A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on January 4, 2026.
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized 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. 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.” He also said to the crowds, “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 appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny” (Luke 12:49–59).[1]
At this time of year, we readily recall the angelic announcement to the shepherds “keeping watch over their flock by night,” when “the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear” (Luke 2:8-9). And the angel told them of the “good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” good news of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord (2:10-22). And then the heavenly host praised God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14 KJV). It is a Bible verse so engrained in our Christmas culture that even the most hardened secularist likely knows it by heart. And why not? Who doesn’t want peace on earth and good will toward all? And so it is presumed, and sometimes preached, that this is why Jesus came. But there is a problem with this presumption: Jesus never gave worldwide peace or universal good will as reasons for his coming.
Jesus said he came to fulfill the law, to call sinners, to serve and give his life, to proclaim good news, to seek and save the lost, to do his Father’s will in saving and resurrecting believers, to give abundant life, to give light, to bear witness to the truth, and for judgment.[2] He also said, as we have read today, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51). If someone asked you, “Why did Jesus come?” and you responded, “To cause division,” it wouldn’t be a comprehensive answer, but it wouldn’t be wrong either. So much for singing “Kumbaya” around the campfire!
Do Jesus’s words surprise you? Do they run contrary to your understanding of the angelic declaration, of the reason for the season, of Christmas itself? It may be imagined that Jesus said, “Why can’t we all get along?” But in our passage today, it sounds as if we won’t, and that he is even the source of our division. How can he of whom the angels declared, “on earth peace, good will toward men,” say, “I came to cast fire on the earth,” even desiring it already be kindled,” and confessing his coming he came not “to give peace on earth” but division”? That doesn’t sound like Christmas peace, does it? And yet, the angels were not wrong in their declaration nor Isaiah in his prophecy of a child born, a son given, the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). They were not in error, but the world is, and we had better start listening to Jesus for our understanding of peace, and everything else, rather than the culture in which we live. To understand the peace Christ gives then, we need not look to the dictionary of cultural Christianity but to the Word of God.
Before Peace
In our passage today, Jesus is revealing one of the reasons he came, and it’s not a popular one: division. To explain, Jesus employs two metaphors: fire and baptism. Both metaphors connote judgment and the outpouring of God’s wrath. Fire in Scripture can connote consumption and destruction but also purification. And baptism in Scripture doesn’t always refer to the sacrament but may also connote trials or suffering, such as the expression “baptism by fire.”
But to understand these two metaphors, we need to consider how Jesus uses them. Contrary to popular opinion of Jesus as all love and no judgment, he says he came to “cast fire on earth” and wishes that it “were already kindled” (12:49). He’s ready! Surely his audience was speechless, wondering when such judgment would come. But note carefully what he then says: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (50). He has “a baptism to be baptized with.” Combining the metaphors, Jesus is not baptizing but to be baptized, a baptism by fire that greatly distresses him.
At first reading, we may hear Jesus’ words and think of his second advent and the final judgment, but Jesus was not pointing to his second but his first advent, not just to his incarnation but his passion and crucifixion. Knowing his Father’s purpose, Jesus was advancing to Golgotha with holy zeal. His desire was that it be “kindled,” that it be “accomplished.” Indeed, “for the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2), Hebrews tells us, but earthly speaking there is nothing in the cross that connotes joy and certainly not peace but violence, agony, and death. How then can that instrument of torture and shame be the same emblem of our peace with God? Because the fire of God’s judgment was poured out upon Jesus on the cross, because he was baptized by fire for us:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
the wrath of God was satisfied.
For ev’ry sin on him was laid
–here in the death of Christ [we] live.[3]
Just as the cross is of great significance to all who have faith in the crucified One, so we enjoy a peace with God the world does not know. Therefore, Jesus says, “For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three” (Luke 12:52). We who are at peace with God are divided from those who are not. This does not mean that there will be outright warfare in every family. But in matters of eternal substance, the gospel is the great separator. It is a mysterious reality that faith in Christ can sever the closest of familial relationships, if not today certainly for eternity.
This is indeed a hard truth, but not a surprising one. Those who have been brought to spiritual life by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit see life through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This, of course, is not the case for those who don’t truly believe. Apart from divine grace, the unbeliever does not see the gospel as necessary and certainly not life-directing. But this truth should not leave us despondent. Today is not the last day, yet.
