Luke 12:49-59 - Until Jesus Comes
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Introduction
Introduction
Having talked about the return of the Master for a few weeks, last week we began to talk about how the Master may find us when He comes—either faithful, unfaithful, lazy, or ignorant.
The faithful servant meets the needs of his fellow servants and will be blessed and rewarded when the Master comes.
The unfaithful servant pursues the pleasures of this world by abusing the saints and will be cut to pieces and cast among the unbelievers when the Master comes.
The lazy servant doesn’t do what he knows must be done.
The ignorant servant doesn’t know what must be done.
The Master will punish them appropriately when he comes.
We, of course, want to be found faithful when the Master comes.
Here in our passage this morning, Jesus gives us more instruction on the Christian life until the He comes.
[Reading Luke 12:49-59]
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time? 57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? 58 “For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 “I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”
[Prayer]
[Context] Jesus is King, and those that follow him are Kingdom Citizens. They live for the glory of the King and for the spread of the Kingdom. And they eagerly await the King’s return.
The teaching of Jesus that we find in Luke 12 had to be a bit perplexing to his first disciples. They understood that Jesus was Master, but Jesus told a parable about a master returning to find his servants either prepared or unprepared for his return. They knew they were the servants, but where would Jesus be returning from? Where was he going to go?
First, Jesus was going to go to the cross. This is the baptism that Jesus refers to in v. 50 of Luke 12, and in this section of Luke’s gospel, Jesus is focused on that cross—the cross that he must endure in Jerusalem.
Once he was on the cross, Jesus would go to the grave. As he gave his life as the sacrifice for our sins, he breathed his last.
Once he was in the grace, Jesus would come back to life, but this wasn’t that comeback that Jesus spoke of in Luke 12.
Now, 40 days after he was resurrected, Jesus would ascend to heaven, taking his place at the Father’s right hand as King of kings and Lord of lords.
And from that throne, one day Jesus will come again.
So, Kingdom Citizens live for the glory of the King and for the spread of the Kingdom. And they eagerly await the King’s return.
[Inter] But what do we need to understand about the time between Jesus’ ascension and second coming?
[TS] Well, there is much that the Bible has to say about that time, which is this time—the time in which we live—but this morning we want to understand three things that Jesus teaches in Luke 12:49-59...
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be division (vv. 49-53).
#1: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be division (vv. 49-53).
49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
[Exp] In every crowd listening to Jesus, watching Jesus, there was likely someone whispering, “This is the Messiah.” But in that same crowd there were those were thinking, “This isn’t the Messiah.” Many Jewish people during Jesus’ public ministry had preconceived notion of what the Messiah was supposed to be like and what he was supposed to do. They thought that he was supposed to be a mighty warrior, overthrowing Israel’s enemies, and ushering in peace on earth.
[Illus] Dennis Prager is a conservative commentator. He’s also Jewish, and he often talks about how orthodox Jews and Christians often have the same worldview. He writes about it in columns, has little videos made for his online classes on PragerU, and has even done events with well-known Christian pastors and evangelists where they’ve discussed such things.
During one such event, the Christian pastor asked Dennis Prager, “Why don’t you believe that Jesus is Messiah?” And Dennis Prager essentially responded, “Well, because Jesus didn’t do what Messiah will do when he comes.”
And what does Dennis expect the Messiah to do? Overthrow Israel’s enemies and usher in peace on earth.
But what Dennis doesn’t understand is the order of things. First, Messiah comes as Suffering Servant. Then Messiah comes as Conquering King.
[Exp] Jesus has come the Suffering Servant as foretold in Isaiah 53—the one who bore our griefs and sorrows; the one was struck down by God and afflicted; the one pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; the one who like a lamb was led to the slaughter; the one whose grave was assigned with wicked men and was with a rich man in his death; the one who justified us, bearing our iniquities; the one who poured out himself to death.
As I’ve mentioned, after his death and resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, and from there he will come. And when he comes, Isaiah 11:6-9 will be fulfilled in full...
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
But before this peace, there will be fire. Listen to Revelation 19:11-16...
