When you think of Jesus, I’m sure many different pictures come to mind. The healer, the teacher, the Savior, the friend, to name just a few. Today’s reading may give you a different sense, but he’s calling it as it is. He is the divider.
This is probably not a passage we see too often, so we don’t quite believe that “our” Jesus could be actually saying these things. His words are not as uplifting as we are used to. But his message is very helpful.
Didn’t he come to bring peace? We call him the Prince of Peace after all. But it goes deeper than this. When we dig in to the Word, we will see that because of the very nature of Jesus – being fully God and fully human, he is going to ruffle some feathers. He is dividing families. He is angering teachers of the law stuck in their tradition. Some will want to follow him and others will not. Those that follow and trust Jesus will find peace. Those that rebel will find judgment. Continue reading “Luke 12:49-59 – Division”
For centuries, there have been forecasters, theologians, even common folk trying to figure out when Jesus will return. This is one of the passages that is often reviewed. I don’t know about you, but the line, “for the Son of Man will come when least expected,” tells me it will be hard to predict.
Don’t you love being taught by Jesus every day? The wisdom he shares isn’t just for those people who lived two thousand years ago. It’s timeless. The issues that plagued the world then still exist today. Why? Because evil remains in the world. The final battle has yet to be fought.
Probably one of the biggest hurdles the church faces even today is the issue of hypocrisy. Think of your friends and neighbors who do not have a church home. Many of those folks have made that choice on purpose. There is a growing sense that we don’t need church so long as we have Jesus.
Oh my! What sorrow awaits is most certainly true! I think it’s an understatement to say that Jesus’ words “hurt” those religious leaders. Those words should have shaken them to the core of their beings. Yet, they did not understand. Woe to them.
