Christ Divides Men
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
I would like to tell you this morning about a family, a typical family, a family similar to many of the families we have in the church.
A family with a father, mother and several children.
They could be your family, they could the my family.
This family sat around the dinner table one evening and a discussion was started.
Ruth, in high school, began the conversation by telling of a friend at school.
Her friend had told her that Jesus was the son of God and that salvation was free to all who would trust in Him.
Ruth quoted her friend as saying, “Jesus is the way the truth and the life.”
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Immediately an argument started. Tom, an older bother said,
“I don’t want any of that church stuff at supper.”
The father agreed.
There was a fellow at work who was always trying to “corner someone on religion.”
He did not want any of that nonsense in the house.
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Mother raised her voice saying,
“A little religion would do all of them a lot of good.
The least they could do would be to get a Bible and check it out.”
She had a Bible that had been given to her as a child.
She would help Ruth look it up after supper.
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Little Bill, the baby of the family, suggested that they ought to go to church and ask the preacher.
He would know.
After supper Mother, Ruth and little Bill gathered around the kitchen table with the Bible to look for some answers.
After reading for a while, they decided they would go to church the following Sunday and talk with the Pastor.
The father and the older son left the supper table in a “huff’ to watch the football game.
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The three did attend church the following Sunday.
They did talk with the Pastor and in time they came to experience the love of Christ in their lives.
They did find that Jesus was the way the truth and the life for them.
These three became regular attenders in church.
The other two?
Well, they are still watching TV.
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Jesus says in our message this morning,
“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.”
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 12 and focus on verses 49 through 53.
Our message this morning is titled, “Christ Divides Men”
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As you are turning to our passage today please keep in mind that we will explore the cost of following Jesus...
And although the cost is high...
It is totally worth it.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Fire
2) The Baptism
And...
3) The Division
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are so great and awesome...
You are the Creator of all things seen ans unseen...
And You are like no other.
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Thank You for not giving us what we deserve...
Thank You for sending Your Son to save us instead...
For without the sacrifice of Your Son we would all be doomed!
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Thank You for not leaving us when You save us...
Thank You for sending us the Holy Spirit to live in us...
Thank You for giving us the Holy Scriptures as our ultimate authority...
For the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures all point to Christ and His Good News!
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 For from now on in one house there will be five 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 her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Fire
1) The Fire
Verse 49: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
Beloved, let’s start our study by looking at a thought for thought translation of our verse...
Let’s start by looking at the NLT rendering of verse 49 with says:
“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!”
First off...
Wow...
Jesus was not the kind of person to hold back...
He did not sugarcoat His words...
And He certainly was not concerned about being politically correct...
His goal was to deliver the truth and deliver it boldly!
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So Beloved, let’s take a look at the main key word in this verse and break it down...
That word is “fire” and in our verse it is in reference to judgment...
In fact, we see the word “fire” used as judgement in passages like Matthew 3:11 which records these words by John the Baptist:
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So, if we are careful in our examination of this verse we will find that three types of baptism are referenced here.
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The first baptism is with water for repentance...
This is John’s baptism which symbolized cleansing with the Holy Spirit.
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The second baptism is with the Holy Spirit...
All believers in Christ are Spirit-baptized...
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And finally, the third baptism is with fire...
This speaks of a baptism of judgment upon the unrepentant.
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Now Jesus preached a message of hope and love, Beloved...
Jesus preached the Good News...
But to be clear...
Jesus never left out the Bad News...
For there is no true understanding of the need for the Good News with out first fully understanding the Bad News...
And there is no urgency greater to accept the Good News than with a warning regarding the Bad News.
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For those who accepted Jesus’ message there was hope and the promise of eternal life...
For those who rejected Jesus’ message there was only judgement and the promise of eternal punishment.
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So, Jesus was bringing the fire...
That was part of His mission...
But there was another part, too...
And that takes us to our second point.
2) The Baptism
2) The Baptism
Verse 50: I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
So, this verse here shows the other part of Jesus’ mission and the reason for why He came to our world...
