Bible Strands
Luke 12:51
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his hearers, between his statement about a baptism to undergo in Luke 12:50 and his prediction of household division in Luke 12:52. He denies that his coming is meant to produce peace and instead announces division.
The words — εἰρήνην (eirēnēn), “peace,” is the thing Jesus says he did not come to give. παρεγενόμην (paregenomēn), “I came,” frames his purpose as the point in question.
The thread — Matthew 10:34 says Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword, and Luke 12:49 says he came to ignite fire on the earth. Zechariah 11:10 gives a parallel image of a covenant being cut in two.
Why it lands — It asks a reader to stop assuming Jesus removes conflict and to take seriously that allegiance to him can divide a household. It forces a choice rather than a comfortable consensus.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:34 Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
- Luke 12:49 I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
- Zechariah 11:10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.
- Matthew 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
- Zechariah 11:14 Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
- Zechariah 11:7 So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.