St. Luke 12: 49 – 59

July 30, 2022

49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

53 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.

54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.

56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

58 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.

59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

We can understand His strong words here. We’ve had two thousand years to study and understand – not so for folks in front of Him now. In my human-ness, I can relate. These folks didn’t understand that not only was the Kingdom of God ‘nigh’ – He was standing right in front of them!

Jesus is eager to get going – He has a mission to fulfill. His first act must be baptism (which is why it is so for us), which pleases the Father, and then His ministry begins in earnest. What a ministry it will be! We get to watch it unfold every time we read the New Testament. Which, by the way, should be several times in a life time; people can tell you anything but when you read it for yourself, you cannot be fooled by people’s opinions. You’ll know nonsense when you hear it. Or read it.

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