On Jesus, unity and division:

In Luke chapter 12, Jesus talks about hell, condemnation and judgment. He talks about sending fire. And many who were there probably had no idea what He meant by “I have a baptism to be baptized with.”

There may have been some people there, and surely some today, who would think, this isn’t very peaceful. This isn’t very uniting.

Today, many people associate Jesus with peace. In the book of Isaiah, the Messiah is called the Prince of Peace. The night He was born, the angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

That sentence has been widely and popularly shortened to “peace on earth.” We see that phrase everywhere around Christmastime. It’s on countless Christmas cards. It’s in the carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

And so, many people associate Jesus with bringing all people together in peace and unity on earth.

Division and unity

In Luke 12:51, we see what Jesus had to say about “peace on earth”:

“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.”

Division is one of the most horrible things there can be, according to many modern Christians. “Divisive” is right up there with “judgmental,” “religious” and “Pharisee” as terms of derision.

Rather, they fervently strive for unity.

On a basic level, they’re right. Division IS sad, because that means some people are wrong about something. Depending on what they’re wrong about, it could have horrible consequences.

The Bible does say, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). God’s people should be united. And there are many unnecessary divisions in the church.

But some division is necessary, and it’s wrong to seek unity for the sake of unity, to make unity the top priority.

How all humanity is united

The thing is, all of humanity is already united. With all the wars, conflicts and divisions in the world, there is one thing that unites us all: Humanity is united in sin, in rebellion against God.

We see this early in Genesis: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (6:5). The whole earth is united in evil.

And even after the flood, nothing changed; the unity of sinful man is captured in Genesis 11: “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”

They took pride in that unity and wanted to preserve it. The motive behind the Tower of Babel was (verse 4), “let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Lest they be divided.

What did God think of this unity? In verse 6, the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do.” This is what human unity leads to: pride, self-exaltation, self-reliance. Hallowing our name, not God’s. Finding our purpose in ourselves and each other, not God.

And then, at the moment of humanity’s greatest unity, God broke it up. God divided them. “So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth.”

The division Christ brings

But that division was nothing compared to the most divisive time in all history: the coming of Christ.

Jesus created the first true division in human history. Jesus created a new creation: a new people, fundamentally different from the rest of humanity (that’s what holy means). A people created from above, born again, not of this world. A people adopted as God’s children and indwelt by His Spirit. An eternal people, who will live beyond their death.

A Christian is like a new species. That’s how fundamentally different we are.

As born-again new creations, we’re set apart from the rest of the world (holy). This is the division that Jesus said He came to bring, one so stark and profound that it will even divide families, as Jesus would go on to teach in the passage.

Someday, there will be peace on earth — after Jesus has returned and eradicated all that brought division. He does that through giving His people new, glorious bodies unstained by sin, and by destroying all others still in their wickedness when He returns. Which side in that divide shall we take?