Baptized with Fire
Luke 12:49-53
August 29, 2004
A farmer who was retiring decided to get rid of all his farm animals. So he went to every house in his town. To the houses where the man was the boss, he gave a horse. To the houses where the woman was the boss, a chicken was given. He got toward the end of the street and saw a couple outside gardening. "Who's the boss around here?" he asked. "I am," the man proudly replied. "I have a black horse and a brown horse," the farmer said, "which one would you like?" The man thought it over for a minute and said, "The black one." Immediately the man's wife interrupted, "No, no, no. Get the brown one." And the farmer said, "Here's your chicken."
Although we may chuckle at that story, I think there was some division and dissension in that family - disagreement about who was the boss. Of course, such division and dissension are very common in our world today. People will fight and argue about the least little thing, especially about who's in charge. Well, strangely enough in our Gospel lesson for today Jesus says that it is exactly that kind of division and dissension that He came to bring upon the earth. In our text He declares: "DO YOU THINK I CAME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH? NO, I TELL YOU, BUT DIVISION!"
Now, the division that Jesus was talking about is not petty bickering, not the division that comes from selfishness and greed, which make up so much of our worlds dissension. No, the division Jesus was talking about centers around the Gospel and what you believe about it. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is True God and True Man, your Savior, or not? In a sense, it boils down to knowing that Jesus is the boss. God is in charge of our lives and not we ourselves. Unfortunately, all those who believe that - who believe in the truth of God's Word will always be divided against those who do not. And that division will reach right into the very fabric of society, at the heart of families and friendships.
Indeed, already back in the book of Micah, chapter 7 - already then the prophet could foresee the deadly division, which the Messiah would bring. And he prophesied these words: "THE DAY OF YOUR WATCHMEN HAS COME, THE DAY GOD VISITS YOU. NOW IS THE TIME OF THEIR CONFUSION. FOR A SON DISHONORS HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER RISES UP AGAINST HER MOTHER, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW. A MAN'S ENEMIES ARE THE MEMBERS OF HIS OWN HOUSEHOLD." And Jesus Himself echoed those words in our text, when He said that there would be five in one family divided against each other, two against three and three against two.
However, that division goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, when Satan pitted Adam and Eve against each other and against God. You know, Satan's plan has always been to divide and conquer. It's the division caused by sin. And it has worked quite well. For from the moment they fell into sin, Adam and Eve started blaming one another and running away from God. And you and I have been doing the same kind of thing ever since.
For example, we quarrel with one another, when we don't get our own way. Brothers and sisters pick on each other, to see who has the most power. And sometimes adults do the same thing. Occasionally, we can say some of the most mean-spirited, hurtful things even to brothers and sisters in Christ. And when that happens, it creates division and dissension, not only among us, but also between us and God. For our sin separates us from God, and unrepentant sin cuts us off from His loving presence.
In some respects it reminds me of that old joke about Noah and the ark. The question is: When Noah was on the ark, which of the animals did he fear the most? And the answer is: termites! I know that's kind of a groaner, but it hits at the truth. For just as termites eat away at wood, so sin eats away at our faith. And it does cause division and dissension. But the worst part is that, that dissension divides us from God. We said earlier that, the division Jesus was talking about, centers around the Gospel and what you believe about it. Well, the insidious thing about sin is that, if it is left unchecked, it will erode our trust in the Gospel. As a matter of fact, elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus said: "I HAVE COME, NOT TO BRING PEACE, BUT A SWORD!" The sword He was talking about is the sword of God's Word. For either you believe and live God's Word and therefore are united to Him. Or you doubt and disobey God's Word and therefore are divided from Him.
Perhaps that's why in our text, Jesus compared this division to fire. Now, fire can do one of two things. It can either destroy or purify. It consumes that which is combustible and refines that which is non-combustible. So it is with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Either, you believe it and are purified from your sin. Or you reject it and are consumed in your sin, because only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can refine us from our guilt and make us whole.
In essence, that's what Jesus was getting at in our text, when He said: "I HAVE COME TO BRING FIRE ON THE EARTH, AND HOW I WISH IT WERE ALREADY KINDLED! 50 BUT I HAVE A BAPTISM TO UNDERGO, AND HOW DISTRESSED I AM UNTIL IT IS COMPLETED!" The fire Jesus is talking about is the fire of God's wrath and judgment upon sin. And the Baptism He refers to is His own death on the cross. It was at the cross that Jesus was Baptized with the fires of God's wrath and judgment, because He had taken upon Himself all of our sin. You might say that on the cross, Jesus was thrown into the lake of fire on our behalf, as our substitute, so that we could come through the fire unscathed.
That's why in our text, Jesus said that He was distressed. It's a word that means 'to compress' kind of like a trash compactor. That's what Jesus went through on the cross. He was crushed with God's wrath. But in so doing He crushed our iniquity and did away with it for good. In other words, He sacrificed Himself for us to deliver us from our guilt and shame. It is no accident that in the Old Testament many of the sacrifices were whole burnt offerings, indicating that the sin had been completely consumed. In an even greater way, Jesus' Baptism of Fire on the cross has consumed our guilt and iniquity and made us pure. He is kind of like an asbestos suit, that guards us from the flames of God's wrath, for He has extinguished all the fires of our sin by His death for us.
And how do we know that that blessing is personally ours? Very simply, by virtue of our own Baptism. When John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus coming, he said that Christ would baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And that's what took place not only on Pentecost, but in our own Baptism. When the water was poured upon us in the name of the Triune God, you and I underwent our own Baptism of Fire. The fire of the Holy Spirit was poured into our hearts to refine us like gold and purify us from all our iniquity. For as Scripture promises: "HE THAT BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED. . . FOR BAPTISM NOW SAVES YOU!" My friends, it is that Baptism which unites us to God. And as we daily renew our Baptism through repentance and strengthening of our faith in the Word, that is what will prevent us from becoming divided and destroyed.
Back in March of 1994, the Associated Press carried a story about some fifth-graders, who attended Lake Elementary school in Oceanside, California. The accompanying picture showed 14 very bald boys. The article told about Ian Ogorman, who had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Knowing he would probably lose his hair, Ian went ahead and had his head shaved. Of course, a single bald boy is going to draw a fair amount of attention, and such attention is not something most fifth-grade boys want. Realizing that, one of his classmates said, "The last thing Ian would want is not to fit in. We wanted to make him feel better." So 13 of his classmates had their heads shaved. It was a mark of extraordinary compassion and empathy.
Dear friends, even greater is compassion and empathy that Jesus has for you and me. He took one human flesh and became one of us , so that we could fit into His kingdom. But more than that, He actually took the cancer of our sin into Himself so that He could remove it once and for all. For at the cross He was baptized with the fire of God's judgment, so that we might be purified and made us whole. May that so strengthen us in our faith, that we may remain united to Him and His Word all our days, and share that Word with others. Amen.
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