Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53 reveals that following Christ can lead to family division. Jesus warns that he came to bring fire and division, not peace at any cost. This passage challenges our understanding of harmony, showing that true peace is not the absence of conflict but calm confidence through it. Jesus emphasizes that maintaining “peace at any price,” even within families, can lead to hypocrisy.
He encourages his followers to stand firm in their faith, even when it causes relational strife. The message underscores that every person who follows Jesus will face a personal, relational price. However, this division is not the goal but a result of choosing to follow Christ in a world that often rejects him.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE CHAPTER 12
By Delbert Young
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
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Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
Scriptures: Luke 12:49-53, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 7:43, John 9:16, John 10:19, Luke 12:54-56, Luke 12:57-59,
We’ve been going through chapter 12 of Luke, seeing how Jesus warned his disciples in 12:1 to “be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Though a crowd of many thousands was there, Jesus focused on his disciples, giving them warning after warning on how this yeast could get into us, transforming faithful followers into hypocrites. Last week, we saw the yeasting of eschatology can cause hypocrisy. Today, we see yet another surprising “yeasting” of hypocrisy.
The Divisive Nature of Faith
A consistent thought about Jesus is that he brought a message of love and peace—love, love, love, and peace, peace, peace. Isn’t this what preachers teach us to think? No one in human history has changed the world as has and does Jesus Christ. Yet, no one has brought as much division and hatred as Jesus Christ. People either curse him using his name in profanities or worship him using his name in praise.
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
Luke 12:49-53 “I have come to BRING FIRE on the EARTH, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how DISTRESSED I AM until it is completed! DO YOU THINK I CAME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH? NO, I TELL YOU, BUT DIVISION. From now on there will be five in one family DIVIDED AGAINST EACH OTHER, 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 daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law AGAINST mother-in-law.”
We find the word against nine times and division/divided three times! Wow! We may be able to see the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law things coming, but the others are a little surprising. What’s the optimum thought? Jesus said maintaining “peace at any price,” even in the family, can be yeast-causing hypocrisy.
Like yeast in dough, I’ve seen this yeast’s upheaval working and fermenting, transforming dedicated Christ followers into Pharisaical judgmental people. Some of you stood against your family and friends as you followed Jesus. Some are doing this right now. You know others who didn’t take a stand and were yeasted with hypocrisy and not serving or following Jesus today. It’s a dangerous yeast, so be on guard.
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but peace does not mean the absence of conflict, even in a family. Peace is calm confidence through conflict and division, even within a family. Jesus does not allow “peace at any price.” It’s hypocrisy. One of the saddest events to observe is family division. However, Jesus assures us it will happen when people become serious about him, and no one is left out – father, son, mother, daughter, in-laws, or out-laws. Every person who follows Jesus will have a personal, relational price to pay. Jesus led by example with his family, who once thought Jesus had lost his mind (Mar 3:21).
This passage emphasizes that maintaining “peace at any price,” even within families, can lead to hypocrisy. Jesus encourages his followers to stand firm in their faith, even when it causes relational strife.
The Fire of Transformation
Jesus’ mention of bringing fire to the earth can be interpreted as the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. This fire changes everything it touches, much like how 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes becoming a new creation in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Why did Jesus say, “I come to bring fire on the earth?”
Jesus expressed why he came on many occasions in many different ways: to fulfill the law (Mat 5:17), to preach (Mar 1:38), to seek and to save that which was lost (Luk 19:10), he came “in my father’s name” (Joh 5:43), to do the will of the Father (Joh 6:30), for judgment (Joh 9:39), to give life and that abundantly (Joh 10:10), as light (Joh 12:46). He gives another reason – to bring fire on the earth. What did he mean? Well, he did build a fire to cook fish for the disciples after the resurrection, but that’s not what he meant (Joh 21:9).
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
What is your imagery of this fire (ge {ghay}-land/landscape)? Fire is an imagery of God’s judgment, but Jesus never had a problem saying “judgment.” I think if Jesus meant judgment, he would have said “judgment,” but also, the Holy Spirit is fire, a baptism (Luk 3:16), and came as tongues of fire (Act 2), caused division, and continues to. When a fire burns through the land, everything burns, including established great trees, underbrush, leaves, and pine straw. Then, everything begins again. All things are made new. It’s like being born again.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is A NEW CREATION, the old has gone, THE NEW HAS COME!
The presence of Jesus is like fire (Jer 20:9 fire in my bones, Heb 12:29 – consuming fire). You can’t ignore a fire. Fire alters the landscape. Nearly everything has changed on the earth since he came. Isn’t this fire what causes division even in our foundation relationships? Alicia Keys sings “Girl on Fire.” She wasn’t talking about the same kind of fire, but are you on fire? Has Jesus torched you?
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
I’ll never forget how it was when I first came into the kingdom of God. I was on fire. Foundational relationships divide. My parents thought I had gone off the deep end. Friends felt we’d abandoned them. The underbrush burned away. All things became new. The Holy Spirit consumed me. I wanted everything God had to give me. How about you? Have you experienced the fire?
Jesus said a most interesting statement. “BUT I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” Did Jesus experience stress – or distress? Jesus is speaking about the baptism of the cross. Didn’t Jesus say not to be anxious about tomorrow? He wasn’t anxious, but he was stressed. Distress – sunecho {soon-ekh’-o} – to hold together with constraint, to compress, that pushing in on each side.
