Living in Light of Eternity
I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12 as we're ending this chapter this morning, where Jesus has been instructing his disciples about how to live in light of eternity.
In June of 1992, the German car maker BMW announced plans for their first U.S. manufacturing facility in Greer, South Carolina. BMW planned to create about 2,000 jobs and begin production in 1996 in an area that was mostly known for textile mills and light manufacturing.
Some people were surprised at their selection of South Carolina. They had also been looking at sites in other parts of the country. A few were even cynical, saying that they chose South Carolina because of unskilled labor and a unionless job market. And yet, the people in South Carolina knew that neither of those cynical accusations were true.
When BMW finally started posting job openings for their manufacturing plant, over 60,000 people applied for the 2,000 jobs that would be available. To respond to this, this was in the era before you could apply online and before AI screened all of the applications, BMW created 20 steps in a process to select the best employees. One of the final steps involved an in-person interview at their new facility.
Prospective employees were given a day and a time for their job interview. They were encouraged to show up at least 15 minutes early. But anyone who arrived less than 30 minutes before their scheduled time found that the office door had been locked and they did not get to go to the interview. BMW wanted eager candidates who came early and showed more initiative than other people who came later, even though they may have still arrived before their scheduled interview.
Job seekers are desperate sometimes for jobs, and job interviews are an important test to find out what an employer wants to know about this prospective employee. And they expect their prospective employee to be well prepared. So eager job seekers study the company. They review the posted job description. And they ask for people or ask other people for information that they can find out. They want insights about that company, insights about the role and the expectations. And when the day finally comes, they dress nicely, arrive early, read the room, and try to make a good impression. After all, they're there to get a job offer.
In the final verses of Luke chapter 12, Jesus was preparing his disciples not for a job interview, but to read the signs of God's coming judgment against sin.
The Division of the Cross
He warned his disciples that his crucifixion would cause division and that the incarnation itself signaled divine judgment against sin. Therefore, Jesus wanted his disciples, and he wants us, to accept his righteousness before it's too late. The offer is there, and now Jesus is testing to see how we will respond.
Jesus had repeatedly taught his disciples in this chapter to trust their heavenly Father and to live in view of eternity, not simply for what they could get or what they wanted or the things that were passing away, but to live for what mattered most. Jesus told his disciples that this present life, no matter how long we may live, is brief and temporary. So we must be prepared for eternity.
Rather than chasing after the pleasures of this world or ignoring a life of devotion, Jesus told his disciples to get ready and to stay prepared for God's pending judgment. Jesus warns us about God's pending judgment against sin, and he makes it absolutely clear. In this passage, we see that because he's warning us about this judgment, he's preparing us for that ultimate interview when we will meet with his Father face to face.
I see in this passage several aspects of Jesus' warning. The first is that Jesus' crucifixion divides our world into two groups, beginning in verse 49. As Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem, he was preaching to growing crowds and pausing to teach his disciples in private. We sometimes lose track of the timeline, but Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem in a relatively compact time, likely less than six months. Every miracle and every sermon brought him closer to his appointment with death on the cross.
Now at the end of Luke chapter 12, as Luke is recording the narrative of Jesus' life, he's showing that Jesus revealed the fiery trials that the cross would set into motion.
Warning of Pending Judgment
He gave his disciples sober warnings about his crucifixion, about the significance of his resurrection, and about the availability of his righteousness. So now in this chapter, Jesus is teaching his disciples to live in light of that pending judgment. This is why he declared abruptly in verse 49, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled."
This hearkens back to the words that we'll read from Malachi that there would be a fiery judgment for those who reject God. Luke likely put this stern warning after Jesus' teaching about religious hypocrisy, covetousness, anxiety, and watchfulness in order to connect his urgent warning to what was coming next. The phrase "fire on earth" served as a metaphor for God's coming judgment against sin. The fire here was not pleasant, but it would be purifying.
And Jesus was announcing the seriousness of his mission. He did not come merely to heal the sick, raise the dead, preach sermons, and kiss babies. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament promises that warned God's people about God's pending judgment. And he says he wished that it were already kindled.
Before God the Father would kindle this wrath against sin, Jesus said he had a baptism to undergo and what constraint that he was under until it was completed. Jesus foretold his baptism unto death had to be fulfilled. He would receive the Father's judgment for sin, drinking the cup of God's wrath and receiving the baptism of death. This was the purpose of Jesus' mission on earth. He came to give himself as a sacrifice for sin and a substitute for sinners.
Jesus, the promised Prince of Peace, longed for his baptism to be complete. He longed for this so he could fulfill the Father's plan to atone for human sin. And Jesus came to defeat the dual enemies of sin and death through his crucifixion and his resurrection. He would bear the judgment and wrath of God that we deserve for our sins and take them upon himself on the cross.
And this cross would divide the world into two groups of people. This is where his rhetorical question, "Do you think that I come to bring peace on earth?" in verse 51, shows the division? Because Jesus was offering peace, but there would be no peace for those who reject him.
The apostle Paul picks up on this in Colossians chapter 1, beginning in verse 19, when he says, "For God was pleased to have all the fullness dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross." Peace with God comes at the price of Jesus' blood shed on the cross. There is no other way to appease God for sin. There's no other deal that can be reached. There's no other agreement that can be made. It is only through the price of Jesus' blood.
And this price that is paid divided people. Jesus did not come to ignore sin. He was not there to say, "It'll be okay. It's not that big a deal. I'm here and it's over with." No, Jesus came to deal with sin by taking it on himself. He wasn't simply smoothing over differences or sweeping our evil under the rug or offering some sort of temporary reprieve. No, Jesus, through his sinless, righteous life, would give the ultimate sacrifice in his death.
And that's what would bring division, verse 51. He divided the true people of God who believe him from the unrepentant sinners who rejected him. And Jesus offers this peace to anyone who will believe in him. But sadly, this belief in Jesus Christ ends up dividing families and friends.
The Cost of Belief
So Jesus warned the disciples that not only would the crucifixion be necessary, but the crucifixion would cause division. He said that people, even in a small family, would be divided against each other. He says their father would be against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against mother-in-law, and vice versa, all based on belief.
And Jesus, this would not simply be a football rivalry between a family divided between two colleges. This would be a division of eternity for a family divided by belief or not in Jesus Christ. Even though Jesus promises peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ in Romans 5, our confession of faith often becomes a declaration of war among our family and friends. Belief in Jesus can cause painful division. When we declare our belief in Jesus, we can expect differing amounts of opposition, conflict, division, and persecution from the people who reject Jesus.
In our hearts, we don't want it to be that way. We want everyone to receive Jesus and experience the peace of his forgiveness. We don't understand why people could be so riled up and so opposed to that. And yet Jesus warned the disciples that that's exactly how people would respond who were caught in their sin.
Mike McKinley notes this parallel in biblical theology. He says, from the very beginning, there has been a bright line that marks off the people of God from the people in rebellion against God. People were either in the ark built by Noah or they were outside of it. They were either circumcised members of Abraham's family or they were cut off from God's people. Even now, people are either members of God's household or they are foreigners and strangers.
Essentially, what McKinley is showing and what this passage teaches is that we cannot be neutral about belief in Jesus Christ. The crucifixion of Christ, which he is alluding to here through fire, baptism, and division, is the thing that brings atonement for our sins. And it divides the world into believers and unbelievers. To people who are forgiven versus those who are unforgiven, between saints and sinners, the children of God and the slaves to sin.
The Bible does not have a category for undecided agnostics. People that say, "That's interesting, but I'm not convinced," are on the wrong side of God. They are people that God calls unbelievers, sinners, people who are condemned, and people who will face judgment. We are either with Jesus and at peace with God, or we're against Jesus and in conflict with him.
There are many places in the world where a person's decision to follow Jesus means their families will cut them off and have nothing to do with them. There are people raised in Muslim homes who turn to Christ and accept him as savior, and immediately their fathers issue death threats and death attempts against their lives. There are families in Hindu traditions who cut their children off because they believe in Jesus Christ. If they receive a public baptism, they become persona non-grata and they're not welcome in their family and often not welcome in the town where they grew up.
A person's decision to follow Jesus may very well introduce awkwardness into their life. It may create tension in an otherwise calm family, and it may create struggle in a marriage that was stable. Those reactions are difficult to navigate, and they should not be ignored. But none of those difficulties would undermine the reality of the gospel: that Jesus in his crucifixion died for sinners, and sinners are divided against themselves because of their rebellion against God.
And when one sinner confesses and trusts Christ to become Savior, it sets them at odds with the one who doesn't confess. This is not a license for us to be obnoxious, but instead it is an opportunity for us to be realists, that we would accept Jesus Christ on his terms and we would trust however our relationships work out. That we would be faithful to declare Christ, to explain the necessity of his atonement and why we have believed this for the forgiveness of our sins. But in doing so, we can also know that there will be people who won't understand, who don't want to understand, and who will reject us for teaching that message.
Signs of Divine Judgment
Jesus warned the people in his hearing that his crucifixion would divide, but he also shows a second implication or warning in this passage, and that is that his incarnation signals God's judgment. His incarnation signals God's judgment.
After teaching his disciples in private, Luke now transitions to Jesus addressing the crowd. He is appearing to a restless crowd that's been waiting outside for an opportunity to see Jesus do more miracles, to hear Jesus teach more concepts and principles. They may or may not have wanted to hear the truth, but they wanted to hear his parables. They wanted to hear his authority.
So Jesus used two very poignant illustrations from everyday life to help them understand God's pending judgment. First, he said, "And when you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain.' And it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot.' And it is."
Without modern radar, satellite maps, weather apps, television, or radio, first-century people and many others through human history have accurately predicted the weather by observing the patterns. They knew from experience in Palestine that a cloud rising in the west over the Mediterranean Sea would bring moisture that produced rain. They also understood that a south wind that came up from the desert would bring heat and dryness. They learned what the different winds meant and they planned accordingly.
Most of us have a similar intuition. We can be standing outside and saying, "It feels like it's going to rain." The atmosphere seems heavier. It seems that there's moisture in the air. The wind is kicking up. Something is about to happen. As Jesus gave this example, they probably identified and resonated with, "Of course, we know the weather. You're being Captain Obvious."
But then Jesus suddenly confronted the crowds with a very stern rebuke. He says in verse 56, "Hypocrites." What? We were just talking about the weather. Why are you calling them hypocrites? Well, they could interpret the predictable signs about the weather, but they were not predicting or interpreting the present time. Jesus says in verse 56, "And the present time was that of the Messiah's coming, the one that Israel longed for, that God would send his son to deliver them, was now in their presence and they were ignoring him.
The Jewish nation had the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament for centuries. They should have known what God was doing, but their religious leaders and their sinful hearts led them astray. They were looking in the face of Jesus and ignoring the plan of God.
Jesus appeared in first-century Palestine to fulfill everything that had been written about him in the scriptures. He says as much in Luke 24:44. He was the Son of Man, fully human, the Son of God, fully divine. And with his incarnation, Jesus took on human flesh. And this human flesh signaled God's impending judgment against sin.
Faithful believers who knew the scriptures should have recognized Jesus. But some of the people, especially the scribes and the Pharisees, pretended not to understand what Jesus was teaching them. I say pretended because they understood enough that they were looking for ways to trap him, Luke reported. And they were trying to find ways to catch him so they could stop him. They understood full well what Jesus was claiming, that the promises of scripture were promises that pointed to him. And yet they rejected him because he didn't come on their terms, the way they wanted to do what they wished. They hoped they could ignore Jesus and avoid the Father's judgment for their sin. After all, they had their rules that protected their law and they put their hope in their ability to perform.
But Jesus warned them that God's judgment was coming like a rising cloud in the west or like wind from the south. His incarnation was signaling that God's judgment would be upon them soon. But most of the people listened to Jesus and ignored these signs. They cared more about the weather than they cared about their souls. They rejected Jesus just like their ancestors had rejected the prophets.
And Isaiah foretold something similar hundreds of years before Jesus warned the crowds in his day. In their rebellion, Israel did not know God or listen to his messages. Hear what the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah chapter 1, beginning in verse 2: "Hear me, you heavens. Listen, earth, for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey knows its master. But Israel does not know, and my people do not understand. Woe to this sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord, and they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him."
Essentially, Jesus was saying that the first-century crowds were no different than their ancient ancestors. They understood their circumstances, their environment, and the land that they lived on, but they misunderstood the scriptures and the promises they made of Messiah. This was a dreadful thing. And this is why Jesus startled them by saying, "You're hypocrites."
It was tragic that they understood how to read the signs indicating weather, but they could not read the promises pointing to the Messiah. And sadly, human beings continue to reject God. People intently study the starry patterns of the universe, but they ignore the significance of Jesus' incarnation.
We can accurately predict the weather. And in fact, we have all kinds of technology, and the news loves to advertise that they have the latest, greatest radar and tracking, et cetera. No matter what we may do in predicting the weather, or building computers, or creating AI agents that will help us decipher it, none of it matters if we refuse to believe what God says in his word.
We can be incredibly intelligent. We can read all kinds of information and process it into meaningful things. But if we ignore what God has said about himself and the judgment that he will unleash against sin, we will face his wrath for eternity.
During my junior and senior years of high school, back in the 1900s for my daughter, a small group of students used to call in bomb threats. They made these calls as an immature practical joke, but the school administrators took their threats very seriously. In fact, during my junior year, it seemed like we got a bomb threat every week for about a month. It just went on and on.
Every time the school received a bomb call, they sounded the alarm, they evacuated the school building, and they sent us all to the football field. After a few of these threats, most students ignored them and were even aggravated by them, saying, "Why do we have to go through all of this? Why are we out here instead of continuing what we were doing?"
But fortunately, the principal and the local authorities did not ignore the threats. They diligently followed the school's safety procedures and they protected the staff and the students that were on the campus. They took the warnings very seriously, no matter what the teenagers' intent who called them in. But they also worked to catch the teenagers that were making these phone calls. And eventually, they figured out who was making the threats and they arrested them and had them sentenced for their behavior.
The Reality of Divine Judgment
Jesus' incarnation signals God's divine judgment. It's not a practical joke. It's very serious. The threat is real. And one day Jesus will judge the living and the dead. And everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven and enjoy peace with God for eternity. But anyone who rejects Jesus Christ will be condemned and face everlasting punishment in hell.
The Apostle Paul says it like this in Romans 8: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit."
I know our adult Bible fellowship has been going through Romans chapter 8, so I don't want to steal their thunder. I would encourage you to participate in their class. But what Paul is saying here is the same thing that Jesus is teaching, that we ought to learn that sin is real and that we will be held accountable for our sin. But Christ came to take the punishment that we deserve.
So, when we do face the judge of the living and the dead, he will not see us as condemned sinners, but as forgiven saints, as people who have met the righteous requirements of the law, not because of our works, but because of our faith and the one who did it for us.
The question for us all is: what do we believe about Jesus? Which side are we on of the division that's caused by his crucifixion? Are we on the side of faith that trusts the righteousness of Christ? Are we on the side of unbelief that trusts in something else?
The Offer of Reconciliation
Jesus says his incarnation is a warning about God's pending judgment. And then he offers a final warning that's a promise beginning in verse 57. The third implication or warning I see here is that Jesus' righteousness offers reconciliation.
Jesus' righteousness offers reconciliation. In case anyone did not understand the signs Jesus was giving about his incarnation, and that they did not understand God's pending judgment for their sin, he asked them another rhetorical question. Verse 57, "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"
Even if they could not discern what the scriptures said about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus now appealed to their consciences. He was essentially asking, "Can't you discern for yourselves what is right and what is wrong? Don't you know the difference between sin and righteousness?" And the answer, of course, would be yes. They could discern that. God had wired it on their hearts and in their minds.
So Jesus compared his warning about God's judgment to a legal dispute. Even if they couldn't read the signs or understand the weather, now he compared it to a legal dispute that they could all recognize. If someone was on their way to court to face trial, knowing that they would be found guilty, then Jesus says they would try hard to be reconciled on the way. In verse 58, they would make every effort possible to reach an agreement, to make a plea deal before they went to trial. And they would try to avoid standing trial before a judge or a jury and risk a harsh sentence.
Otherwise, without some kind of pre-trial deal, the guilty person's accuser would bring them before the judge. And the evidence against them would be overwhelming, even undeniable, and the judge would find them guilty. Then he would sentence the offender to prison until he paid back the tiniest fraction of a penny. When he says here, "until you have paid the last penny," he's not talking about the copper coin with Abraham Lincoln's face that are now no longer being minted. He was talking about a fraction of a penny. Some believe what we would say 1/16th of a penny. Something we would consider absolutely worthless, minuscule, something that surely someone could get over. But Jesus is saying if they did not make a pre-trial deal, then they would face pain to the last 1/16th of a cent.
Jesus offers guilty sinners reconciliation through his perfect righteousness. He doesn't charge money, he doesn't ask for payment, he doesn't require good works. He simply gives his righteousness when we confess our sins. He knows that we're guilty before God, his Father, and he appeals to our consciences. That's why he says, "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" And he also warns us to fear the one who has authority to throw you into hell.
Back in verse five of this same chapter, sin produces guilt and shame, and it certainly affects the way we act. And God will no doubt judge our transgressions. It's been said, guilty people don't run away when the authorities come. That can be debated, but there are often reactions when the authorities arrive because someone has indeed done something. And they don't want to look the officer in the eye. They don't want to answer his questions when they're asked. Sin produces that same guilt and shame before God, that we don't want to come to him. We want to avoid him. Yet the gospel says Jesus is not avoiding us. He's coming to us as offenders and offering us forgiveness.
The author of Hebrews picks up the same warning as Jesus in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 2: "For since the message spoken through angels was binding and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who have heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."
The author of Hebrews was saying, the signs are there if we will only see them. The message is available if we would only believe it. And all we have to do is make a deal with the prosecutor. All we have to do is reach an agreement to accept the righteousness of Christ.
Jesus' illustration presumes that everyone is guilty and will face divine judgment. There are no exceptions. There are no stars who will somehow be passed over, but all of us will be held accountable. The only reasonable response to our sin is to settle out of court before the judge pronounces us guilty and sentences us to eternal death and destruction. A guilty verdict will require payment down to the last fraction of a penny, and we won't have a cent to our names. We won't be able to pay it back no matter how long we suffer in punishment. This reality should drive us to accept Christ's righteousness on our behalf. Sin leaves us with a debt toward God that we could never repay. But the coming of Jesus signifies that we live in a time when we can still be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
The time is coming when it will be too late and God's judgment will be irreversible. There will be no second chances, no mulligans, and no do-overs.
The Urgency of Acceptance
The warning for us today is clear. We must accept the righteousness of Christ and be forgiven of our sins. We do not want to go before the judge under any circumstances. The people who arrived late to BMW in 1992 missed their interview. They lost the opportunity for a good job. And anyone who misses Jesus' offer to accept his righteousness and receive forgiveness for their sins will lose eternal life and receive God's judgment. There won't be an alternative or another way around. It will be final. God will punish unrepentant sinners for eternity. He will not give anyone a second chance, no matter how much they beg.
Think of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man was in hell for his sin, and he begged that someone, that Jesus would send someone to his relatives to tell them about the gospel. And Jesus' response was clear. He said, "They have the law and the prophets that testify of me." In other words, Jesus was saying they had the same opportunity you have, and you rejected it.
Those of us who have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ are accountable for its message. We must confess our sin and trust Jesus to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so that we have his righteousness. The warning is for all, and Jesus is warning us against God's pending judgment so we can avoid it. His incarnation divides us into believers or unbelievers. His crucifixion provides the atonement that's necessary to cover our sins. And it is through his atonement that we receive his perfect righteousness that satisfies the wrath of God that we deserve for our sin.
So my final question this morning is, what do you believe about Jesus? Have you accepted him to forgive your sins? Or is he simply a mental curiosity? Is he someone who seems like an imaginary friend or a wishful thought? Or is he indeed the Son of God, fully God, able to take away your sins and make you right with his Father? I pray that you would trust Jesus to save you, whether you're a child, a teenager, or an adult. And if you are trusting Christ to be your Savior, I pray that you're persevering in the hope of eternal life.
Let's pray. God, as we bow our heads this morning, we confess that we're sinners, but we also cling to the righteousness of Jesus. And Father, we claim there is nothing good in us, but we put our hope in Christ who reconciles. So, Father, if there are any here this morning that are not reconciled with you through your Son, I pray that they would believe you today. And God, for those of us who do believe this, help us to continue in this truth. Help us to share it even when people in our family or people in our friend circle reject us because of it, or when things get awkward because people don't believe this message. Help us to persevere and be faithful to the gospel. And Father, grant our family and friends eyes to see the beauty of Christ and ears to hear the gospel so that they will also be reconciled to you. And God, we ask all this in your mighty name, in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.