SUMMARY
Jesus describes his purpose to bring judgment to the earth. He calls for a commitment that is so deep and defining that it can create divisions even within families.
ANALYSIS
Conflict and division result from Jesus’ ministry throughout Luke’s Gospel. In these verses JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. acknowledges that all this controversy is no accident. With images of fire and baptism he announces that his role is to bring judgment to the earth. The kind of commitment that Jesus calls for creates divisions among people, even turning family members against one another. This is dangerous language, for Jesus claims that he will fracture households, which were foundational pieces of the social world of the first century. At the same time, what he says also indicates that Jesus calls for a commitment to him that is so foundational that it makes identification with him more primary than people’s identification with their own family unit.
Jesus’ desire to bring fire to the earth is a desire to see the world purified, not destroyed or punished. At the beginning of this Gospel, John the BaptistJohn the Baptizer was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, preaching a gospel of repentance and preparing the way of the Lord., announces that Jesus will come with a fire that purifies and refines (LukeThe "beloved physician" and companion of Paul. 3:16-17; also Malachi 3:1-3). In scripture, fire is a sign of the divine presence (Exodus 14:24; 19:18; IsaiahIsaiah, son of Amoz, who prophesied in Jerusalem, is included among the prophets of the eighth century BCE (along with Amos, Hosea, and Micah)--preachers who boldly proclaimed God's word of judgment against the economic, social, and religious disorders of their time. 30:27). Fire represents God’s power to bring about change, no matter what the obstacles (JeremiahProphet who condemned Judah's infidelity to God, warned of Babylonian conquest, and promised a new covenant. 23:29). Fire can also indicate God’s ability to defeat opposition (2 Kings 1:2-14).