For those who know this truth all too well in your family, consider the following: First, know this: You are not the savior of your family. There is only one Savior, and you are not him. Second, trust God. God is sovereign; you are not. Third, know that the greatest gift you can give your family is not your wealth, your heirlooms, or your ancestry but the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel will not guarantee familial harmony today, but through it Christ gives peace with God for all eternity. Finally, pray for your family. Whether it’s father against son and son against father, or mother against daughter and daughter against mother, or mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law, pray earnestly for the conversion of unbelievers in your family, that they may receive the peace that only Christ gives.
Know Peace
Yet, some never believe it, but it’s not without witness. They may be like the crowds Jesus describes, who could look to the clouds in the west and predict rain was coming or see the south wind blowing and predictably expect a heatwave. They could see the clouds and recognize the wind and discern the weather rightly, but the Son of God stood in their midst, and they missed him. Jesus called the people hypocrites, because they could discern the blessings of God’s common grace but did not see the witness of his saving grace, his Son, our Savior. Many still don’t.
They may pay attention to the socio-political events of the day but not heed to the four-fold eyewitness testimony of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. They may scroll through their so-called news feed and presume themselves informed but not believe the Good News of Jesus Christ. Despite the very Word of God delivered to us in black and white, despite the witness of believers in the workplace, and the faithful preaching of the gospel from pulpits across the land, even among those who attend worship, many do not truly believe.
Just as Johnny Lee was looking for love in all the wrong places,[4] the Jews of Jesus’s day were looking for Israel’s Messiah everywhere but in Jesus. And as Solomon says, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccles. 1:9), so it is in our “present time.” Many are looking for Christ in politics, one of the great and powerful idols of our age, to save the souls of a lost nation. Others are looking for Christ in pleasure, seemingly entertaining away the guilt of sin and the promised judgment to come. Many are looking for him as a means of self-help and then disregard him as no help at all. The list of idols are endless, but he who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:18) came into the world to save sinners, like the crowds that followed him, and like you and me too.
Make Peace
While our final last passage to consider relates to the two preceding passages, connected by Jesus’ rhetorical question, “why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” (Luke 12:57), let us first consider the practical advice given: In summary, make peace with your accuser and stay out of court. The scenario Jesus gives presumes someone has brought an accusation against you, whether frivolous or not. You may seek to settle it with your accuser, or you may wait to have “your day in court.” Jesus recommends the first, that you “make an effort to settle with him on the way” (12:58). Why? Because, if you wait until you appear before the judge, the judge may rule against you and put you in prison.
If it sounds like common sense, that’s because it is, but what does Jesus mean by it? Has he moved from confronting unbelief to giving free legal advice? Hardly. Remember, Jesus began this passage confronting the spiritual blindness and unbelief of the people: “why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” In their poor judgment, they do not recognize that an accusation of eternal consequence has been brought against them and judgment awaits.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus explains to his disciples that the Spirit of God convicts the world “concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). He is the accuser of unparalleled veracity, confronting us with the truth that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). While we may think ourselves good enough, or we may presume we have time enough to reform, he tells us the truth:
None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12).
But maybe we think we’ll take our chances, as if we know better than the Spirit of God. But what shall we say on Judgment Day when confronted with the perfect holiness of God in the person of Jesus Christ? Shall we boast of our best efforts or offer to repay the sin debt we owe? Such arguments will be as vain as yesterday’s wishes and met with an eternity in hell, where not only would we never get out until “the very last penny” is paid (12:59), but there aren’t enough pennies in all the world to pay the debt we owed.
The only hope we have is to settle with our accuser before Judgment Day comes, not by making amends or paying off debt but looking to Christ, whose sinless perfection and atoning propitiation satisfied the wrath of God in our stead and secured our redemption, reconciling us to God through faith. His gospel has been given, the signs of the time of his coming were clear, the conviction of our sin, righteousness, and judgment are indisputable. If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, let today be that day. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
If you have, then rejoice. For faith in Christ reveals God’s covenantal favor upon you, grace bestowed before the foundation of the world, love predestining you for adoption, and peace made perfect in Christ.[5] And what can we say of the grace that enables us to believe the gospel while others, even our loved ones don’t? What can we say of the gift of faith that justifies us as righteous before God? While we may wonder, “Why me?”, but surely we can say with all the saints before us, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33, 36).
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
(Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] Matt. 5:17; Mark 2:17; Mark 10:45; Luke 4:18-19; Luke 19:10; John 6:38-40; John 9:39; John 10:10; John 12:46; John 18:37
[3] Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, “In Christ Alone,” The Sing! Hymnal (Wheaton: Crossway, 2025), 181.
[4] https://youtu.be/8mxIHL6d-RM?si=Oe99wUrbVcGFQRFa
[5] Eph. 1:4-10
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 