The passage
      v49. "I have come to pour fire upon the earth. What is it that I want? Oh! I just want it to be kindled." Our passage for study stands within a number of other passages that deal with coming judgment. There is great debate as to what this "fire" is that Jesus wants to pour upon the earth, but it is more than likely that Jesus is speaking about the coming of the kingdom of God and of the terrible judgment that faces humanity in that day. The coming day of the kingdom is not prefigured by "peace" on earth, but rather by "fire". There is ultimately the fire of the great assize, but in the meantime, the day of judgment is prefigured in the fire of Jesus "baptism", v50, and in the fire of "division", v51.
      v50. William Barclay beautifully paraphrases this verse: "I must be plunged into a flooding-tide of suffering, and there can be no relief for me, until I have gone through to the end." Jesus knows well that the coming kingdom of God is realized through tribulation, and for Jesus, this means suffering and death. Jesus must himself face the wrath of God and so he sets his eyes turned toward Calvary and with determination, presses onward toward the end. Jesus' "baptism" (the word is being used metaphorically here) is his suffering and death on the cross, his atoning sacrifice for sin on behalf of those who have put their trust in him for salvation.
      v51. Jesus aligns himself with the Old Testament prophets when he reminds his listeners that the coming day of the Lord is not a day of peace, but rather, is a day of judgment, a day of apocalyptic tribulation, a day when the saved are separated from those doomed to destruction. In the present moment, this coming day is prefigured in social division, cf. v52-53. We know that Jesus makes much of the sign of "love", the love of the brotherhood, but what we have here is another sign of the kingdom, the sign of division.
      v52-53. Jesus now explains what he means my "division" and then, in v53, supports his words by quoting Micah 7:6. "Division" was one of the commonly expected signs of the coming messianic kingdom, and so now, with the coming of Jesus the messiah, families can expect that household members will "turn against one another", CEV. Some members of the family will stand with Jesus and others will stand against him.

The sign of division
      In our passage for study, we see Jesus pressing on toward Jerusalem and the cross, or as he calls it, his "baptism. For Jesus, his death is a divine judgement upon guilt, not his own guilt, but a death on behalf of Israel's guilt. Israel, of course, is the remnant of Israel, and this remnant includes believing Gentiles, the "stranger within the gates." In his death, Jesus' draws us close to the "fire" of the great assize. For the present, "division" prefigures that terrible day, a division realized through the preaching of the gospel. Some accept the Spirit-inspired message, but many reject it. None-the-less, through the proclamation of the gospel the kingdom of God finds its consummation.
      As we sit within the confines of our local church, an accepted social organization in Western society, we may find it hard to image the reality of Christ's kingdom, a kingdom "not of this world." We are inclined to put our weight on things like relevance, popularity, acceptance...., or we may go in the other direction and promote separateness, purity.... We may well think that Christ's kingdom is progressed by the way we do church. To promote gospel effectiveness we may put great store in making our church either attractive to outsiders, or separate from outsiders. Some even try to do both, a rather difficult task.
      In truth, the reality of the kingdom has little to do with the business of managing a local church. There is nothing wrong with a good pragmatic approach to church management. The survival of an institution is actually dependent on good people-management and marketing. The only danger lies in assuming that pragmatics (most often supported by pseudo Biblical phrases such as "gospel effective outreach") actually builds Christ's kingdom. The kingdom of God is not flesh and blood; it is realized "'not by power, not by might, but by my Spirit' says the Lord God almighty." The preaching and teaching of the Word of God gathers and builds a heavenly assembly, of which the local congregation is but a poor reflection.
      The distinct difference between the heavenly and earthly assemblies is most readily seen in the sign of "division", "the sword", as Matthew calls it. The church would not easily survive in society if it were identified as a divisive organization - a home wrecker. For this reason, the church promotes itself as an organization which affirms the unity of family and society. Yet, Christ's kingdom actually does bring division. We must accept that the gospel either condemns or blesses, and in so doing, divides asunder the most substantial of relationships.

v49
      hlqon (ercomai) aor. "I have come" - I came. "Coming" in the sense of Jesus' coming on mission. The sense of the aorist tense here may be culminative, as NIV, but probably better ingressive (inceptive) where the beginning of the action is in view, "I came to bring fire", NRSV.
      balein (ballw) aor. inf. "to bring" - to throw, put. Possibly "kindle", Jeremias, so "light a fire." The infinitive probably serves to express purpose, "in order to throw down."
      pur (pur puroV) "fire" - The position is emphatic. What "fire" is intended is open to debate. The following have been suggested: i] The fire of the gospel message, a message that condemns and divides, so Bock; ii] The fire of judgement, in the sense of the eschatological judgement in the last day, so Johnson, Nolland, or present judgment (division - "dividing fire"), so Stein, Danker, Creed; iii] The fire of the Holy Spirit's coming, 3:16, so Ellis, Johnson; iv] The fire of suffering; v] The fire of holiness, poss. purification, so Plummer; vi] The fire of faith, so Zahn. It seems best to follow Nolland who sees the language in terms of "eschatological purgation and judgment", "The eschatological conflagration", Conzelmann, fire being a dominant OT. image of judgment. This coming judgment, which entails the realization of the kingdom God in the enthronement of Christ and the great assize, is prefigured in Christ's "baptism" (= his suffering and death) and in family and society division resulting from the preaching and acceptance, or rejection, of the gospel. In all this, Jesus looks to get on with it.
      epi "on" - upon, over. The meaning of this preposition is fluid, but probably "upon" is intended, "pour fire upon", so, "I came to set fire to the earth", CEV.
      ti "how [I wish ..]" - how, what, why [I will] - Introducing an indefinite statement, a wish, as NIV, or possibly an interjection, or even a question, "And what do I want if it is already kindled?" Rieu. A question seems best, "what is it that I want?", but followed by an unfulfilled wish ei hdh anhfqh, "Oh that it were already kindled", Moule IB, 137. "I have come to set the world ablaze. What is it that I want? Would that it were already kindled", Barclay.

