Pentecost 13                                                                                                                                                            Luke 12:49-53                                               September 2, 2007

 

THIS BAPTISM HURTS

I.  Jesus felt the agony of the cross

II.  Christians feel the agony of division

 

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.

 

When you hear the word Abaptism,@ about what do you think?  Do you think of little babies dressed in long white gowns?  Do you think of God=s words spoken over you on the day of your Baptism?  Quite possibly some other thoughts come to mind: extra time in the worship service; a crying little kid and somewhat embarrassed parents and sponsors who are trying everything to quiet the little one down.  Whatever thoughts are conjured up, I can almost bet that this thought never comes to mind: Baptism hurts.  No one is holding their breath as the pastor gets ready to pour a few drops of water on the person being baptized, wondering if the water is going to inflict horrible pain as it lands on the person=s forehead.  Baptism makes us think about many things, but being hurt by baptism is not one of them.

 

Unless, that is, you weren=t thinking the other way the word Abaptism@ is used.  Sometimes we talk about a Abaptism by fire.@  If Brett Favre goes down with a season-ending injury, people might talk about how Aaron Rogers will be thrust into the starting role, and how he will have to go through a  baptism by fire as he takes his bumps and bruises and losses.

 

That phrase, baptism by fire, isn=t new.  Jesus talks about a baptism that is going to have its hurts.  It=s going to hurt him and it=s going to hurt us.  This baptism isn=t like a baptism with water.  THIS BAPTISM HURTS.  What does Jesus mean?  May the Holy Spirit help us understand these words and draw closer to our Savior through them.

 

I

 

If you are like me, The words of our text make me scratch my head.  When I think of Jesus= coming, I think of the peace he brings, the light he lets shine, and the joy he shares.  Now he says, AI 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!@ 

 

He isn=t talking about his first baptism, is he.  That one happened at the Jordan River over two years earlier when John applied the painless, sacred waters on him.  John baptized Afor the forgiveness of sins.@  Now, we know that Jesus did not need forgiveness for his sins.  At this painless baptism, he was identifying with sinners.  He was one of us - flesh and blood - who was born under law.  The Spirit equipped him with power for his mission, and his Father announced his approval for his Son.

 

Rather, Jesus is looking ahead to a different baptism.  Literally, his word to the disciples is, AI have a baptism to be baptized with.@  In his first baptism, he identified with sinners.  In the second baptism, he stands in the place of sinners.  Holy and sinless though he was, he became surrounded by the tinder-dry sins of all.  Under him lay every wicked path our feet trod.  Above him hovered every curse word we uttered, every AI hate you,@ and every other sinful sentence that poured out of our mouths.  To his right was every sinful thing we ever did on a date, every lie we told to our parents, every instance we cheated someone out of the money or time that we owed them, and every other act that offended God and hurt our neighbor.  To his left was every depraved idea, every loveless thought, every lustful fantasy, and every selfish and pride-filled desire and emotion our minds ever concocted.  He stood in the midst of our sins and was found guilty of the sentence for those sins.

 

AHow distressed I am until it is completed!@  He knew the Father had charged him with committing all our sins.  AHe was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.  The punishment that brought us peace was upon him.@  He knew the Father=s judgment was ready to ignite that whole pile of sins.  He knew the fires of his Father=s judgment were going to hurt.  Jesus was true man, and like any man or woman he was distressed over the physical pain that lay ahead.

 

And yet he was eager to get on with it: AHow I wish it were already kindled!@ and AHow distressed I am until it is completed.@  At another time in his ministry he spoke to his Father about what lay ahead.  He said, ANow my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? >Father, save me from this hour?= No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour@ (John 12:27). 

 

What makes a great athlete, some coaches say, is that a person has a Afire in his belly.@  They have a burning desire to reach and even stretch their limits.  They will sacrifice all they have on the playing field to win the victory. 

