“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). This is a pretty startling statement from Jesus. This is something we’d expect old Beelzebub to spew forth as he foamed at the mouth. It’s not the kind of thing you’d expect Jesus to say. It is, undoubtedly, one of his least quoted utterances.

Out of context, it sounds as though he’s about to bring hell on earth. When most of us think of a place called hell, we envision flames, torment, and punishment. These are not things we readily associate with the prince of peace — the wonderful counselor — the Lamb of God. As always, however, we need to place these words into context.

We discover at the beginning of the chapter, “a crowd of many thousands had gathered” (Luke 12:1).  The same verse of scr…