The fire he came to bring would not come until Jesus completed his work on the cross and resurrection (Joh 16:7). Again, I see the fire he came to bring is the fire of the Holy Spirit. Here’s what I know. The world can be “pushing in on each side,” but you can remain at peace with God. He had to go through the stress so the fire would come.
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
This distress is like a child’s birth.
Birth is a beautiful thing… afterward, but the actual process is a bloody, ugly, painful, suffering, screaming mess. I’ll never forget the birth of our first child, but my memories are not nearly as intense as my wife’s. She thought she was going to die. Once the birth completed, everybody rejoiced, especially Judy. Jesus was about to give birth to a new creation. It would be painful. It was distressing, and he wanted it over.
In reality, Jesus wasn’t/isn’t the cause of division. He’s the result of it. The cause of division is rejecting or following Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus is radical at the very least and came to make a radical difference. He has changed the landscape of the earth with fire.
We wonder why other religions persecute Christians. They’re supposed to.
Thus the people were DIVIDED BECAUSE OF JESUS. John 7:43
…But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were DIVIDED. John 9:16
At these words the Jews were AGAIN DIVIDED. John 10:19
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
The gospel of Jesus Christ is divisive and will burn away relationships. It always has been and always will be. Other religions and people say, “That’s what I hate about you Christians. You’re so separatist. You think Jesus is the only way to God.” Yes, exactly right. What you believe is supposed to divide us. It can cause your closest relatives to despise and even hate you. If it hasn’t caused some division at some point in your life, you may investigate and see what you are doing wrong. Jesus said EXPECT DIVISION.
Recognizing the Times
Jesus criticizes those who can interpret weather signs but fail to recognize the spiritual climate of their time. He challenges in Luke 12:54-56:
Until now, in this chapter, Jesus has focused on the disciples, warning them of the Pharisees’ yeast. In verse 54, he turns and addresses the crowd of many thousands. He is so serious about this yeast.
Luke 12:54-56 HE SAID TO THE CROWD: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. HYPOCRITES! YOU KNOW how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. HOW IS IT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW how to interpret this present time?
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
“HYPOCRITES!” The yeast of the Pharisees filled them. Here is what this yeast will do. It will cause us to miss God’s presence when standing before us. They were far better meteorologists than followers. How true is this today? Let me ask you. Which can you and I do better, interpret the weather or this present time? What do people pay more attention to: Tomorrow’s weather report or their relationship with Jesus at this present time?
Before radar and satellite imagery, people forecasted weather this way. I still do this daily, especially when ocean fishing, no matter the official forecast. Do I evaluate the climate between me and God every day? For them, if rain clouds formed toward the west (the Mediterranean Sea), it meant rain. The wind from the south brought heat off the desert area. They were efficient at interpreting the weather but inefficient at interpreting the climate between them and God. How about us? Do you constantly interpret the climate between you and the Lord?
Jesus said, “Hypocrites! How is it you don’t know…?” They knew who Jesus was. The thought isn’t that they didn’t know what was happening then. They knew and were hypocrites, acting as if they didn’t know. Jesus was who Moses spoke about, who the prophets spoke about, and who they long awaited. They knew!
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
Isn’t this true today?
People know, right? Yet they act as if they don’t and as if belief in Jesus is demonic. It’s a frightening position to take. Today, we have the written gospels, PLUS we have historical proof of the massive changes in this world since Jesus and his teachings. The kingdom of God has come and is advancing.
Let’s think about us. We hear a winter blizzard is coming. What do people do? We take appropriate actions. We flood the grocery stores. For example, we make sure we have batteries. If we begin hearing tornado warnings, what do we do? We take appropriate actions. We go on alert. If the warning turns into a watch, we start thinking about shelter. We tune in to the weather channels. We hone in to acquire all the information possible to save ourselves and those we love. How much information have you acquired concerning eternity? How many are tuned in, and how much more should we take appropriate action?
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
Urgency of Reconciliation
The passage concludes with an allegory about settling disputes quickly, emphasizing the urgency of reconciling with God before judgment. Jesus advises in Luke 12:57-59:
Luke 12:57-59 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, TRY HARD to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the LAST PENNY.”
This statement seems out of place and context, but it isn’t. Jesus isn’t giving legal advice. It’s an allegory. The scenario is you borrow a sum of money but will not, or cannot, repay it. Your lender is taking you through the legal process. You’re guilty. It’s cut and dry. Jesus said if you don’t get it reconciled before the court, you will go to prison and remain there until you pay.
In the spiritual case, God is the judge. We know we are guilty. We will be found guilty. The storm is coming, and we know it. Get it reconciled and settled through Jesus now! We have a way, though guilty, to avoid eternal prison. Settle the account before getting to the judgment seat. Many people have convinced themselves they will somehow deal with God then. No, you won’t. It will be too late then. The thing is, we are all guilty. It’s simply that we Christ Followers reconciled through Jesus. Have you?
This serves as a reminder to address our spiritual debts and seek reconciliation with God through Christ before it’s too late.
Peace at any Price?: How to Navigate Division Luke 12:49-53
People believe if there is a judgment, their good deeds will outweigh their evil deeds. It doesn’t work this way. Some believe whatever religion they have served will get them a pardon. It doesn’t work this way, either. Jesus said, “HYPOCRITES! YOU KNOW how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” We know. We play-act, but we know. Don’t allow it to cost you the last penny – your very soul.
Peace at any Price No Luke 12:49-53 audio video notes
Peace at any Price No Luke 12:49-53 audio video notes
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