TO follow Jesus and be part of God’s reign, one must put Jesus above all else. One may even be called upon to sacrifice family loyalties (Luke 12:49-53).
A baptism of fire
AN outburst from the heart of Jesus divulges his passion to accomplish his mission. He paints himself as in great inner anguish until it is accomplished. How he wishes that the fire he has come to set on the Earth is already blazing! In the first place, it is a baptism of fire he himself must undergo and be baptized with. It recalls the words of Jeremiah, “Within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot!” (Jeremiah 20:9). Jesus burns with zeal for the fulfillment of His mission on Earth, even as it entails the suffering and death He knows He must endure. He eagerly embraces, while also dreading it, the path that leads to the execution of the Father’s will for the salvation of the world.
In claiming He has come to cast fire on the Earth, Jesus presents His coming in the tradition of a dramatic prophetic visitation. It is God’s design: “I am now making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them” (Jeremiah 5:14). Like the refiner’s fire the prophet Malachi spoke of (Malachi 3:2), fire is needed to purify the Earth and wash away the dross. It denotes severe judgment, as happened in a similar action of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:10-14). Principally, we must connect “casting fire on the Earth” with the gift of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptizer predicted that the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16), and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples is symbolized as tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4). The followers of Jesus, gifted with the Holy Spirit, are purified even as they are empowered to imitate Him.
Saved as divided
IN casting fire on the Earth in order to save, Jesus is not solely a gentle Messiah spreading peace, but also the Son calling us to decide and to stand for the Father’s will. The radical change His baptism of fire demands of His disciples consequently includes the establishment of division. Jesus’ message of peace and reconciliation (Luke15:11-32; 23:34; 6:27-36) when followed has the effect of distinguishing and dividing those who follow Him and those who do not. Commitment to Jesus and His gospel must take precedence over any political and even family loyalties. Loyalty to Jesus can tear apart those bonded together, and those who accept Him and His teaching can often be ostracized by those who do not believe in Him. A sign of contradiction, the old seer Simeon predicted of the child Jesus, one who would be opposed (Luke 3:24); in opposition and contradiction is division.
The forthright admission by Jesus of the divisive effect of His word, like a two-edged sword (Hebrew 4:12), on family life shows his unflinching approach; no soft-pedaling what is really involved in following Him. As once a would-be disciple wanted to attend first to His family duties before joining the company of Jesus, His clear response was, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59-60).
Alálaong bagá, the mission of Jesus of setting the Earth on fire meant His own baptism of fire, which He looked forward to with passion even as it meant the antagonism against Him resulting in His suffering and death for the salvation of all. The purifying fire that He cast on the Earth is the power of the Holy Spirit bringing both judgment and new life, consequently dividing those who accept Him from those who do not. The hearer of the message is challenged to decide to a commitment to Jesus above all other loyalties.
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