Of all the titles we associate with Jesus, Jesus the Great Divider is probably not one that rolls off of our tongue quickly. Yet Jesus tells us specifically that he came not to give peace but divide, divide families: father against son, mother against daughter. Does this sound like the Jesus you know? If you answered no to that question, it is not surprising. This Jesus is rarely presented. Yet it is important to understand what Jesus says in the Gospel below and what it means for a disciple of Christ. Let us read the words of the Gospel and listen to Jesus the Great Divider.
Jesus the Cause of Division
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth 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 her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Luke 12 : 49-53
Scriptural Analysis
Jesus continues to preach about his coming. The imagery of fire harkens back to Elijah who called down fire from Heaven, “But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.’” (2 Kings 1:10) However, where as Elijah called down fire as punishment, Jesus associates the image of fire with baptism. In the original Greek text the words Fire and Baptism are emphasized as the first words of parallel sentences linking them. John the Baptist foretold of this baptism by fire, “he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3:16) This combination of fire and baptism looks forward to Pentecost when the Apostles are baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist also warned of judgement by fire, “but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:17) This imagery signified the judgement that will come with the Son of Man’s coming. Of course, this all requires that Jesus first undergo his passion which is the baptism that he speaks of, “I have a baptism to be baptized with.” He goes on to say that he is “constrained” until this happens. The Greek word translated as constrained, synechō, can be more literally translated as I am distressed. The word has a sense of enduring associated with it.
These two aspects, spirit and judgement, parallel Jesus who has come as a sign of contradiction. He brings peace to those who accept it but some reject it and for them he brings division. This division will not exempt households. We are told that father will be divided against son, mother will be divided against daughter. This was foretold of by the prophet Micah, “for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” (Micah 7:6)
After his picture of family division, Micah goes on in his prophecy to describe the restoration of Israel:
In that day they will come to you, from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. But the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their doings. Shepherd thy people with thy staff, the flock of thy inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt I will show them marvelous things. Micah 7:12-15
Thus Jesus is saying that there will be a time that Israel will be divided over him but then there will be a time, at his second coming, where things will be restored. These words don’t apply just to Israel however, but rather the entire world. Jesus will unite the entire world upon his second coming. Saint Cyril of Alexandria remarks, “What was to happen when it was accomplished? The saving message of the Gospel would not be proclaimed only in Judea. Comparing it with fire , he said, ‘I have come to send fire upon the earth – but that now it should be published even to the whole world.’” (Commentary on Luke Homily 94)
Daily Application
Jesus came to divide, not unite. If that sounds controversially to you, good. It should as it is an aspect of Jesus’s mission that is not often spoke of. To understand these words we must recall what Jesus has already told us about the most important commandment:
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Deuteronomy 6 : 4-5
Our first priority is to love God with all we are, not love our families, they come second. This truth does not mean that the two are incompatible. It is possible to love both God and your family and we should certainly strive for that. What it does mean is that one must love God even if that causes strife in the family. One must be willing to be estranged from their family when they choose to follow Jesus and the rest of their family does not and ostracizes them. That does not mean this won’t be painful or hurt. It most definitely will but we are called to accept the suffering out of our love for God.
This is the division that Jesus speaks of. It is a division over who he is and the decision to follow him. He knew that would cause division. He knew that he would be rejected by many. He understood that those lines of division would not be clean. That they would slice through neighborhoods, synagogues, families. Jesus accepted this division, which is why he warned us that it would occur. Now, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t saddened by this rejection. God does not delight in the death of a sinner, “For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:32) However, he is not going to water down his message or move from the truth to prevent this division. Neither should we.
The question for us then is where do we stand, what is most important to us? Do we compromise in our belief, in our faith to maintain peace in the family? Do we avoid things like mealtime prayer when we are in mixed company or even worse, skip Mass when we are staying with relatives who don’t share our belief. Are we at peace being an outcast in our own families? Jesus is the great divider. Our choice is which side of the divide do we want to find ourselves on.
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