 

In a much greater way, Jesus had a fire in his belly to win forgiveness and God=s smile upon us.  He=s not like so many secular movies like to portray him as a helpless pawn who begged his Father out of fear to get out of his assignment.  As the writer to the Hebrews said today: AWho for the joy set before him, endure the cross, scorning its shame.@  What a comfort it is to see our Savior facing his baptism of fire!  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, but he had a lion=s heart.  He willingly shed the blood that covered our sins from the sight of God; no one drew that blood without his approval. 

 

Jesus came to bring fire upon the earth.  It is a fire that, in one sense, burns our hearts and consciences.  It reveals that sin is deadly.  It says that sin destroys the soul and the body.  The fire of the Law causes you pain when you call someone a bad name, when you talk back to your parents, when you are inconsiderate to your spouse, when you treat your children unfairly.  But Jesus uses this fire of the Law to purify, not to destroy.  This purifying fire leads us to repentance.  It leads us back to the cross where he shows us how he has forgiven us and won the victory for us over sin=s power.  He leads us to rejoice and be glad for such great love that keeps us from burning forever in the fires of hell.  Jesus felt the agony of the cross.  He felt it to free us from damnation.

 

II

 

But there is another sense in which Jesus said, AI have come to bring fire on the earth.@  He explains it this way: ADo 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.@

The Civil War stands as the most heart-wrenching war of our nation=s history because it divided families right down the middle. 

•   Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky tried desperately in Congress to hold the Union together because he feared the worst if the country went to war.  His  two sons did not see eye to eye. 
• When war broke out, Major General T.L. Crittenden fought for the North, and Major General G.B. Crittenden fought for the South. 
•   Samuel Lee was the commander of the Union naval forces.  His cousin, Robert E. Lee, commanded the Confederate forces. 
•   In a house on West 20^th St. in New York, a young lad named Teddy Roosevelt prayed for the Union, while in another room of the house his mother prayed for her three Confederate brothers. 

 

It must have been heart-breaking for our forefathers.  But when you believe strongly in something - and when you are willing to stand up for it - you have to accept the division that comes with your stand. 

 

ADo you think I have come to bring peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but division.@  Wait a minute.  Didn=t the angels say, AGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests@ (Luke 2:14)?  Didn=t Jesus say to his disciples, APeace I leave with you; my peace I give you@ (John 14:27)?  Didn=t he say to the disciples on Easter evening, APeace be with you@ (John 20:20)?  Didn=t Paul say, ASince we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ@ (Romans 5:1)?  Yes.  But Paul=s words are key:  peace with God.  Because of Jesus, we can sit at God=s table and not be afraid he will stare at us in anger because of our many sins.  This is the wonderful news that we are invited to share with the whole world: God is at peace with the world through Jesus.  God gives eternal peace in heaven through Jesus Christ. 

 

But there=s the rub.  ASalvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved@ (Acts 4:12).  The good news of Jesus is, in Paul=s words, Athe fragrance of life@ to those who believe.  But many do not believe that salvation is found in Jesus.  In fact, to them Jesus is Athe smell of death@ (II Corinthians 2:16).  Standing up for Jesus means that we will be standing against the sinful world.

 

This truth is clearly seen in some of our mission fields.  Missionaries in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and India tell stories of new converts to Christ who are ostracized by their families for becoming Christians.  Do you know what it means to be ostracized?  It means that their families consider them to be dead and completely out of their lives.  In some Arab countries, becoming a Christian means the death penalty, and sometimes family members are even willing to turn their own family members in for worshiping Jesus. 

 

What about us?  We live in a day and age when everyone is supposed to get along.  You are considered Amean spirited@ if you question or pass a judgment on another person=s beliefs or lifestyles.  Such an attitude has wormed its way into the religious arena, too.  To many people, Jesus is a way to be saved, and Christianity is one of the many roads to the Father.  God loves sincerity, we are supposed to believe, and not hard-fast insistence in only one way to heaven.  To believe in the Scriptures literally - as God would have us believe - and stand up for the clear words of God that Jesus is the only way to heaven often only wins a label like@ AJesus Freak,@ or Aright wing Christian.@