But in order to better understand this let’s look at the NLT again which has a helpful translation of verse 50 for us to consider:
“I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.”
So, this was a reference to a baptism of suffering...
Specifically, Christ was referring to His death that would take place on the cross.
We see similar language regarding this baptism of suffering in passages like Mark 10:38–39 which says:
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
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Likewise, this is a good time to point out that Christian baptism symbolizes identification with Jesus in His death, His burial, and His resurrection.
In other words, Christian baptism symbolizes death to an old way of life and rising to a new way of life.
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Next, let us take a look at the word “distress” mentioned in this verse...
First and foremost, it had nothing to do with Jesus having a fear of men or the even the fear of the physical torments of the cross...
Truly, what Jesus was most sorrowful about was that His mission on this earth included the fact that He would experience the full cup of God the Father’s divine fury and wrath...
God the Father’s wrath was against sin and that wrath would be placed on Jesus despite that fact that He was completely innocent and sinless...
Jesus would take our place...
And Jesus would take our punishment...
And the distress from that thought caused our Lord and Savior to sweat blood!
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Beloved, that is why I love that amazing hymn by Stuart Townend that says:
“How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
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How great the pain of searing loss –
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.”
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The line about how “The Father turns His face away”...
That should not be glossed over so quickly...
You see Beloved, for an eternity past the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have always loved each other...
That is why God Himself is defined as love!
But on the cross...
For the first and only time...
God the Father turns His face away from Christ!
As Christ became a curse for us...
As Christ took on all His people’s sins...
The Father had to turn His face away...
And God the Father crushed God the Son...
As Isaiah 53:3-5 says:
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
So while Jesus was hanging on the cross He was smitten by God the Father...
While Jesus hung on the cross He was crushed by God the Father for our iniquities...
And as Matthew 27:46 says:
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
This was the worst part of the crucifixion...
Far greater than any of the physical pain it caused...
And if you have ever studied gory details about crucifixion then you know that is an incredible statement.
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So, though severely distressed about His coming passion, it was nonetheless the work Jesus came to do...
And Jesus in humility and courage set His face steadfastly on the cross “until it is accomplished!”
In fact, on the cross, Jesus speaks of the completion of His work as recorded in John 19:30 which says:
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
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It is just an infinite blessing that our Lord and Savior accepts His death as the divine plan for bringing salvation to sinners...
In fact, Scripture records that Jesus looked forward to joy that was set before Him in enduring the cross...
Jesus saw past the cross and focused on God the Father’s will and the need for us to be saved...
As Hebrews 12:2 says:
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
If it wasn’t for Jesus voluntarily laying down His life for us then there would be no hope for us at all.
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You see Beloved, although Jesus is fully God and deserving of all honor, praise, and worship...
He did not come into our world to be served...
But instead came to serve His elect!
As Matthew 20:28 says:
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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Now, Jesus did come to give peace to those who will put there trust in Him...
However, He did not come to give peace on earth...
He actually came with a sword that divides...
And this takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Division
3) The Division
Verses 51-53: 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. 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.”
Again, Jesus wanted to make it clear...
To be a follower of His meant it was going to divide you from other people...
Even those who are closest to you.
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As a person who grew up in the Orthodox Church I know this truth very well...
I spent 32 years in the Orthodox Church...
Was baptized as an infant and followed all the rules...
But I was dead on the inside...
I really just lived for myself but called myself a Christian...
And then because of God’s mercy and grace alone He saved me!
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You see, back in the summer of 2017 I surrendered my life to the Lord and became a born again Christian...
And that meant I left the legalistic and unbiblical tradition of the Orthodox Church in order to follow Jesus according to Scripture alone...
I read through through the Word of God for the first time...
I obeyed the Lord’s command and was baptised for real this time of my own will...
And started to attend churches that truly taught the Good News of Jesus Christ.
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This was a joyful time...
My life radially changed...
Some of my family members supported me and saw the benefits...
But Beloved, much of my family did not...
I lost some of my closest family and friends because they could not accept that I would leave their religion...
In fact, many saw that I left my who culture behind...
Officially, to the Orthodox Church, I was now a heretic.
