Fires of Judgment, Division and Unity; Luke 12:49-53

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 1/21/2024. After establishing the stark comparison between the two servants in His parables of readiness; the themes of servanthood and the Second Coming slip into the background and the theme of Jesus' purpose in the Cosmic Initiative reappears. But this time the focus is on judgment and division. Jesus speaks of a cataclysmic fire cast upon the earth and an anticipated transformation in which He is the central character and catalyst. This fire will bring judgment on the earth-- but a judgment that will not destroy humankind at this time, but rather bring about its greatest division. But in the final assessment, we will see that this necessary division brings about unity within the body of believers. After analyzing the text, and particularly the meaning of words like "fire" and "peace", we will recognize how the concepts in this passage flow perfectly into each other. Ultimately we will find that the fires of judgment, division and unity define the essence of God's Redemptive Plan through Jesus Christ and basically what it means to be a Christian.