#117 Lu. 12:49-53 THE FIRES OF CONFLICT CAUSED BY THE COMING OF CHRIST Introduction: Jesus has delivered three parables which deal with His return to earth. These parables warn both the saved and the unsaved to be ready for His return. If one is not ready, he is to get ready. However, these parables were chiefly intended for the disciples. They were designed to help prepare them for the time when Jesus would leave them and go away to heaven. In today's text Jesus continues to try to prepare His disciples for what lies ahead. He does so by pointing out the controversy and conflict that His coming brings to the world. He tries to prepare them for the great suffering that He Himself will endure before He goes away. He especially tries to prepare the disciples for the opposition that they will encounter after He is gone away. This afternoon two powerful football teams will meet in the Super Bowl. Each team will do all within its power to stop the other team and to win the game. But only one team will win. The most powerful team will supposedly win. This somewhat illustrates what is involved in our text. Two powerful forces have met together in conflict and only one will win. There is no question as to who will win. God will and Satan and all his forces will lose. I. Jesus, come to send fire on the earth V. 49, "I am come to send fire on the earth..." Jesus had come to this world to start a brand-new religious system. He came to call out a group of followers and to found a New Testament church. At the time of His departure He would leave orders for the church that He had founded to go into all the world and to organize like churches throughout the world. The starting of this new religious system would set off a fire of controversy and conflict that would spread throughout the world. As you know, once a fire is set, that fire will spread wherever it has opportunity. Therefore, as Christianity would spread throughout the world, the fires of conflict and controversy involving Christianity would spread throughout the world. II. The world into which Jesus came In order for us to understand how that the coming of the Son of God to the world in human flesh could set off such a violent controversy, we need to understand something about the background of the world and the conditions of the world at the time Jesus was born. God, of course, is the Creator of the world, and He is the Creator of man, who indwells the earth. Needless, to say, all people of the world were to worship Him and to be obedient to His laws. That is the way it would have been except for an opposing force in the world. But there arose a great and might force of opposition. One of the mighty angels that God had created rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. We know that angel now by such terms as "Satan" or "The Devil." Satan is the bitter enemy of God and the enemy of all who stand on the side of God. In the Garden of Eden Satan tempted the first man and enticed him to sin against God. One result of that sin by Adam was that all of his descendants have been born with an inclination to sin. In God's love and mercy toward man, He had from before the foundation of the world, planned a way whereby sinful man could be saved. That plan was that one of the Godhead would be born in human flesh and die on the cross. His Son, Jesus Christ, would be born into the world and die on the cross so that lost sinners could be saved and stay out of the fires of hell. In the plan of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God, stood as a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. God revealed this plan, at least in part, to Adam after Adam's sin. He revealed that He would send the virgin-born "Seed of Woman" to crush the head of that Old Serpent, the Devil, and be victorious over him. Adam understood that this meant a way whereby he could be saved and he trusted in the promised Seed of The Woman to be his Redeemer and Adam got saved. But the conflict between Satan and God was just beginning and it continued to rage. Adam had two sons, one named "Cain" and one named "Abel." Adam talked to his sons about the fact that they both were sinners and that God had promised a Redeemer whom they should trust as Savior. God had promised the Seed of Woman who stood as a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He told them that they should each place their faith in the coming virgin- born Lamb of God and bring an offering to God expressing his faith in the coming Redeemer. You know the rest of that story. Cain brought an offering, but he brought an offering that expressed faith and confidence in his own works rather than faith in the coming Redeemer. The Scripture says that God rejected his offering. Abel, brought a blood offering and the writer of the Book of Hebrews said that this offering expressed his faith in the coming Lamb of God who would be slain and God accepted his offering. Cain yielded to the influence of Satan and Abel yielded to the influence of God. The fire of controversy violently burst forth and Cain slew his brother. In all the age of the patriarchal fathers the conflict raged. There were two groups of people in the world. There were those who worshipped the True and Living God and those who followed the influence of Satan to worship idols. In the course of time God established the nation of Israel in the world and called upon that nation to represent true worship of the true God under the Law of Moses. For many years the law system of worship in Israel