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All this loss...
All this division...
All this pain...
All because I surrendered my life to Christ.
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Beloved, this is not a unique story...
Some of you have had similar testimonies...
Some of you know others who have similar testimonies...
For the reality of the matter is that to follow Christ does come with a cost...
The truth of Jesus according to what is found in the Word of God divides people...
But let me make this point very clear...
I would gladly give up all those past relationship again and again if it meant I would have a relationship with Christ.
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By far, a saving and genuine relationship with Christ is worth it...
Even if you lost the who world...
Even is you lost ever friend...
Even if you lost ever family member...
Jesus is worth it!
That is why Jesus says these words in Matthew 10:37-39:
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
And let us not forget the words in Luke 14:26 which says:
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
In order to really follow Christ we have to be willing to give up our closest relationship...
And we may not have to sacrifice every relationship with every member of our family or close network of friends...
But we must be willing to if the need arises.
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I truly appreciate that we have a Lord and Savior who is honest about the cost to follow Him...
We are expected to experience a certain level of hardship when we follow Christ...
But it is better to be a peace with God that have a relationship with this world...
Whether the cost be strained relationships...
Or the cost be persecution...
Or the cost be our very own life...
The value of Jesus exceeds it all!
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As pastor John MacArthur says:
“Though the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God, the immediate result of the gospel is frequently conflict.
Conversion to Christ can result in strained family relationships, persecution, and even martyrdom.
Following Christ presupposes a willingness to endure such hardships.
Though He is called ‘Prince of Peace,’ Christ will have no one deluded into thinking that He calls believers to a life devoid of all conflict.”
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In fact, Jesus Himself had division in His own earthly family...
Scripture records that Jesus’s brothers and sisters thought that He was crazy...
Yet, when they came to stop Him from teaching...
We witness amazing words by Christ regarding who is truly His family as recorded in Mark 3:31–34 which says:
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”
33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
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Likewise, the New International Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Christ is indeed the Prince of Peace who came not only to bring peace into the heart of every believer but also to bring peace to its fullest extent among the whole of mankind.
This will, however, only become a full reality after His second coming; that is to say, on the new earth.
Until then the strife between good and evil will continue without a pause.”
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You see Beloved...
In this church and in other faithful churches...
We must preach Christ...
And we must preach Christ crucified...
And that means we have to teach the Christ as found in the Word of God...
And that Christ...
The true Christ...
Is a stumbling block for so many...
This was the case for for Jesus’s time...
And it is still the case today...
As 1 Corinthians 1:23–24 says:
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
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As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Jesus’ coming brings pressure and forces choices.
Among the pressures are divisions within families caused by the choice of some for Jesus.
The disciple needs to recognize that divisions are possible and that one needs to be emotionally prepared.
Commitments to God may mean separation from loved ones.”
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So are you emotionally prepared to separate from loved ones if the need arises?
Of course, we don’t want to see divisions within our family and friends...
But the the world’s hostile attitude toward Christ many cause many of our family and friends to leave us.
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Just like Jesus didn’t sugarcoat things I too will follow my Master’s lead and speak to you plainly...
It hurts, Beloved...
To lose family hurts...
To have loved ones tell you that you are no longer fun hurts...
To have loved ones say you have changes and we like the old you better hurts...
To have loved ones treat you like you are invisible when you walk into a room hurts...
To be called terrible names and labeled as terrible things hurts...
But I want you to know that all that hurt is not in vain, Beloved!
As Jesus said in Matthew 19:29:
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
When the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 he was intent on conquest.
To assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships!
With no means of retreat, Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior.
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Cortez understood the price of commitment—and he paid it.
He did not want his soldiers to possess a divided loyalty.
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Have you settled the issue of who is Lord of your heart?
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Have you “burned down the ships” and left the old ways of the world behind you?
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then I ask that you give them a brand new heart...
That you take away their heart of stone...
And give them a heart of flesh!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Remind us that our sacrifices for Your name sake are never in vain...
That You are paying attention...
And You will more than replace all that we have lost...
For to follow You is the greatest of all gifts!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
