49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 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.”
54 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. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 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?
57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 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. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus expressed His desire that He could complete His work and bring final judgment on Israel so that the purified nation could finally enjoy God’s promised blessings. But before that could happen, He needed to go through the baptism of His death, burial, and resurrection. He needed to die as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. The end goal of Jesus’ work was peace but in the interim, it would bring division. Because not everyone would believe in Him families would be divided. Those who choose to believe will be ostracised by those who chose not to.
Up to that point, Jesus had been focused on His disciples, now he turns to the crowd and addresses them on their inability to recognise and accept Him as the Messiah. They were able to see the cloud rising over the sea and know that rain was coming. They could see the south wind blowing and know that it was going to be hot. They could interpret the natural signs, the earth and sky, but they were not able to interpret the spiritual signs. Jesus was right there among them offering them the kingdom but they could not see it and would not believe Him.
Jesus used the illustration of an accused person going before the magistrate to speak of the urgency of being right with God. In earthly terms, it would be wise even before reaching the magistrate to settle with our accuser because once we face the judge, his judgement is final and he will ensure that every last penny is paid to settle our debt. The nation of Israel still had time to settle its account with God before it was too late. We are given that same opportunity. The harsh reality is that if we stand before God with unsettled accounts then He will judge us rightly and our sin against an eternal God will result in a punishment that is eternal—there will be no ability for us to pay the very last penny. But Jesus has offered us an opportunity to settle with God before we get to that judgement seat. It’s not a settlement we can make using our resources because we have nothing to offer God. Instead, Jesus offers us His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 4:5) so that when we get to the judgement seat, our accuser has no accusation to offer, instead, we will stand their blameless. If you have not accepted Christ’s offer of salvation, what is holding you back? What will you say to God when you stand before Him and have to account for the wrong you have done against an eternally perfect God?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Haman’s Evil Plot: Esther 3-4