There are some sayings of Jesus that can perplex and probably make you scratch your head wondering, what on earth could He mean? I hope that both explanations Fr. F’s crisp one and Fr. Francis Jamieson more detailed version will throw light on what Jesus meant when He made difficult and sometimes downright controversial statements.
I think that one must take several points into consideration when understanding a difficult or hard statement made by Christ.
- Read the preceding and following verses or even the whole chapter if it is the same theme.
- Find out the context in which it is written
- Who is Jesus addressing
- Read similar texts written by the other Gospel writers to get a better understanding or insight.
- Fire and Division
- Flesh and Blood
- The Problem with Money
- Hating
- Let the Dead Bury the Dead
- Marriage and Divorce
- Mystification
- Using Money to Make Friends
- The Unpardonable Sin
- We Have Done Only Our Duty
FIRE AND DIVISION
Luke 12:51-53
Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Luke 12: 13-15
13 Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” 14 He replied, “My friend, who
has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?”
Mark 3:21
21 Knowing what was happening his relatives came to take charge of him: “He is out of his mind,” they said.
John 7:5
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