Click here for PDF version for printing.
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from
God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you think that I have come to give
peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
Prayer:
Lord God, heavenly Father, send down your Holy Spirit to all of us, to me that
I may preach well, and to all of us that we may hear well. Amen.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus speaks to us an
incredible prophecy about what is going to happen during his own life, and what
is going to happen in the church. He says: I came to cast fire on the earth,
and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptised with,
and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have
come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
This kind of talk strikes us as very strange from Jesus’
mouth, doesn’t it? What’s going on in our reading?
First, today, we are going to look at this verse: I came
to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! What’s
Jesus talking about when he says not only that he will cast fire on the
earth, but he came to cast fire on the earth? He’s not just
saying that he will cast fire, but that this is the purpose for which
he came: he came into the world to cast fire upon it.
Now, before we try and understand what this means, let’s
have a look at some other passages which tells us about why Jesus came. We read
in Matthew 9:13, where Jesus says: I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners. Jesus says here that the reason why he came was to call sinners.
That’s a wonderful comfort isn’t! I’m a sinner, and so are you—so that’s great
news for both of us! Another passage is Matthew 20:28, where Jesus says: The
Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many. Here again we have a wonderful comfort: Jesus came for what
reason? To serve, to feed us and to look after us, and to give his life as a
ransom for many! Let’s have a look at another passage in Luke 19:10. Jesus
says: The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Wonderful! What
a wonderful Jesus we have who is always seeking and saving his lost sheep.
There’s so much hope for us. In John 10:10, Jesus says: The thief comes only
to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly. Again, what a wonderful passage, full of comfort. We read there
that the devil is the one who steals and kills and destroys, but Jesus came to
bring us life, just as he said to the thief on the cross: Today, you will be
with me in Paradise. You will have life, abundantly, with me, forever!
So, it’s a bit strange when we come across the passage in
today’s reading, don’t you think, where Jesus says: I came… to do
what?... I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already
kindled! Just before, we read how Jesus said that it is the thief who comes
to steal and kill and destroy. But here, Jesus says: I came to cast
fire on the earth. If he did that, wouldn’t he kill and destroy?
Yes—the thief does steal and kill and destroy. The devil is
always looking to kill and destroy people—right from the time of Adam and Eve,
Satan goes to Eve and convinces her to eat of the fruit… he steals their life, and
leads them into sin, so that God’s judgment of death comes upon them.
But someone has to kill and destroy the devil. If we are
such easy prey to the devil and his angels, surely God has someone up his
sleeve that can give the devil a good dong on the head on our behalf! Yes, he
does. He has a Saviour. And this Saviour crushing the devil for us was already
prophesied right back in Genesis 3, where God said to the serpent: I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her
offspring; he shall bruise you head, and you shall bruise his heel. Do you
see here a wonderful prophesy about Jesus, who comes to the earth and crushes
Satan on his head, and puts him beneath his feet. Psalm 110 says about Jesus: The
Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your
footstool. Jesus puts Satan under his feet, and makes a footstool out of
him.
And so, this is what Jesus is talking about when he says: I
came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled. He
is saying: The devil has been the prince of this world for too long, and now I
want to come and kick his backside. I wish too that I could hurry up and get
the job done! I want to blast him back to hell where he belongs, pull his teeth
out, and lock him up in chains. The devil has far too long bothered my people –
and so I am going to stoke a fire. In fact, John says this in his first letter.
He says: The reason why the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of
the devil.
Now, how does Jesus do it? He dies on the cross. He pays a
price for your sin, he offers his life as a sacrifice, he stretches out his
hands and he dies for you. He has won the forgiveness of every single one of
your sins. And Jesus doesn’t just want to die for sin, but he wants to send you
the Holy Spirit to forgive you your sin. He wants to burn up all the devil’s
accusations, and set you on your feet and point your eyes to heaven. And so,
when Jesus dies on the cross, he casts a fire on the earth—the devil no longer
has any power when sinners are forgiven.
Now, we know that the devil still gives a bit of bother. But
remember in John, Jesus compares him to a thief. Now, if a thief broke into
your house, he would be locked up in prison. And when the thief is caught, he’s
not very happy about it—sometimes you just happen to walk past his prison cell,
and yells up some abuse at you. He grits his teeth, and makes some noise. All
you have to do is throw some mouldy old fruit at him, or whatever you like to
do. You can say: Listen to me, Satan, I’m with Jesus—all I have to do is call
on him, and he will unleash his fire on you!
