“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!
“But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
Luke 12:49-50
This is a difficult verse as I have already told you before. The essence of the difficulty is why Jesus would wish for this to happen and what it is exactly that He wanted to happen.
Let’s look at the versions for some enlightenment.
Luke 12:49
- (AMP) how I wish that it were already kindled!
- (ASV) what do I desire, if it is already kindled?
- (BBE) and it may even now have been lighted.
- (CEV) I wish it were already on fire!
- (ESV) would that it were already kindled!
- (GNB) how I wish it were already kindled!
- (GW) I wish that it had already started!
- (KJV) what will I, if it be already kindled?
- (LITV) what will I if it already has been lit?
- (MSG) how I wish it were blazing right now!
- (NLT) “I wish it were already burning!
Literally the words read – “Oh how I wish it were already kindled.” It is not clear what this means or to what it refers.
Yes the Greek has been translated but it is not at all clear what the sense or connection is.
The translation “How I wish that it were already kindled” according to the AMP, CEV GNB and MSG takes liberties with the Greek in an effort to give us something that appears to make sense. But what does it actually mean?
Some feel it refers to the beginning of this section where harm was being done to the believers when they were hauled before the authorities and Jesus warns the disciples to stand their ground as they defend their belief and their commitment to Him before the authorities. These are likened to the servants who beat their fellow servants when the master is away. It does seem to fit together. These Pharisees are the ones who are attacking the believers and unleashing the fire of opposition on the earth. This statement indicates that it was kindled, had already begun. The fire was building but hadn’t yet reached its fullest extent. There is nothing specifically recorded in the Word of God which indicates the persecution had started this early. Paul would intially be one to carry it out to severe levels in his attempt to get rid of the followers of Christ.
Why is it that Jesus wants this judgement to fall and who is the judgement against? Is He asking for the persecution of Christians to begin early? That He can’t wait for it to start? That view hardly fits with His role in keeping the flock protected in the midst of persecution. We must ask the question: who is this fire directed at? Is it directed at the disciples? Either the Twelve or the 72? This can’t be what Jesus intended. He would certainly not wish for this to start.
Or is the fire to fall, not on the persecuted Christians but on the perpetrators? If that is the case then the matter of Jesus wishing it had already started makes sense. He was likely wanting the persecution He knows was coming to come now. So rather than allow the persecutors to have their way, perhaps Jesus is saying let’s cut to the end of the process and wrap it all up now. I wish it was already kindled and we were close to the end of the expected persecution and the time for the final judgement. That would make sense.
A third option is that somehow what Jesus was about to experience in the Cross was linked to the fire on earth which in one sense would start with His crucifixion. If that is the sense behind this then Jesus is saying, “Let’s get this trial that I am about to face over with.” That the Coming of Messiah has already begun the process of bringing fire with the opposition that is mounting against Him. Oh it hasn’t reached the levels that it will later on the Christians who followed Him in time of Nero and other despotic emperors. It will get far worse. But perhaps with these words Jesus is saying “Bring it on now. I wish that it were over and done with.” That is looking to the end of it at the same time He calls for its inception.
There are some who interpret this to mean something positive. That is, it refers to the fiery trial that comes on people and will ultimately result in the fire of passion and commitment in them as a result of their experience. They will have been tested and come forth as gold. I don’t see that in the passage. The way it is put seems to me to focus on the angry, negative response to the Coming of the Messiah. Hence His bringing division and manifesting the true nature of man in the opposition that will grow. Even and especially among the religious leaders. That is what Jesus goes on to say. So we must interpret it in the light of the whole, not just the verse on its own.
The Greek is cloudy, the translations even more so. To be sure about the interpretation on this you will have to wait until you see Jesus face to face and ask Him directly. You will have to work out for yourself which option you think contains the sense of what Jesus was meaning when He said the words, “I wish it had already be kindled”.
God makes His ministers a flame of fire. Am I ignitable? God, deliver me from the dread asbestos of ‘other things.’
Jim Elliot
Are we being purified by fire, or enflamed with pride?
Rick Warren
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.
Plutarch
You cannot burn-out if you’ve never been on fire! Burn with God’s passion!
Rick Godwin