v50
      baptisma (a atoV) acc. "[I have] a baptism [to undergo]" - immersion, overwhelmed. "Overwhelmed by catastrophe", Marshall. "I have to be baptized [with] a baptism", "baptism" is a cognate accusative of the infinitive, "to be baptized", the infinitive functioning as the direct object of the verb "I have." We have here another example of this word being used in a metaphorical sense. In fact, it is quite possible that most uses of the word in the NT are metaphorical, eg. immersed in the Spirit, immersed in teaching ...., as opposed to immersed in water. Here obviously immersed in suffering, the suffering of the cross, which suffering, accompanied by cosmic signs and even a preemptive rising of the dead, serves to prefigure the coming day of judgment. Specifically "the inundation of the waters of divine judgment", Bock, Plummer, but certainly not an allusion to Christian baptism, or the baptism in blood of the Christian martyr. "I'm going to be put to a hard test", CEV.
      baptisqhnai (baptizw) aor. pas. inf. "to undergo" - to be baptized [with], immersed, overwhelmed. The infinitive is epexegetic, explaining what Jesus must have, so "I have to be overwhelmed [with] an overwhelming; "I must be plunged into a flooding tide of suffering", Barclay.
      sunecomai (sunecw) pres. pas. "[how] distressed I am" - I am constrained / afflicted. Possibly in the sense of "distressed" as NIV, but also possibly the sense of "constrained", even "preoccupied", Nolland; "there can be no relief for me", Barclay.
      eJwV + subj. "until [it is completed]" - until [it is accomplished]. The subject, the "it", is the "baptism", and there will be "no relief" for Jesus "until" this suffering "is over", REB. For Jesus, the cross looms large, it dominates, everything moves toward it. "Until I have gone through to the end", Barclay.

v51
      oJti "-" - that [I come]. "Do you think that I have come", NRSV.
      dounai (didwmi) aor. inf. "to bring" - to give. "Give" in the sense of "establish". Infinitive expressing purpose, "in order to", but possibly consecutive expressing result, "do you think the result of my coming will be peace in the world?" Barclay.
      eirhnhn (h) "peace" - The position is emphatic; "do you really think that peace is the purpose / is the consequence of my coming? No way!" The popular prophets in Jeremiah's day preached "peace", when there was no peace, for the coming day of the Lord is not a day of peace, but a day of apocalyptic tribulation. Jesus aligns himself with the true prophets when he reminds us that "the good news" has a sting; for many it's bad news! Of course, that it is bad news for some doesn't stop it being good news for others, ie. Jesus does also brings peace, 1:79, 2:14, 29, etc.
      ouci "no" - A strong negation, "no way!"
      alla h] "but" - but rather. Forming a strong adversative.
      diamerismon (oV) "division" - Hapax legomenon, once only use in NT. Matthew records the word "sword" rather than "division", Matt.10:34. Luke most likely clarifies the meaning of the word "sword" by his use of "division". Possibly "dissension", Moffatt, "discord", Williams, but "division", even "hostile division", Bock, fits best with the context. The sense is of separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, the repentant from the unrepentant. In the present, this division is achieved by the gospel. This separating is both eternal, a separation unto life, or unto death, but is also a present social separation, cf. v52-53.

v52
      This verse serves to interpret v53, a quotation of Micah 7:6. In the last days, this now time, this end time, families will be divided, generally, one against another, but specifically, one generation against another. So it will be two against three, or three against two.
      gar "-" - for. Expressing cause/reason; "because".
      apo tou nun "from now on" - from the present, henceforth. A general time designation used by Luke to identify a change caused by the arrival of the messiah.
      esontai (eimi) fut. "there will be" - [for now] (on the earth/land, v51) there will be. Future of the verb to-be. If linked to the participle "having been divided", the verb to-be here possibly forms a "periphrastic future perfect", so Marshall, Nolland, Fitzmyer, ie. "a household of five will be divided", TNT, but a bit irregular (a future periphrastic is usually formed by the future of the verb to-be with a present participle), so see below.
      oikw/ (oV) "[in one] family" - house.
      diamemerismenoi (diamerizw) perf. pas. part. "divided against each other" - having been divided. The action is intensive, but with durative effect; from now and into the future there will be division in families. The participle is probably adjectival, either modifying the noun "house", it's a divided house/family, "five in one divided house", or better modifying "[five] people", people being understood, "five people divided in a house." "In one house there will be five people in a state of division", Barclay.