Luke (2 volumes in 1 ESV Edition): That You May Know the Truth (Preaching the Word) by R. Kent Hughes

Author:R. Kent Hughes [Hughes, R. Kent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2014-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

61

Reality Check

LUKE 12:49–53

WE READ EARLY IN Luke’s Gospel that John the Baptist’s preparation for the coming Christ was so popularly successful that some people wondered if he was the Christ, which prompted him to explain, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:16).

John’s careful denial that he was the Christ emphasized his own inferiority to Jesus and the superiority of Jesus’ baptism. John’s water baptism was external, while Jesus’ baptism of the Spirit and fire would be internal. It would cleanse the inside of believing humanity. Believers would be baptized “with the Holy Spirit and fire” because the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit would involve the fire-like work of purification. And those who would refuse Christ would undergo the fire of Christ’s judgment, as John further explained: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (3:17). Therefore, we are given to understand from the very first that Jesus’ ministry would be fiery—first, as a purifying baptism of believers, and, second, as a consuming judgment upon unbelievers.

Now, toward the end of Luke 12, as Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, and the cross loomed larger and larger, so that it filled Jesus’ mental horizon, our Lord paused to reflect on the fiery realities the cross would unleash upon him and his followers. His reflections were a precross reality check. Jesus bared his feelings, his innermost heart, and revealed some harsh realities. It was good for the disciples, and it is good for his followers today, to see these realities because we are always in good shape when we see things as they are. The trouble comes when we see reality as we wish it would be, not as it is.

Precross Realities for Jesus (vv. 49, 50)

Jesus’ Longing

The reality for Jesus was that the prophesied fire had not fallen, but he so longed for it—“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” (v. 49). He longed for the time when he would baptize his followers “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:16).

Through this baptism, all who believed in him would be regenerated, born of the Spirit, made eternally alive as eternal sons and daughters of God (cf. John 1:12, 13; 3:3–6)—and he longed for that. They would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Spirit of truth—and he longed for that. They would no longer be alone (cf. John 14:16, 17)—and he longed for that. They would be sealed with the Holy Spirit as a down payment insuring their eternal inheritance. They would enjoy eternal life now (cf. Ephesians 1:13, 14; 4:30)—and he longed for that. They would be sanctified, made holy by the Spirit’s fiery work of internal soul purification. He would

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.