. Our debt is paid. We’re justified before a holy God and forever adopted into his family.
Have you settled your case with God? You can settle it now by trusting in the cross of Christ, or you’ll settle it later under the fire of God’s wrath. Some don’t settle their case with God now because they don’t think they’re that bad. But listen to your conscience – doesn’t it tell you that you’re guilty before a holy God? Some think they have more time – but how can we know that? Some don’t realize that being right with God is only by faith in Christ and so they spend their lives trying to earn his forgiveness, rather than receiving it by faith.[8]
There’s so much to lose in the coming judgment, when the fire falls, and so much to gain for those who’ve trusted Christ. As Jesus says, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24). Have you passed from death to life? Where will you be five seconds after you die?
[1]Rick Atkinson, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, vol. 1 of The Revolution Trilogy (New York: Holt, 2019), 12.
[2]Ibid., 13.
[3]Diane G. Chen, Luke: A New Covenant Commentary, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017), 188.
[4]Quoted in Philip Graham Ryken, Luke, Volume 1: Luke 1-12, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009), 697.
[5]Ibid., 699.
[6]Ibid., 703.
[7]Ibid.
[8]Ibid., 704.