Luke 12:49-13:9 "The Baptism of Fire" Why is baptism so important to the apostles? When Peter is asked "what shall we do?" He says, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. How often today do you hear preachers saying "repent and be baptized"? Baptism has become a secondary doctrine. But for the apostles, baptism is what distinguishes you from the world. Baptism is what marks you as belonging to Christ and his church. Baptism, by itself, doesn't save you but it is the outward sign of the inward reality. And that inward reality is cleansing from sin. God is going to cleanse his creation. The general principle in scripture is to start cleansing with water. If that doesn't work, then use fire! The obvious example is the flood in Genesis 6-9. The flood was a warning to humanity shape up or else! And 1 Peter 3 says that the final judgment will be like the flood except God will use fire, not water. But there is also the rule in Leviticus 13 about cleansing diseased garments or diseased houses. You start with water but if that doesn't work, then you burn it with fire. The image is rather clear, isn't it? Sin is a disease a hideous blot on God's good world. If water doesn't cleanse it, then fire will! You see the same pattern of water and fire in the life of Jesus. Baptized at the Jordan in Luke 3, Jesus received his anointing with water and the Spirit, but he is not finished yet! He now has a baptism of fire to undergo. I have argued that Luke 9:51-13:21 is all about the coming judgment. No sooner did Jesus turn his face toward Jerusalem than his disciples want to see fire from heaven. Our passage today makes it clear that fire from heaven will come, but its first target will be Jesus himself! 1. The Baptism of Fire Is Coming (12:49-53) I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! Remember that the context here is Jesus exhortation to be ready for his coming. In 12:1-12 Jesus had warned that God is the one whom you should fear, because he is the one who can cast you into hell! Then in 12:13-34 Jesus reminded us to seek his kingdom, and to lay up treasure in the heavens for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The coming of the kingdom should cause us to be single-minded in our devotion to Christ's kingdom. Then in 12:35-48 Jesus returned to the theme of being ready for the coming of the kingdom. Last week I pointed out that we cannot read 12:35-48 simply as a warning about Christ's final coming. Peter even asks in verse 41, is this for us, or for all? And Jesus replies by talking about disciplining his servants. This is not the language of final judgment or rather, it is the language of final judgment, but it is the final judgment administered in advance, in the middle of history. Judgment comes in the middle of history so that we might not be destroyed at the end of history After all, what would be the effect of Jesus casting fire on the earth before his death? Remember what John the Baptist had said? I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (Luke 3:16-17) John had said that Jesus would come to baptize with the Spirit and with fire, and that through his Spirit-and-fire baptism, he would destroy the chaff the wicked with fire. In the Old Testament, the coming of the Spirit is the coming of God's glory like when the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle (or the temple) and no one can enter. like when Isaiah sees the LORD and fears that he will die, because the coming of the Spirit is the coming of God's judgment. Spirit and fire baptism is a baptism of judgment and wrath. If Jesus casts fire on the earth in Luke 12, then the whole earth would be consumed in fire. All humanity is contaminated by sin, and so all humanity would be burned with unquenchable fire. In order for Jesus to cast fire on the earth, he must first himself be baptized with the Spirit and with fire. That is why he is distressed. But wasn't Jesus baptized with water at the Jordan? Yes. He has identified with his people in water. He had been cleansed and anointed with the Spirit in order that he might be the one who would take the fire on our behalf. Remember the order: first water, then fire! In order for the kingdom to come with salvation for his people, he must take the fire of God's wrath for them. He must be baptized with the very fire with which he will judge the world. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! The coming of the kingdom will involve the purification of Israel which will start with Jesus himself. He will be purified with fire because he alone is able to pass through the fire without being destroyed. But when Jesus passes through the fire, all those who belong to him will pass through the fire with him. And when you pass through the fire with Jesus, you will never be the same again. This is why Jesus goes on to say, Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? This is what everyone said the Messiah would do! The angels had proclaimed peace on earth through Jesus birth! No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 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. Jesus sees that his death (his baptism by fire) will divide Israel. The household which had been the basic building block of Israelite society will now be divided. Jesus is establishing a new household. No longer will physical descent from Abraham be the distinguishing mark of God's people. Now it will be the question, what do you think of Jesus? Do you share in his baptism or not? Some people use this passage to justify division in the church. But this passage may not be used to justify division between those who are in Christ. Jesus' whole point is that he is the line of division. So, Jesus first point is that baptism with fire is coming and it is coming first for him! But when it comes for him, it will come upon the whole earth. And in the coming of the kingdom as the gospel is preached to the ends of the earth the division is made between those who repent and are baptized into Christ, and those who do not believe. 