Piggy in the Middle?
Luke 12:49-53 – Not Peace but Division
- “Piggy in the Middle?”
- This first verse at first seems stunningly harsh..
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”
- Wow.
- There are at least a couple of ways this could be interpreted; either Jesus is talking about the fire of judgement, which the context of this passage would lead us to believe. Or He is talking about the fire of the Holy Spirit, which the context of the rest of His life and work might lead us to believe.
- My particular D’rash is the second.
- Either way, there is a strong sense of process in Jesus’s words.
- He has come to bring something and He can’t wait for it to happen.
- Jesus is facing a battle and His personal battle, to go through baptism, persecution and crucifixion will also create a battle within the hearts of mankind.
- Initially He will bring division not peace yet long-term this process will lead to ultimate peace where…
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat” Isaiah 11:6
- It is true to say that ‘Peace follows War’.
- In our lives we often seek for peace but there is a bizarre irony that comes with it.
- Peace must be fought for.
- Jesus said “blessed are the peace-makers”
- He did not say;
- “Blessed are the peace-lovers”.
- This is important.
- Our role is to go through the process of what we must do to bring real authentic peace to our world.
- Those in Jesus’ day who were looking for the Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 11, were looking for someone to set them free from the Romans and bring a certain kind of peace with men on earth. But Jesus came to bring peace with God and then with men.
- If you want to know peace they you will need to fight your own personal battles with God’s help.
- You may need to bring peace to warring friends.
- Are you for instance ‘piggy in the middle’ – you are great friends with the person on your left and the one your right, but do they have conflict between them?
- If so, who are you?
- A peace-lover? One who is ok to allow the conflict to continue as long as they both like you?
- Or are you a peace-maker? One who will risk losing both friendships in order to bring them together?
- Jesus had some horrific battles to face, He would bring persecution upon Himself and others but ultimately many Romans would come to know Him and live in eternal peace with Jews and Gentiles alike.
- Want to serve Jesus today?
- Then make peace, don’t just seek it.
- Make it for others and don’t just seek it for yourself.
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WOW, that lesson hits home with me this very day as I needed that encouragement to be the peace MAKER in two relationships at this very moment and not the peace lover. Thanks Paul
Just a thought….making involves construction not destruction it is action which brings something into existance/being which previously was not there. The peace making of Jesus on the cross (“forgive them Father for they know not what they do”)brought/released fire onto the earth at Pentecost and forever more for those who seek His face and look into his eyes of blazing fire (Rev 1:14)