This passage is actually only a comfort to us if we actually
believe the devil exists. Many people today don’t believe he exists—but Jesus
knew full well that he does, and so should we. And so it’s a tremendous comfort
for us that Jesus should unleash a terrible fire upon our old enemy, the devil.
When God unleashes his fire, for the devil it is the fire of God’s anger, for you,
sinners, it is the fire of God’s love.
Jesus then says in our reading: I have a baptism to be
baptised with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! First,
Jesus was talking about fire; now he is talking about water. He is looking
forward to a baptism. With the fire, Jesus desired strongly that he would cast
it down. But now, Jesus desires not to pour the water out, but to have it
poured out on him. He has a baptism to be baptised with. What’s he
talking about?
There’s another passage where Jesus talks like this. In the
Gospels, we read about where the mother of James and John, two of Jesus’
disciples, comes up to Jesus and asks him to have her two sons sit at his right
and left in his glory. She wants Jesus to give her boys some special treatment.
But Jesus asks them a question. He says: You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptised with the baptism
with which I am baptised? What is Jesus talking about here? He is talking
about his cross. He is talking about his suffering. Jesus was baptised by John
in the Jordan, but this baptism has in it a special mission. It’s not
nothing—it has a purpose. Jesus is baptised, and from then on his great desire
that is that this baptism should be finished, when all of God’s anger against
sin is poured out on him. And can you believe it, in our reading today, Jesus
wants this baptism to happen. He wants his suffering to get under way. He says:
I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how great is my distress until it
is accomplished!
In the Garden of Gethsemane, he had great distress as he
realised that he would be brutally murdered the very next day. He even asked
God the Father if it were possible for his suffering to be taken away! But
Jesus says: Not my will, but your will be done. Jesus know that this
suffering on the cross is going to be the best thing that has ever happened in
the history of the world, because sin will be paid for and the devil crushed.
And so, Jesus here is looking forward to his suffering. It will be a like an
overwhelming flood. It will be like an incredible storm of rushing water.
Everyone he knows will desert him, and the crowds will call out for his blood.
But this suffering and this death is your life, and your salvation, and Jesus
knows it, and he wants to do it for you. So he says: I have a baptism to be
baptised with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! When
Jesus is baptised, all of God’s anger is poured out on him. And when you are
baptised, all of God’s forgiveness, his mercy, his grace, his love is poured
out on you.
So we have read about this wonderful fire that Jesus has
unleashed upon the devil. We have read about this wonderful baptism with which
he is baptised with. But Jesus doesn’t want these things to be stuck in a book.
He wants these things to be preached, and he wants them to go into your ears,
and your heart, and to create faith in you, and to produce living fruits of the
Holy Spirit in your lives. And so, Jesus calls you. He calls you to be one of
his disciples. He forgives you each one of your sins, and he promises you
eternal life. And he wants you to make sure that you know that you are one of
his, so he baptises you. And he wants you to be continually strengthened with
his gospel, so he gives you his word to be heard and preached. And he wants you
to be continually fed and pastured, so he even gives you his own body and blood
to eat and drink in the Lord’s Supper. There are so many things that Jesus
continually gives to you.
But in the next part of our reading, we read about what this
is going to look like in the world. Because each person is saved individually.
Each person is called to be part of the church one at a time. So what happens
when a person hears the gospel and wants to become a Christian, and wants to be
baptised? A person might look around at all their friends and see that they’re
all still unbelievers. Their family might still be unbelievers.
Maybe you feel like this. You might be the only Christian in
your family—and it really causes you a lot of pain. Maybe your husband or wife
are not Christians. Maybe your parents aren’t Christians. Maybe your children
or grandchildren have walked away from the faith. Maybe your children walked
away from the faith, and now your grandchildren wouldn’t even know who Jesus
was if they fell over him. And it causes you a lot of pain. And at the same
time, you know that if you want to talk to them, there is only one topic which
will cause you to fight—and that is: religion! And you’d love to share the
gospel with them, but you also don’t want your family members never to talk to
you again! You don’t want to lose them!
And you know—this is exactly what Jesus prophesies. When
Jesus baptises you, he calls you to turn from your old way and follow his new
way. He calls you out of darkness into light. He calls you to repent of your
sin and receive forgiveness. He casts out from you all unclean spirits and he
sends you the Holy Spirit.
But he doesn’t do this to every person at the same time,
even in your own family. So Jesus says: Do you think 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.