prevailed as God's representation of truth and righteousness in the world. The Law of Moses was not a means of salvation, but it was a means of teaching the people that they should repent of their sins and trust in the coming Christ, the Lamb of God. Through the nation of Israel that message was to go out loud and clear to all the world. Yet eventually, the leaders of Israel, under the influence of Satan, substituted man-made customs and laws for the laws of God. By the time that Jesus was born into the world, the law system of worship in Israel had become corrupt and was not at all yielded to God. Instead of placing their faith in the promised virgin-born Redeemer Whom God had promised, most of the Israelites placed their faith in their own ability to keep the laws of God. They depended on the keeping of the law as a means of salvation. There were still a few people in Israel who followed after God and after the truths of God, but the vast majority followed after Satan and the corrupt system of worship that Satan had brought about in Israel. The Gentile nations had long ago followed Satan and finally Israel, too, began to follow him. This is the kind of world that Jesus was born into and this is the kind of nation that He was born into. He was born into a world that was against God and into a nation that was against God. Therefore, the coming of Jesus into the world set the fires of conflict and controversy burning anew. These new flames would burst forth around the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and would spread throughout the whole world. III. The fires kindled in the days of His ministry (V. 49, "...and what will I, if it be already kindled?" This is the reading which the King James translators give this section of this verse. Most modern versions, however, have Jesus saying something like this, "...and what do I wish? I wish it were already kindled." One translator puts it this way, "...and what else could I wish for, since it is already kindled?" It seems to me that this is closer to what Jesus really intended to say since the flame of conflict between Himself and the Jewish leaders had already burst into flame. The scribes and Pharisees had already waged bitter war on Jesus. They branded Him as an imposter. Some said that Jesus was a devil possessed man. Others said He is a devil. They said that He performed His miracles by the power of Satan. The Jewish leaders at Jerusalem sent men to Capernaum, which was the headquarters of Jesus, to stop Jesus from coming into the Jewish synagogue to preach and teach. They sought to follow Him wherever He went to try to turn the general public against Him. The Sanhedrin Council at Jerusalem had already met and decided that somehow, some way they would put Him to death. The pressure against Jesus personally by the Jewish leaders was increasing almost daily. It seems, however, that the Jewish leaders were content at this time to concentrate their efforts against Jesus Himself personally. The fires of opposition and persecution against the followers of had not yet begun. But this is the very point that Jesus was making in this text. The time would come when the fires of opposition would burn even against the disciples of Jesus. IV. The suffering of Jesus before He goes away But before the fires of opposition would sweep down upon the disciples, there was more suffering that Jesus, Himself, must do. He must accomplish that for which He had come into the world to do. He must go to the cross and pay the sin-debt for lost mankind that lost sinners can be saved. He speaks of that experience as a baptism. It would, in effect be a baptism of fire for Him. It would, at least, be a baptism in suffering. V. 50, "But I have a baptism to be baptized with..." That is, He must be baptized in the waters of suffering and death. He must be completely immersed in the waters of suffering there on the cross of Calvary. He must give His life's blood on behalf of every lost sinner who would ever live in this world. He must die that lost men, women, boys and girls might be saved. At the time that Jesus spoke these words to His disciples He had not yet arrived in Jerusalem for the crucifixion, but He was on His way there. The time of the Passover was fast approaching and He and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem at this very time. It would be there at Jerusalem on this trip that the fires of opposition against Himself would reach their highest. The Jewish leaders would come out to the Garden of Gethsemene to arrest Him and He would willingly submit Himself into their hands. They would carry Him before the Jewish Sanhedrin and before the Roman authorities and He would not utter one word in His own self defense. He would be beaten. He would be nailed to the cross. They would spit in His face, but He would not lift one finger to stop them. V. 50, "...and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" The word, straightened, speaks of a tight squeeze. Jesus knew what great suffering He was headed for on the cross and the very thought of it brought Him great distress. It disturbed Him no end. But He would not turn away from it. This was His goal and as far as He was concerned, the sooner--the better. He was anxious for that time to come when He could go to the cross and get it over with. From the human standpoint, He wanted no part of it. But because of His great love for men, He was anxious to get it done and get it over with! V. No peace for the world, but division After speaking of