Judgment Through the Incarnation

Frequently during His public ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ warned of coming judgment. Those warnings tended to be disregarded then just as they have been ever since. In this text, He was speaking of the judgment that was unleashed by His entrance to the world. He was speaking in the shadow of the cross, and emphasizing that the cross would be the judgment of God upon Him. There was a fire already kindled, and if it did not burn itself out upon Him, then it must be turned against unrepentant sinners. The fire was a symbol of the division that would be the sure consequence of Christ's advent. He was urging His disciples to remember that the fire was burning then, and would consume those who refused to repent.