Now what’s Jesus talking about here? Well, all throughout
the bible, Jesus speaks about people like houses or temples. St Paul says: Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you
have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So
glorify God in your body. Jesus purchased you with his blood, just like
someone buys a house. And when you buy a house, what do you do? You live in it!
So when Jesus buys you, he makes his home in you—and he doesn’t just live
alone, but with his Father, and he fills every corner with his Holy Spirit.
Now, there are plenty of other religions that say that our
bodies are temples. For example, Buddhists and Hindus say their bodies are
temples. You can go to a New Age “Mind, Soul and Spirit” expo and people will
tell you that your body is a temple. They say this not because they are temples
of the Holy Spirit, but they are temples of unclean spirits, of demons. When a
person is baptised, there is an old custom in the church to perform an exorcism
and say: Depart from [this person], you unclean spirit, and make way for the
Holy Spirit. Holy Baptism is an exorcism—it is the place where the old
resident, the devil, is evicted out on the street, and a new resident—the Holy
Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—makes their home in us. This is a real
thing that happens—and so we shouldn’t be surprised if there is some friction.
Now, what happens if the old resident that is evicted is
friends with everyone on the street? Well, then all of a sudden the new
resident finds himself living in a very angry neighbourhood. And so, if you
have the Holy Spirit, and your husband or wife or child or parents don’t, is it
any surprise to you that there is friction in your family precisely over the
issue that you are a believer and they are not?
And so, there is a division. Jesus does not make peace with
the devil. He kicks him out on the street and burns him with fire. There is no
peace to be made with him. And so Jesus says: Do you think that I have come
to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
Can you imagine if God and Satan sat down in the Garden of
Eden and said, “Now, come on, let’s be friends. What can we learn from each
other?” No! – there’s no tolerance by God of sin and evil. And sometimes we
find ourselves stuck as Christians—living among people who are closed to the
gospel and hate us for it, even within our own family. Of course, we can’t make
peace with them and become like them. But we pray for them, that the Holy
Spirit may bring his peace, and convert their hearts through the word. And we
pray that Jesus would also perform the same eviction of the devil that he
performed on us, so that Jesus can acquire a new property, and a new house, and
enter into them and dwell with them. When Christians are joined together in the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, then we sing together: Glory to God in the
highest and on earth peace.
Our enemies are not each other. Our enemies are not our fellow
human beings, and they are certainly not our fellow Christians. Sometimes a
devil lays a trap even for Christians though, and then we Christians find
ourselves fighting against each other, and there is a friction in our own
congregations. We should pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to us the
reason for it, so that we can repent of whatever it is, receive forgiveness,
and make peace with each other under Christ and his cross. St Paul says very
clearly that we Christians are engaged in a spiritual war, not a physical one.
He says: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the whole armour of God.
At the end of our reading, Jesus has something very
interesting to say. He says: When you see a cloud rising in the west, you
say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the
south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearances of earth and sky, but
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
I don’t know if many of you grew up on farms. Many farmers
can look up at the sky and predict the weather for the day. But even most of us
know that if there are some dark clouds in the sky, it’s time to go and bring
the washing in off the clothesline, it’s time to put a cover on whatever’s
outside, or whatever we do.
And so, when there’s friction in the world, or even friction
within families, and within households over our religion, over our faith, is it
any surprise to us? If we know to bring in the clothes when it’s about the
rain, why are we so surprised when we fail to recognise a spiritual storm in
our own family or amongst our own friends? Jesus says: You know how to
interpret the appearances of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to
interpret the present time?
The things that Jesus gives are real. Holy Baptism is a real
impartation of the Holy Spirit through the word of God. His body and blood of
Christ in the Lord’s Supper is true—it’s real. The word of God is true and
trustworthy and real. And when it enters your heart, and when the Holy Spirit
comes into your life, it’s real. So we shouldn’t be discouraged when people
around us get annoyed with us, and can’t stand our religion, can’t stand Jesus,
and can’t stand our faith, because they have a different spirit. We should pray
that this different spirit would be cast out of them, and that the Holy Spirit
would come into them!
In the meantime, let’s praise Jesus our Saviour for the wonderful
way in which he has cast fire on the earth and destroyed the works of the
devil! Let’s praise Jesus for being baptised on the cross with his wonderful
baptism, so that all our sins can be paid for. And let’s pray for patience as
the Holy Spirit leads us wherever he wants through this troubled world and
finally to our heavenly home. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment