Luke 12:51, 58 (ESV)
[51] Do you think that I have
come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
[58] 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.
This is a strange passage. Jesus starts
out by saying that people will divide over him. It ends by telling people to
make every effort to settle their differences with others. But, of course, it’s
talking about two different things, and this is where I think we sometimes get
off track. The world will divide over Jesus, but no where are we told to be
divisive. Opposition because we are stupid or abrasive is not the same thing as
opposition because of our faith.
In the middle of this passage is
a paragraph about understanding and discerning the times. Jesus asks, “Why do you
not know how to interpret the present time?” Perhaps that is part of the
problem. We do not make an effort to understand our time. 1 Chronicles 12:32 speaks
of the men of Issachar “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel
ought to do.” May God give us that kind of discernment along with our passion
for the gospel.
In this world we must expect that
not everyone will like us or accept us. Not everyone will have a high opinion about
Jesus or Jesus followers. But that does not give us an excuse to be offensive.
People will stumble over Jesus. They will be offended by Jesus. But we must “make
an effort” to understand our times and be as non-offensive as possible even as
we share the truth that the world considers offensive. Let the world divide over
Jesus. Never let it divide over our offensive behavior.
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