49 I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it
is already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Think ye that
I come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather
division: 52 for there shall be from henceforth five in one house
divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They shall
be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother
against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law
against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her
mother in law.
54 And he said to the multitudes also, When ye see a cloud rising
in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it
cometh to pass. 55 And when _ye see_ a south wind blowing, ye say,
There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to pass. 56 Ye
hypocrites, ye know how to interpret the face of the earth and the
heaven; but how is it that ye know not how to interpret this time?
57 And why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? 58 For
as thou art going with thine adversary before the magistrate, on
the way give diligence to be quit of him; lest haply he drag thee
unto the judge, and the judge shall deliver thee to the officer,
and the officer shall cast thee into prison. 59 I say unto thee,
Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the
very last mite.
Jesus had been warning the crowds against the peril of selfish enjoyment
and urging his followers to watch and to labor for his return and his
Kingdom; but he did not want them to be deceived and to suppose that this
Kingdom could be established without conflict and delay. The present age
was to be one of strife and division, and the Master himself was to be
their innocent cause. Some day he would return to bring justice and
holiness and righteousness to complete victory, and then he would be
indeed the Prince of peace.
Now, however, his coming into the world had cast upon the earth the
burning brand of division and strife. This was so inevitable that Jesus
had no regret that the fire was already kindled; but it would not burst
into a conflagration until Jesus had been crucified, and he felt a
pathetic impatience to have that dreadful experience accomplished. As
Jesus emerged from that baptism of fire he would be the torch which would
set the world ablaze with conflict and separation. This division would
occur even in a home circle of five: father and mother would be divided
against son and daughter and daughter-in-law.
Thus Christ, and specifically his cross, is now dividing the world. Happy
are those who interpret his message and understand his mission and turn to
him in repentance and faith!
The multitudes, however, were still unbelieving, and Jesus rebuked their
stupid ignorance. He declared that they could so interpret the signs of
weather as to predict correctly rain or drought, but they could not see in
his words and works the proofs that he was the Christ, the Saviour of the
world. However, he warned them to repent before it was too late. They
would have wisdom enough to agree with an adversary while on the way to a
courtroom before sentence had been pronounced, much more should they see
that it was the part of wisdom to seek peace with God before the day of
mercy and grace had passed.