Stress Test Devotional April 28
April 28, 2024
LUKE 12:49-50
“I have come to bring fire on 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 completed.”
John the Baptism claimed the Messiah would bring a fiery judgment into the world “burning the chaff with unquenchable flames.” (Matthew 3:12) Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing seemed too quiet and obscure and gentle, prompting the jailed prophet’s earnest question—”Are you the one or must we wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3) Yet here Jesus describes his ministry in John the Baptist terms—he came to bring fire. How is this to be understood? The psalms and prophets have imagery of the people of God passing through the waters and fire of testing, in Psalm 69:2, for instance, and in Isaiah 43:2. But with Jesus, there is a dramatic change. Baptism is one of his words for the trial of the cross. John the Baptist expected the Messiah to impose fiery judgment, and Jesus decided to undergo it.
PRAYER
Gracious God, in Jesus, the Judge is judged in our place. In him, you not only sustain and accompany us in our trials, but you undergo them on our behalf, including the trial of our own waywardness. Thank you for intervening when no one else could help us. Thank you for intervening in the face of our helplessness. Thank you for Jesus’ sacrifice. Amen.
