Jesus Divides

I’m sitting here trying to remember what I said last Sunday . . . It’s coming to me . . . Oh yes, there it is. (I’m getting old.)

We talked about the divisive nature of Jesus’ ministry. In Luke 12.49-53, Jesus announces that he has not come to maintain the status quo. His ministry is not all fun and games. There is judgment, and there will be division.

I tried to reveal how this text works itself out in Jesus’ ministry by highlighting two words that characterize his life—grace and truth. Both of those words help us understand Jesus, and they also reveal how divisive his ministry is.

Think about it: His grace is so amazing that it can be annoying; his love so divine that it can be divisive. In the New Testament, for example, the religious leaders do not like the company Jesus keeps. Nor do they like some of his compassionate acts—healing on the Sabbath, forgiving people, etc. His love is offensive. It can be for us as well. Our culture—and sometimes our religious traditions--tell us who’s worthy of love. But if we let Christ lead us, we might find ourselves loving the very people we’ve been trained to look down upon. When we do that, it will be divisive—our nation might persecute us; some in the church might resent us.

The same can be said of Jesus’ truth. Jesus is the truth, and so he spoke truthfully to others. Like any good doctor who knows that causing pain is sometimes necessary for a proper healing, Jesus, in love, heals by liberating us with the truth. Though it hurts, it’s what we need. Time and time again, Jesus gets himself into trouble simply because he reveals the truth. It still happens today. A pastor in the Midwest recently preached a series about the American church, stating that the church should be shaped by the cross, not the sword. Twenty percent (1,000 people) of his congregation left. The truth divides; it separates.

You see, Jesus isn’t looking for trouble. He’s not looking to judge. Rather his coming—his very being (grace and truth)—constitutes a judgment in a broken world.

Our response is important therefore. We need to remain open to God’s movement of grace and truth in our community, recognizing that he will lead us where we might not want to go; and of course, along the way, some will refuse to journey with us. There will be division in a dark world. Peace!