2. And You Ought to Be Able to See It Coming (12:54-59) Jesus seems perplexed at the crowds. Because they don't seem to understand the signs. Verses 54-59 point to the signs that they should be able to understand aright. When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heart,' and it happens. You understand how to interpret the sky and the earth, but you do not know how to interpret the present time. Not only is Jesus rebuking them for their lack of hermeneutical skill, he is also giving them a hint which they should be able to interpret! He has just talked about fire being cast on earth, and now he speaks of a cloud rising in the west. We read 1 Kings 18 in order to help you see what Jesus wants you to see! When Elijah had confronted the prophets of Baal, he had built an altar with twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came and he prepared the sacrifice, and he baptized it pouring 12 jars of water on the sacrifice, until the whole altar and the sacrifice, and the wood were thoroughly washed. But water could not cleanse Israel from his sins. And remember Elijah's prayer, Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back. (1 Kings 18:37). Did you notice that? Israel did not yet know that God had turned their hearts! Elijah has great confidence that God will turn their hearts in the act of sending fire from heaven. And so the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water in other words, the fire from heaven consumed Israel (remember the stones?) And when Israel sees the fire from the LORD, indeed, their hearts were turned, and they fell on their faces and said, the LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God! And then Elijah knelt on the top of Mt Carmel and prayed seven times, and behold, there was a little cloud like a man's hand rising from the sea. Jesus is saying, if you understood Elijah, you would see what is about to happen. The fire of the LORD will consume me, and when it does, judgment will fall upon the household of Israel. You are either with me or against me and your place in the kingdom of God depends upon your answer. Whether you realize it or not, you are on your way to court. If you do not settle with your accuser, you will be handed over to the officer and thrown in prison. The kingdom of God is at hand. The coming of the kingdom is the coming of the king, and when the king comes, judgment comes and you ought to see it coming! 3. So Repent or Die! (13:1-9) The first nine verses of chapter 13 bring this episode to its conclusion. Luke emphasizes that this happened "at that very time" connecting these verses to chapter 12. Because there were those who heard Jesus warning, and got the point! They understood that judgment is coming! And so they told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, and Jesus answered, Do you think that those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. It is easy to point to others and say "look at their sins!" This week marked the 25th anniversary of the first report on AIDS. 25 years ago there were many who said that AIDS was God's judgment on gays. But now we know that in Africa AIDS is primarily spread through heterosexual contact. The point of AIDS is not that they should repent. The point of AIDS is that you should repent! Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Note that Jesus says twice, Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (13:3, 5) Why do bad things happen to "decent" folks? We have to remember that God's "common wrath" is displayed against all humanity. Even as God has mercy on both the just and the unjust, showing favor through his common grace; so also God's judgment comes upon both the just and the unjust. And the point is not that you will get what you deserve in this life. The point is that unless you repent, you will all likewise perish! Because the kingdom of God is coming! And in that final judgment, you will get what you deserve! And so Jesus concludes with a parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. The image of the fig tree is Israel-language. Isaiah spoke of Israel as a vine that produced stink-fruit, so Jesus' hearers know exactly what he is saying. Israel is a barren vine. And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. The timing is important. Leviticus 19:23-24 said that when you planted a tree, you were not to eat of it for three years, and in the fourth year its fruit was holy to the LORD. The vinedresser is saying, if the fig tree will not produce for the LORD, then cut it down. If Israel will not produce for Jesus, then cut it down! Jesus is serving notice. Time is running out. This is the fourth year. All of Israel's history comes down to this moment and this question: what are you going to do with Jesus? What does it mean to bear fruit? If I'm right, and 12:1-13:9 is all one section, then bearing fruit means seeking the kingdom of God, have your treasure in the heavens, let your whole attitude and focus in life be centered on Jesus and his kingdom. I started out asking why baptism was so important in the NT. The reason why it is important is because baptism is the sign of participating in the kingdom of God! If you have been baptized then Jesus claims you as his own. And you are called to walk in the new life of the kingdom. When Paul is accused of being an antinomian "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" His response is to remind you of your baptism: By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:2-3) You have been united to Christ's death. You have shared in Christ's Spirit-and-fire baptism. Therefore you are not your own. Your old self was crucified with Jesus, so that you would no longer be slaves to sin! Are you bearing fruit? Paul uses the same sort of tree imagery in Romans 11 in this case the olive tree. He suggests that Israel did respond to Jesus at least in some measure. Because God did not chop down the tree. Rather, he grafted the Gentiles into the tree, and merely chopped off the unbelieving branches. The church does not replace Israel, rather the Gentiles are grafted into Israel. And Paul warns you not to get cocky. Do not say "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in"! Because God will cut off all branches who do not "continue in his kindness" (Rom 11:22). The branch that does not bear fruit will be pruned. Are you bearing fruit? Are you seeking first the Kingdom of God? If not, then repent, or else you will likewise perish! As I said last week, the grace of God is free! But it will cost you everything you have! Because in order to receive the grace of God, you must die. You must pass through death into life. You must be baptized into the Spirit and fire baptism of Christ, in which all that you once held dear perishes. You will never outgrow the call to repentance! So, dearly beloved, repent! Or die!