Luke 12:49-50 (ESV) “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
This is meek and mild Jesus who was all about love and would never say anything offensive according to some who haven’t read their Bibles. The fire that Jesus is going to cast on the earth is the fire of God’s judgement at his coming. God’s judgement will remove all evil and evil people from this world and Jesus looks forward to it, as should we. The baptism Jesus mentions is the baptism of suffering and death that He will undergo on the cross, dying for our sins. What will determine who is affected by this judgement fire that is coming?
Luke 12:51-52 (ESV) Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
Jesus is surprisingly saying that he did not come to bring peace on earth, but rather division between people. He speaks of a household of people, possibly parents and children, two parents and three children. The household he speaks of will not be united, but divided, two against three. What is Jesus talking about?
Luke 12:53 (ESV) 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.”
So, what is this division that Jesus brings into the world? The division is simply the division between believers in Jesus and unbelievers. A believer is a child of God and an unbeliever is basically a child of Satan. There can be no real peace, not real unity between a believer and an unbeliever. For the believers, Jesus brings peace into their lives, peace between them and God. However, there will always be division between believers living for God and unbelieving friends and relatives. When you understand the times, you realize that Jesus brings division.
Sometimes believers tend to beat themselves up, thinking that they are at fault for the division in their relationships. Now, believers can cause problems by not being loving to unbelievers. But Jesus wants you to know, that even if you are loving, Jesus still brings division. And that division is not a bad thing, it’s a sign that you are a true believer. And over time, God can use that division to draw the unbeliever to himself.
As a believer, you should live life very differently than an unbeliever. If there seems to be no difference between your life as a believer and the lives of unbelievers around you, something is wrong. We should be different, in how we think, how we act, how we believe. When you understand the times, you realize Jesus brings division.