His own baptism of suffering, Jesus turned His thoughts back to His original statement. He had said that He had come to send a fire into the world. In verse 51 He now quizzes His disciples by asking them, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?..." He did not wait for their answer, but answered the question for them. He said, "I tell you, Nay; but rather division." There is the kind of fire that Jesus had come to send into the world. He had come to send the fire of division. He had come to send the fires of controversy, the fires of conflict, the fires of division. Now it is not that Jesus would not wish peace for the world. But Jesus knows that Old Serpent, the Devil, is not going to allow Him to come into the world without opposition. He knows that the Devil's followers are not going to allow the gospel message to be preached throughout the world without opposition. Jesus knows that the Devil and his forces will stand in opposition to every truth of God. They will stand against the Bible. They claim that it is not inspired of God. They claim that it is mere fable. They claim that Jesus is not the Son of God, that He is the illegitimate son of a soldier. They claim that Jesus did not arise from the grave. They say this is just a story told by His disciples to deceive the people. It is not that the people of God would not want peace for the world. Rather it is that the forces of Satan in the world will not make peace with the people of God. They denounce virtually everything that Christ and His followers stand for. They denounce true New Testament churches. They denounce the Bible. They denounce true God-called preachers. They denounce the true message of salvation by the grace of God through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ. They denounce the moral principles that Christianity stands for. I will tell you that it is no marvel that Satan has men and women in the world who denounce the straight life in favor of homosexuality. It is no marvel that right now there is great conflict in our nation over homosexuals in the military. It is no marvel that there is a great outcry demanding the right to sex without restraint. It is no marvel that the general public demands the right to kill unborn babies. It is no marvel that the voters of the United States will re-elect men to the house and to the senate who have been convicted of crimes. It is no marvel that the voters of Texas voted for gambling in the last state election. Satan has such so many followers in this world and he exercises such influence over them that the vast majority of people in the world are not only opposed to Christian principles, they are opposed to Christians. They are opposed to all of Christianity. They are opposed to Christ Himself. Those who truly believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as their Savior are going to find themselves the objects of an ever growing criticism and the objects of an intensifying persecution. We who are Christians need not expect the world to open its arms and welcome us along with the gospel which we preach and the principles that we stand for. We had just as well expect the Buffalo Bills to welcome the Dallas Cowboys and invite them to bring the football across the goal line as often as they wish. No! Not at all! The Bills will try every way they can to stop the Cowboys and the forces of Satan are going to try to stop the Christians in every way they can. This division that Jesus speaks about between the believers and the unbelievers will sever some of the strongest of human bonds. V. 52-53, "For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." Jesus is not here talking about ordinary family squabbles. But He is talking about some of the closest ties in the human family being broken because of a hatred which Satan and his forces have for the Christians and their families. Unsaved fathers will become the bitter enemies of their saved sons. Unsaved mothers will become the bitter enemies of their saved daughters. And vice-versa. Unsaved sons and daughters will become the bitter enemies of their saved parents. This is especially true when the Christian takes a stand for the true gospel message. It is especially true when he takes a stand for right doctrinally or morally. It is true when the Christian lives a godly life and refuses to take part in the ungodliness of the world. Listen, Jesus wants the saved person to live for Him. He wants every Christian to take a stand for truth and righteousness. He wants every Christian to live right and to believe right on doctrinal and moral issues. But He also wants you to know that it is not going to be easy. It is going to take bravery on your part to be true to the Lord. It is going to take determination on your part to be true to the Lord. It is going to take more than determination on your part. It is going to take the grace of God to help you and strengthen you when the trials and testing comes. It is going to take to grace of God to be true to God when persecution comes. Conclusion: If you are saved, the Devil is going to try to keep you from serving God and from being faithful to Him. But if you commit yourself to the Lord and lean on Him for strength, the Devil will not be able to stop you from serving the Lord. If you are unsaved, the Devil is going to try in every way he can to prevent you from getting saved. But if you will come to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him, there is nothing the Devil can do to keep you from being saved.