10-20-2024 Why Jesus waited to go home
I started seeing posts from a man, who lives in Australia, on ‘Quora’ a few years ago. It seems that his goal in life is to be to discredit the bible. He uses ‘scientific’ concepts and human rationale to prove his points. But, as I said, all to discredit the bible.
Occasionally,
his posts pop on the ‘Quora’, posts that come into my email, but anymore I
don’t read them unless I ‘get a feeling’ to see how he is debunking the bible
now. Occasionally he starts off sounding well but then tapers off into his
usual spiel. This happened a couple of
times over the past six months. On Aug.
16th he posted something that I felt I needed to see what he was up
to and see exactly how he explained it.
He focused
on Luke 12:47-54. The first two verses
correlate how a servant’s punishment is administered according to his knowledge
of his lord’s will. Then in verses 51-53
Luke talks about how Jesus will divide a house, two against three, etc., even
parents, siblings, children, etc.. A
comment on the last verse: One must also
look at Matt. 10:31-40. Here Jesus says
what Luke says in chapter 12 but expands it out for understanding. Matthew explains that a man’s foes shall be
in his own household. Then Matthew Goes
on to explain that our love for Jesus should be total and absolute. That is, as we live for God, nothing should
come before God and, whosoever receives Jesus also receives the Father (Matt.
10:40). You shall have no other gods
before Me (Exod. 20:3).
Often, when
we accept Jesus into our heart, those who oppose us the most are members of our
own family – mother, father, siblings, spouse, children and we are not to
consider any of them ahead of Jesus for then we are not worthy of Him. In fact, when we don’t take up our own
cross and follow Him, we are not worthy of Him (Matt.
10:36-38). Our own cross? That is to live our lives according the will
and love of God. However, we discover,
that as we grow in Christ, we haven’t actually rejected family. Instead, we discover Father provides ways to bring
even family into God’s eternal kingdom mending their lives and in so doing, we
discover those broken relationships will also mend.
The man also
says that Jesus contradicts himself by being declared the Prince of Peace (Isa.
9:6, 2 Thess. 3:16) yet He declares to bring division to families. Now, I have a personal experience that a God-led
divisions can and does bring unity. After
about ten years of marriage, my wife and I were separated for almost a year. My bullheadedness, not hers. After much individual prayer and some
counselling, we came back together for about another twenty-three years, that
is until she went home to be with the Lord.
What our issues were is not the point.
The point is that after assuring Jesus Christ was truly first in our
lives (and keeping Him there), our marriage became stronger and survived twice
as long as before the situation.
Now, because
of the post, I checked some commentaries on the Luke passage, especially verses
49 - 50. I found it interesting that
both the man and the commentaries, that I had available to me, just sort of passed
over these two verses focusing more on
Jesus’s suffering and how He would bring division, even into households. In those verses, Jesus says in Luke “I am
come to send a fire upon the earth and what will I (do), if it be already
kindled? But I have a baptism to be
baptized with (us) and how am I straitened (determined) until it is
accomplished!
Look at what
Jesus is saying here. There are divisions
because the world is at odds with God, therefore it is at odds with Jesus and
therefore with us as Christians because we follow Jesus.
The Word was
in the beginning and was with God and was God (John 1:1). That’s why Jesus said “He who receives Me,
receives Him who sent Me (Matt. 10:40). Father
and Son and with the Holy Ghost in the Godhead (Col. 2:8-9) are ONE. Father IS, Father spoke words (Jesus) and the
breath of God carried those Words into action (Gen. 1:1-2). Think, how many of us have ‘friends’ who no
longer wanted to hang with us because we have accepted Jesus? world at odds with us?
But look
further into this passage (49-50). Jesus
says that He has come to set a fire (in us).
Jesus asks His disciples to receive the Holy Ghost (John 20:22). Yet, He tells them later, just before He
ascends into heaven, “Wait for the promise of the Father which you have heard
from Me. John truly baptized with water,
but not many days from now, you shall be baptized in the Holy Ghost” (Acts
1:4-5). Then He told them “But you shall
receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And you shall be
witnesses …” (Acts 1:8). This is dunamis
power, explosive power, the power to get the job done! The same power Jesus abided in! And just how did the disciples receive the
Holy Ghost? A sound, like a mighty,
rushing wind filled the house in which they sat and what looked like cloven
tongues of fire sat upon each one of them and they were all filled with the
Holy ghost …(Acts 2:1-4). What did John
say about his baptism and Jesus’ baptism?
I baptize with water for the remission of sin, He (Jesus) shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost and fire (Matt. 3:11)!
The fire IS the Holy Ghost.
Is it mere
coincidence that Jesus said He would send a fire upon the earth and that’s
exactly what appeared as cloven tongues of fire baptized each of the apostles
and disciples (all 120 souls)?
Go back to
verse 49, if the fire is already kindled (Luke 12). At that moment or later, as in John when
Jesus tells the disciples to receive the Holy Ghost and breathed upon them
(John 20:22), His full task then would already be filled and nothing would’ve
restrained Him from going home at that moment.
He had already endured the cross.
But He had not yet baptized us
with fire (the Holy Ghost) as He still spent some time with His disciples
before ‘going home’. His ministry
included not just the Word He brought, but the crucifixion, resurrection and
ascension) as well. Returning to the
Father His mission on earth would
then be fully completed. After His
ascension, He was free to give ‘us’ the Holy Ghost.
When Jesus
breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Ghost (John 2:22),
it was a command which wouldn’t be realized until the upper room (Acts
2:1-4).
Again, why
did Jesus wait to give ‘us’ the Holy Ghost?
To give us the Holy Ghost, Jesus needed the fullness of the Holy
Ghost in His life to finalize His final hours on planet earth – the arrest in
the garden, humiliation before the priests & romans, the scourging,
physical death, shedding His blood on the cross, cleansing us from our sin, His
resurrection from the grave and finally His
ascension back unto the Father.
So, why did
Jesus wait to go home? He had to
complete His mission, here on earth, so we could learn to totally put our trust
in Him. To realize that through His
life, ministry and death, He is our gateway into eternity. Then through His resurrection and ascension,
we have the power to walk through that gateway.
Glory to God!
Amen
Luke
12:47-54 (paraphrased)
The servant
who knew his Lord’s will but did not study and do it, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But the man who didn’t know his Lord’s will and did contrary shall
receive only a few (in comparison). To
whom much is given, much shall be required (expected) and because he has
accepted greater responsibility, more shall be required of him. I’m sent to set a fire upon the earth and
what can I do if it is already kindled?
I have a baptism (for you) which I am bound to accomplish. Do you suppose I’ve come to bring peace upon
the earth? No! Rather division! From now on, every household shall be
divided, two against three and three against two. The family will no longer be in unity but
split. You can see a cloud rise up out
of the west and say “It will rain”, and so sit will. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of skies but you
cannot understand the times you are in.
Last comment
for clarity: Once we’ve been exposed to
God’s will and don’t continue with Him than to turn back to our old ways we’re
like the dog that returns to his vomit (2Peter 2:21-22). Satan is the prince and power of the air
(Eph. 2:2). God is above he air and everything
else (Heb. 1:1-14). We follow whom we love (Matt. 6:24). The world and God are always against each
other (2 Corinth. 6:14-18). Who do we
follow?
Jesus fully
completed His mission here on earth so that we might live in His love for ever!