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
To believe on Jesus for salvation is to be at peace with God. The wrath of God that hung over us was poured out on Jesus at the cross. He took our sin and gives us his righteousness if we trust him, believe him, submit to him, follow him give ourselves to him.
But although those who trust Jesus are at peace with God, there won’t be peace on earth until Jesus comes and all his enemies are placed under his feet. Until then, there will be division.
[Illus] Of course here in the southeast, we are accustomed to division. When I lived in Mississippi, I would see bumper stickers that said, “A House Divided,” with the Mississippi State logo on one end of the sticker and the Ole Miss logo on the other. Here in Alabama, we see the same thing, but with Alabama and Auburn.
We see those bumper stickers and chuckle, but imagine if you saw one that said, “A House Divided,” and on one end of the sticker was a cross and on the other end was a cross that had been crossed out with one of those red circles with a line through it. That wouldn’t be so funny wouldn’t? That sort of division is serious and said, and yet it is what Jesus said we should expect until he comes.
[Exp] Jesus said that following him would divide households.
52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
Only two kinds of people can live in you house—Christians or non-Christians. Only two kinds of people can be in your family—Christians or non-Christians. And if you have Christians and non-Christians in your family, at some point the division between you will show itself.
They will want to follow the world, while you follow Christ.
They will be concerned about the things of the world, while you are concerned about the things of Heaven.
They will give their allegiance to something in this world, while you give yours to Christ.
Households will be divided.
Jesus said that following him would divide family members.
53 “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
If you’re a Christian father with a non-Christian son, there is a division between you, and that division is Christ. The same is true with all family relationships no matter how intimate. If one is a believer and the other is not, they are divided by Jesus.
[App] I can imagine some unbelieving family member saying to their Christian relative, “For the sake of peace, can’t you just not be so Christian? Some who have claimed Christ, have done that. They’ve either abandoned Jesus to maintain their relationship with their unbelieving children, or they’ve mutilated the teachings of Jesus to maintain those relationships. You’ve seen, where the one-time-follower of Jesus, can no longer follow Jesus because the Bible’s teaching on sex and identity. And then we learn that that individual’s son or daughter has come out as homosexual, transgender, or some other perversion.
For the true believer, however, that is not an option. The true believer cannot simply stop believing. In fact, it is impossible for him to stop believing. So, unless the unbelieving family members believe on Jesus, there will be division. What do we do when division comes?
We recognize that, until Jesus comes, this division is normal.
We keep praying for the salvation of our unbelieving family members, and we keep telling them about Jesus.
We refuse to return evil for evil, spite for spite, hate for hate.
We hold onto Jesus, and trust that he is holding on to us.
When those we love most separate from us because of Jesus, it is so tempting to let go of Christ, but we must cling to him. And when we are most tempted, we must trust that he is holding on to us.
[TS] #1: There will be division until Jesus comes.
#2: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be signs (vv. 54-56).
#2: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be signs (vv. 54-56).
54 And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56 “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?
[Exp] The folks in Jesus’ day could look at the sky or feel the wind and know what the weather was going to do. They could look at these natural signs and tell when rain was coming or when the day was going to be hot. And yet they could not look at the miraculous signs performed by Jesus and conclude that He was Messiah.
[Illus] In Luke 7, John the Baptist sent some of his followers to ask Jesus if he was really Messiah or Christ. John was in prison facing death, something he could do courageously if Jesus really was the Lamb of God who was going to take away sin and defeat death.
Responding to John, Jesus refers to signs of the Messiah recorded in Isaiah (cf., 35:5, 61:1). These signs include the blind receiving their sight, the lame walking, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, and the poor having the gospel preached to them (Lk. 7:22). Jesus performed these very signs in front of John’s disciples and others and then said to those whom John had sent, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard,” (Lk. 7:22).
The performance of the messianic signs proved that Jesus was Messiah.
By the same signs, the folks that Jesus spoke to in Luke 12 should have recognized him as Messiah, but they did not. They saw the signs. They should have understood the signs. But they missed that the Messiah had come among them.
[Illus] Missing signs can be inconvenient and/or embarrassing.
I’ve been driving to some unfamiliar destination, looking for the right exit, miss the sign, and drive nearly half-an-hour out of my way.
