Kindle A Fire

I was reading in Luke's Gospel this morning and came across two interesting verses - Luke 12:49-50 NIV: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!"

A few things jump to my mind as I think about these verses. First, Jesus says that He has come to bring fire to the earth, and He is wishing that it is already kindled. The belief is that He was talking about the power of the Holy Spirit, and that/ certainly makes some sense. He also was establishing His Kingdom, and I think that could also be the object of this comment. The Kingdom is supposed to shine like a light to all nations - back then all lights were flames.

Second he says that He is constrained until after His baptism (death and resurrection) is completed. Since that already happened, He is no longer constrained. Some other translations use the word distressed here, but the original Greek is closer to constrained. The word means to be held together, tightly bound, held back or bound. Clearly He was constrained by the limits of His human body and humanness, having laid down His divinity. Once he accomplished his death on the cross and Resurrection, He was no longer constrained to the limits of His nature. We see this in evidence when he walks through walls, appears to people in person in different likenesses, He disappears, etc.

Finally if He desired the fire to come to earth, but first had to pass through His baptism, then He is now free to kindle it fully on the Earth. He has passed through His baptism into death and the tomb and risen from the dead. He has complete that which He needed to do, and now He is free to fulfill all else He desires.

Lord, we pray that you kindle on the earth a massive fire of passion for You! Let Your power loose upon us, to cause us to shine a light of love to all people! We desire to see You glorified! We pray that You would destroy all that binds us and constrains us, for we are called to walk in the fullness of Your ministry here on earth!