Read the Signs – Luke 12:49-59

I have a granddaughter who is driving, so we know she passed her driving exam, but it’s hard to remember everything.  She was recently a bit stumped when all the signal lights going her way became flashing yellows.  She didn’t know what that meant but knew she should do something, so she stopped.  She got a lot of people behind her honking.  It is important to be able to read the signs.

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? 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.”

He also said to the crowds, “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 heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”  (Luke 12:49-59 ESV)

Jesus is leaving but returning.  The kingdom of God has come but is not yet fully come until the king returns.  We must be ready for his return.  But in the meantime, adhering to his kingdom will mean experiencing division even within families, because not everyone will believe.  Jesus will be baptized with death on the cross and that will bring those who believe into peace with God.  But others will reject him.  Such division is a sign that this is the truth.  Truth always divides.

People say they can read the signs of weather but many have and will miss the signs of the kingdom.  Just as they fail to realize that it is best to settle with an accuser rather than face an uncertain judgment that may result in your imprisonment, they fail to understand that a greater settlement must be reached with God, whose kingdom demands obedience we cannot seem to provide.  We need a rescue.