These sayings of Jesus refer to his mission, and give us a glimpse into his feelings about it. They were originally said at different times, but have been placed here together.

The two metaphors are ‘fire’ and ‘water’. Jesus has come to cast fire upon earth. Fire in the Bible is a metaphor for God’s judgment, which will purify and separate the good from the wicked. If Jesus has come to ‘set fire to the earth’, it is through his word and his spirit which challenge us, his hearers.

Jesus also uses the metaphor of ‘baptism’. A person who is baptized is plunged into the waters of purification and transformation. That’s what the ordeal of his mission will be, and he plunges deep into it, to cleanse and transform those who accept him.

Similarly, Jesus denounces the false peace, the deceptive tranquillity found in society. It doesn’t challenge, it makes no demands, but promotes a stability based on oppression. But the word of God challenges human relationships – within the family and elsewhere – to be transparent, truthful and loving. It shakes up the way we deal with each other. It shatters the pretences we create for ourselves. In this sense, God’s word sets one against the other and the true feelings of each one are revealed.

Jesus’s mission then is a true “sign of contradiction”, the words the prophet predicted of him as a child.