May 21, 2025

Today's Reading: Luke 12:35-53

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44; Luke 12:35-53

“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Every year at Christmas time, I hear those familiar words of Handel’s Messiah: “And His Name shall be called… Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Of course, this is a quote from Isaiah 9:6, and it’s clear that, ultimately, it’s referring to Jesus. So with that, we rightly call Jesus by the title “Prince of Peace.” 

But in Luke 12, we read Jesus saying that He didn’t come to bring peace but division. Isn’t that a contradiction? All the more, when we talk about Jesus in our day and age, if people know of Him, they think of Him as being really “nice.” So, what is this He’s saying about not bringing peace but division? 

Let’s start with how He does bring peace. Paul tells us that the peace Jesus brings is with God (Romans 5:1). Our sin puts us in enmity with God, and so when our sin is forgiven, that enmity is overcome by peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace because He makes our peace with God for us.

So, what about this division? That is between us and the world. Having been born anew in Baptism, in that washing of rebirth and renewal of water and the Spirit, we are different from the world. We no longer live for ourselves, for the truth of the world, but we live in the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

As we look at that, we see that there are a lot of places in the teaching of Jesus where He describes a separation. There is the separation between the wheat and the chaff, the sheep and the goats, the wise and foolish virgins, and the list keeps going. This separation is ultimately the church and the world. Yes, we ought to try to keep peace with those around us as much as we can. However, we have to realize that there are a lot of times when the world won’t want to hear the Word of Jesus. They won’t like hearing that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All the more, they won’t want to hear that they, too, are sinners. It’s this that causes the division. 

Thankfully, we see that Jesus is the One who made peace with the Father so that we could enjoy unity with Him. That does not make the divisions now unimportant. It means that they are a sad reality. But in Jesus, the joy of His peace will overcome the sadness of this time and bring us to eternal communion with Him and the Church throughout all days. Amen.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Blessed Jesus, in You we find our peace. We pray for Your coming that our sad divisions would cease and we would know the perfect unity of Your eternal Kingdom. Amen.

- Rev. Matthew Zickler, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Western Springs, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.