Luke 12:51 (GNV)

Passage

Thinke ye that I am come to giue peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather debate.

Nearby Context

Luke 12:49 I am come to put fire on the earth, and what is my desire, if it be already kindled?

Luke 12:50 Notwithstanding I must be baptized with a baptisme, and how am I grieued, till it be ended?

Luke 12:51 Thinke ye that I am come to giue peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather debate.

Luke 12:52 For from hencefoorth there shall be fiue in one house deuided, three against two, and two against three.

Luke 12:53 The father shalbe deuided against ye sonne, and the sonne against the father: the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother: the mother in lawe against her daughter in lawe, and the daughter in lawe against her mother in lawe.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "Notwithstanding I must be baptized with a..." into verse 52's "For from hencefoorth there shall be fiue...", so "thinke" 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 "thinke" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.