Luke 12

[manlyboy]

I'm having trouble reconciling some events in this chapter. In verses 22-34, Jesus exhorts his followers to not be afraid. He explicitly warns against worry pertaining to anything of this world. Yet in verse 50 he says: "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed".
The worry he evinces here, and later also in Gethsemane, appears to contradict his own teaching of "Do not be afraid".

[bizzt]

Not at all. Just because one is troubled in his Heart does not mean he has Fear! If one of my Friends was distressed over something and was having a bad time then my Heart would be Distressed over that Person's Predicament but I do not hold any Fear for him/Her just Compassion.

[Felgar]

I'm having trouble reconciling some events in this chapter. In verses 22-34, Jesus exhorts his followers to not be afraid. He explicitly warns against worry pertaining to anything of this world. Yet in verse 50 he says: "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed".
The worry he evinces here, and later also in Gethsemane, appears to contradict his own teaching of "Do not be afraid".

Perhaps Jesus' baptism is a matter that is not of this world...

I think Jesus was saying to focus on God and to understand that things of this world will perish. Baptism certainly counts as focussing on God.

Verse 23 says that life is about more than food and clothes - well, our walk with God is the very additional thing that our life is about.

[manlyboy]

Thanks for your responses.

I don't doubt that this was not contradictory to Jesus. I'm just having a little trouble seeing how.
Distress and worry seem like such imperfect, human attributes. Christ being perfect, it strikes me as odd he would feel this.
I suppose we can infer that "distress" at least, as something distinct from "worry", is indeed a characteristic of the divine.

[August]

I suppose we can infer that "distress" at least, as something distinct from "worry", is indeed a characteristic of the divine.

You have to bear in mind that Jesus exhibited many human characteristics. He got hungry, angry, tired etc. He was fully human, but also fully God, in order to fully atone for our sins. It is quite conceivable that in His human nature He could be worried or distressed about His upcoming crucifixion. In His Godly nature, He also knew that it had to happen.