Luke 12:51 (ASV)

Passage

Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Nearby Context

Luke 12:49 I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?

Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Luke 12:51 Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Luke 12:52 for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

Luke 12:53 They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "think", "come", "give", "peace", "earth", "tell", "rather", and "division". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "think" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "But I have a baptism to be..." into verse 52's "for there shall be from henceforth five...", so "think" and "come" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "think" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.