A sign that many of us miss is the push or pull sign on doors at the gas station. If the sign says “pull,” we push. If it says “push,” we pull. When the door doesn’t open and we realize what the sign says, we’re a little embarrassed, but there’s no real harm.
There is, however, real harm in missing the signs related to Jesus.
[Exp] Just as there were signs that should have caused people to recognize Jesus as Messiah, there are signs that should remind us that Jesus is coming again. In Luke 21, there are some signs that just remind us that Jesus is coming, other signs that remind that Jesus is coming soon, and other signs that remind us that second coming of Jesus is at hand.
In Luke 21:8, Jesus said that there would be many that would come claiming to be Jesus, saying, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” But Jesus says that we aren’t to believe such impostors. While the appearance of false-Christs is a reminder that an end is coming at the return of the true Christ, the end is not yet near. Jesus said that same thing about wars and disturbances in Luke 21:9...
9 “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Jesus said that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, plagues; terrors and great signs from heaven (Lk. 21:11). There will be persecution, which leads to opportunities for us to share our testimonies. The return of Jesus draws closer.
Then in Luke 21:20-24, Jesus spoke about the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in A.D. 70 and may happen again just before the return of Jesus. But then listen to Luke 21:25-28...
25 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
[App] What does all this mean for us? Well, it means that we had better pay attention! We dare not miss the signs that remind us that Jesus is coming again! Or worse, we dare not ignore the signs that remind us that Jesus is coming again.
Jesus may come back at any moment! Or maybe there are some things that still need to take place before he comes. Either way, every war, every earthquake, every persecution, and every sign in the heavens is a reminder that Jesus is coming!
Let every sign be a reminder to be ready!
Let every sign be a reminder to warn others!
Let every sign be a reminder share what the Lord has done for us!
Until he comes, there will be signs reminding us that he is coming.
[TS] There will be division. There will be signs. And...
#3: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be opportunity (vv. 57-59).
#3: Understand this—until Jesus comes, there will be opportunity (vv. 57-59).
57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? 58 “For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 “I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”
[Exp] When you’re guilty, it’s better to settle with your accuser before you meet the judge in court. This is not only true when are accuser is merely human and we may stand before a merely human judge with merely human standards of right and wrong. But it’s even more true when are accuser is perfectly divine and we will stand before a perfectly divine judge who has perfectly divine standards.
Some people think that Jesus is just giving practical advice about how we live until he comes. But I don’t think this is just practical advice.
In the same way that we recognize signs of inclement weather and so should be able to recognize the signs of Jesus’ coming, we also recognize the earthly value of settling out of court before we stand before the judge and so also should recognize the eternal value of settling with God before we stand before him.
[Illus] A man on trial for drug possession in Pontiac, Michigan, insisted he had been searched without a warrant. The arresting officer testified the bulge in the man’s jacket could have been a gun and that justified his apprehension. The defendant stated this was ridiculous, and to prove it, said he happened to be wearing the very same jacket in court that day. He willingly handed it over to the judge for examination. When the judge found a packet of cocaine in the front pocket, he had to call a five-minute recess so he could stop laughing.
Just like the Michigan man in this story, things will go bad for us when are before the Judge—if we are before the Judge without having settled beforehand.
[App] If you stand before Jesus without having settled with him beforehand, no one will be laughing. He won’t be. You won’t be. And you won’t be cast into prison but into hell. How can you settle with Jesus?
To settle with Jesus, you must believe.
You must believe that you are a sinner.
You must believe that the price for your sin is death in hell forever.
You must believe that God loves you so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to pay that price for you.
You must believe that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for your sins.
And you must believe that Jesus rose from the dead, proving that God accepted him as the sacrifice for your sin.
To settle with Jesus, you must also repent.
You must turn away from your sins when you turn toward Christ.
You must choose between Jesus and your sins. You cannot take hold of him unless you are willing to let go of your sins.
Forsake your sins and take hold of Christ!
To settle with Jesus, you must also endure to the end.
Jesus said that it is those who endure with him to the end that will be saved.
We can, however, trust that if Jesus has saved that we will endure because he will endure with us. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, to be with us even unto the end of the age.
[TS] ...
Conclusion
Conclusion
[Prayer]