Can Faith Both Unite and Divide? (Luke 12:49-59)
Jesus’s mission is to divide the community. This seems to be rather contradictory to Christ’s mission objective. In Luke’s gospel, Christ calls His followers to unity in faith and Spirit, he is praised for bringing peace, but He also declares, “I have not come to bring peace, but division.” Why? Because Christ is the great dividing line of history. Some will receive Him with joy, while others will reject Him outright. True peace is not about avoiding conflict; it is about submission to Christ as King. While Christ unifies the family, there is a downside: a family might be divided in their allegiance to Christ. Christ’s baptism, which creates distress for him, reveals the cost of this mission. His suffering and death show the final judgment, he will endure the judgment, and he does so we can gain passage through the ultimate fire baptism. Luke’s second volume records the fire falling upon the disciples, who are empowered rather than consumed.
Jesus presses this urgency with an analogy: we can read the weather, but we can fail to see the urgent gospel call in front of us. Many people search for religious experiences, wanting signs from God, but they fail to hear the call of the Messiah. Right now one is setting their allegiance. One is either a disciple of Christ, discerning the urgency of the call, or one fails to determine the urgent call. If one thinks that standing before an earthly judge is severe wait until they meet the heavenly judge without bowing their knee. The call is clear: be reconciled to God today in Christ. Jesus is not calling us to a concept, but he is calling us to a redemptive blessing that cleanses us from the inside.
So what does real faith look like? How do we know if we have received Christ? It’s not about cultural Christianity, checking boxes, or seeking religious experiences. It is about believing that Christ is the Messiah. His fire baptism is his passage through hell. It is in his baptism, reception of the spirit, and responding in faith that Christ is our Christ. He is our redeemer, savior, and king. As we take hold of Christ by faith we align our affections, priorities, and true shalom in Christ. Christ’s call is for a people to humble themselves before their Lord. He does not call a perfect people, he does not call a forgiven people, but a redeemed people. He is our easy taskmaster, we find our peace in him, and we seek to live for the glory of God alone before the face of our savior.