Limitless Word
But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Luke 12:50 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
  • BSB But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
  • NKJV But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!
  • NASB But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
  • NLT I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.

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 speaks of a baptism He must undergo and His distress until it is accomplished. He refers to the suffering and death awaiting Him.

Overview

The 'baptism' is Jesus' coming passion, His being overwhelmed by suffering and death on the cross. His distress reveals the genuine weight of what He willingly faces for the sake of sinners. This verse displays both the cost of redemption and Christ's steadfast determination to accomplish the salvation of His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • John 12:27–28Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
  • John 19:30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
  • John 7:6–8Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
  • Mark 10:32–38And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
  • John 4:34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
  • Ps 40:8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
  • Matt 20:17–22And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
  • Acts 20:22And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
  • John 10:39–41Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
  • John 7:10But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
  • John 18:11Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 12:50YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 12:50 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.