In Luke 12:51-53, why does God want to bring division on earth? Why not peace? Why does he say that he didn't come to earth to bring peace?

Thank you for the Question.

Jesus came to the earth to bring peace. That's the reason why the Bible titles Him as the Prince of peace(Isaiah 9:6) and the reason why the angels declared He will bring peace to all the earth.(Luke 2:14)

The peace talked about here refers to a lot of aspects - peace in relationships, the peace one needs in the heart, the peace about the future, peace in the midst of uncertainties and most importantly the peace in our relationship with God.

This Bible talks about how the whole world is in enmity with God because of the sins we've committed.(Romans 3:23) The Bible clearly says, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot." (Romans 8:1, ESV) Jesus came to earth, to die and take the punishment of these sins. When Jesus died on the Cross, He took the punishment of sins that we deserved.... He paid the fine..

When we who are sinners repent and put our trust in Christ - We have peace with a Holy God, which would have been otherwise impossible.(Romans 5:1) This is the peace that Jesus made a way for along with the other promises of peace in the midst of problems and trials for the believers.

However, we can see that, when someone decides to trust Jesus and follow Him, the others around may start to disagree or hate the person. Unbelievers will not be able to tolerate the Biblical commands and principles followed by a Christian and hence very often a tension develops between the believer and the unbeliever - leading to divisions in relationships(even within the family). So, the division that Jesus is talking about here(Luke 12:51-53) is not one He deliberately wants to bring - but the division that will come when someone chooses to follow Christ. Jesus is referring to the opposition that will come from the people around us who'll disagree with us when we choose to follow Christ. Matthew 10:22 says, "and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."(ESV) The believers in the midst of these oppositions are called to react with love and give a godly response even if these divisions cannot be sorted out. Disunity and divisions are no ways somethings Jesus encouraged. We are asked to be good examples even in the midst of such hatred from others.

We know from the lives of disciples about the persecution from the Jewish leaders and the society in the time of their ministry. From countless lives around world, we hear of testimonies from people who were rejected and hated by their families and loved ones, simply because they chose to follow Christ. Since by human nature, we are usually drawn to sin and ungodly ways - an opposition will be there from the people around us, when someone decides to turn away from the world to follow Christ. Jesus warns us about it and tells us to expect and be prepared for the same.