A Really Sharp Word
Luke 12:49-56
Tony’s Overview Video
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Key Text: Luke 12:56
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
Imagine a cloud that grows so heavy with moisture that raindrops form, become subject to the force of gravity, and begin to fall. Visualize two individual drops within the torrent as they begin their long descent. Close together, the raindrops gather speed, leaving the cloud behind, rushing toward the greenery below.
Thousands of feet beneath the clouds, in a lonely clearing atop the Eastern Continental Divide not far from Grandfather Mountain, a large sharp rock sits atop a bare mountain ridge. with every second a moment of crisis approaches for the falling raindrops; the moment of impact draws near. Finally, they land with tiny splashes not more than one inch apart, but on either side of the rocky cleft: one drop on the east side, and the other on the west.
The raindrops blend with thousands of others, forming tiny rivulets that snake their way down the slope through leaf and earth until they find a little cascading stream. The drop that landed on the western side makes its way into the Watauga River, which flows into Tennessee and ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico. The eastern drop joins a stream that empties into the Linville River, which winds its way southeast until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. [DD]
Christ and crisis (vv. 49-50)
Two raindrops wound up in separate oceans because when the moment of crisis came, they went different ways. We all face similar moments of crisis, times of decision when the response we make impacts everything that comes after.
We’ve been following Luke’s account of Jesus’s final journey to Jerusalem. When Jesus set his face toward that holy city, he knew that his own great moment of crisis was approaching. An ugly death on a wicked cross loomed like a heavy cloud, but Jesus knew the fate of the world could rest on the way he chose to face the crisis before him.
So it was that Jesus marched toward Jerusalem with the weight of the world on his shoulders but the love of God in his heart. He faced his crisis, made his decision, and the world is different because of it. But it wasn’t easy.
If we can imagine ourselves on the road with Jesus that day, perhaps we can understand why he spoke some of the most forceful and troublesome words we find in the gospels. “I came to bring fire to the earth,” Jesus said, “and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” (vv. 49-50). [DD]
In the Bible, fire is often a metaphor for judgment (Mal. 3:2-3), but also a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Jesus knew that he was about to endure the fire of judgment that humankind deserved. The author of 1Peter put it this way: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds, you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
We also recall John the baptizer’s insistence that one was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Luke 3:16). Jesus knew that the fire of the Holy Spirit could not come upon the believers until his mission of death and resurrection was past.
It is no wonder that Jesus was under stress and anxious for the moment of crisis to pass, ready to get it over with. But Jesus’ death and resurrection would not be a crisis moment for him alone: it would inaugurate a time of decision for the entire world. Through God in Christ, the kingdom of God was becoming manifest and decisions were called for. Jesus died for us, but we don’t experience his grace until we choose to accept it. This becomes a moment of crisis for each one of us.
A crisis for all (vv. 51-53)
Jesus knew that some would decide to trust in him and follow the narrow way. He also knew that others would put their trust in the broad way of the world. Furthermore, Jesus knew that conflict was inevitable in families where all did not make the same choice. Thus he asked, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (v. 51).
Jesus did not desire to see families or communities dividing, but knew it was coming. “From now on five in one household will be 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” (vv. 52-53).
Jesus came as the Prince of Peace, as the one through whom peace could be found, as the one who could calm others’ fears through the simple words “peace to you” (cf. Lk. 1:79; 2:14, 29; 7:50; 8:48; 19:38; 24:36).
But Jesus did not require that people choose his way: a forced peace is no peace at all. More than once, we have seen political dictators use loyalist armies to strong-arm different factions or ethnic groups into living side by side without constant fighting – but living in fear is not living in peace. When the dictator falls, civil war breaks out.
Jesus brought the possibility of peace with God, but that did not guarantee we would have peace with each other. Choosing to follow Jesus is radically different from choosing to follow the way of the world. If we take Jesus seriously, our lives will be different, and that can lead to conflict between friends or even within families. That doesn’t always happen, but it’s possible, and Jesus wanted his followers to know it.
We often see stories of young men or women from predominantly Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu cultures who were disowned by their families after trusting in Christ. That has to hurt. We may have observed stress that results when a husband or wife decides to follow Jesus instead of their former lifestyle, leading to conflict between partners who no longer share the same values.
Jesus knew that the crisis brought about by his death and resurrection would last until he comes again. Every person who lives is faced with the personal decision of choosing to follow Jesus or not.
Signs of crisis (vv. 54-56)
The disciples who followed Jesus down the dusty road to Jerusalem were faced with a crisis of decision, and the interested bystanders and critics who moved in and out of the crowd were faced with the same choice. Jesus had strong words for them. He took issue with those who failed to recognize that the crisis was imminent: it was a time for decision.
To make his point, Jesus appealed to common wisdom regarding the weather: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens” (vv. 54-55).
Those who listened to Jesus had no TV forecasters or smart phones with weather apps, and they didn’t need them. They knew that a wind blowing dark clouds from the west would bring rain from the Mediterranean Sea, and they’d best seek shelter. They knew that a strong breeze from the south would bring scorching desert winds from the Negev.
The ancients knew how to interpret the signs and take appropriate action, even as current residents and visitors near the coasts or in lowland areas know the importance of making preparations when the storm warnings call for an approaching hurricane.
Some determined people inevitably ignore evacuation notices and stay put, even at the risk of their lives, while also putting the lives of would-be rescuers at risk. Similarly, there will always be people who see the signs that point toward a need for repentance and faith, but yet they continue to ignore them.
Jesus had sharp words for those who ignored the signs: “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (v. 56).
It can be difficult for believers to understand why others reject what Jesus offers. It may remind us of people who voluntarily put their lives in jeopardy. Perhaps you have known a person whose heavy smoking or undisciplined eating led to lung cancer or uncontrolled diabetes. Doctors and family members and friends may have pleaded with them to change their habits for the sake of their health, but they kept right on smoking or overeating or refusing to exercise – and their lives were shorter because of it.
It’s hard to make sense of that, even as it is hard to look at the darkness of this world and understand why people do not choose to follow Jesus and the path of peace. [DD]
We worship a god who understands the sickness of our world, and who offers us a way out. Raindrops do not have the ability to decide where they will land, but human beings have both the capability and the responsibility to decide how they will respond to the God who lives among us, who gave himself for us, who calls to us. [DD]
In our lives, each of us are falling, as it were, through both time and space, and we all know that one day we will come to the end of our journey. When that time comes, on which side of the rock will we land?
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Luke 12:49-56
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
How do you help your students make decisions? Do you make decisions for them? Do you let them make all their decisions without any of your input? What freedoms does your student have? Who does your student go to when they need to make a decision? Who are the influencers in your students life? Each of our students will have a decision day: that day when they have to make a decision that will set the course of their life for some time moving forward. If you want to have more influence in the life of your student, begin to give up more of the control that you have over their life.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Luke 12:49-56
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“Decision Making” from Apollo 13
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