I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
Parallel translations
- WEB “I came to throw fire on the earth. I wish it were already kindled.
- KJV I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
- NKJV “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
- NASB “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!
- NLT “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus says He came to cast fire on the earth and wishes it were already kindled. He speaks of the purifying, dividing crisis His coming brings.
Overview
The 'fire' likely pictures the refining judgment and division that Christ's mission ignites, separating those who receive Him from those who reject Him. His longing for it to be kindled shows His resolve to accomplish His saving and sifting work. This fire is inseparable from the cross, the baptism He must undergo to bring it about.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Mal 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Mal 3:2–3But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Luke 12:51–52Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
- Matt 3:10–12The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Isa 11:4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
- Joel 2:30–31I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
- John 9:4While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
- Luke 13:31–33At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”
- John 12:17–19Meanwhile, many people continued to testify that they had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead.
- Luke 19:39–40But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”
- Luke 11:53–54As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
- John 11:8–10“Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 12:49 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.