The Gospel Of Luke
Chapter 12
(V1-3) As Jesus continued in the general direction towards Jerusalem, vast multitudes came to hear Him. The crowds were so large that some were injured in the press to get closer to Jesus.
Jesus spoke primarily to His disciples, warning them against the great danger of hypocrisy, likening it to yeast. Hypocrisy is like yeast in the sense that it only takes a little bit of it to affect a great mass. A little bit of hypocrisy can be like a little bit of poison.
In light of their tremendous popularity, it was especially important for the disciples to remember this. The temptation to hypocrisy is often strongest to those who enjoy some measure of outward success.
NOTE- The word Hypocrisy comes from the original Greek word ‘hypokrites’ which means an actor and is easier to understand as in ancient times they wore large masks to represent the character they were playing. The Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not.
(V4-5) It’s difficult to know if Jesus said this to His disciples or to the larger crowd. Given the context, it is probably best to think that Jesus spoke to His disciples, but in the plain hearing of the crowd.
When Jesus spoke to these disciples of His about martyrdom and persecution, He knew that all of them, except John would die martyr’s deaths for Him and would also be thinking of His own coming crucifixion.
Then throw you into hell – The word translated hell is Gehenna. It is derived from the words Valley of Hinnom, which was located on the south and west sides of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament it was a place of child-sacrifice to Molech 2 Chronicles 28:3, Jeremiah 7:30-31, 19:1-6, 32:35. The reforming King Josiah stopped child sacrifice in the Valley of Hinnom 2 Kings 23:10 and it became a garbage dump, a stench with continually smouldering fires. In the days of Jesus it became associated with eternal, fiery punishment – what is called the lake of fire in other passages Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3.
(V6-7) If God remembers the sparrows, He will not forget you – so don’t lose heart. There are few things worse than the sense of being forgotten; Jesus assured every believer that their life was precious and remembered before God.
(V8-9) Jesus did not say, denies Me in their heart or denies me in their mind; He said, denies Me before men. There is a real and important place for a public declaration of allegiance to Jesus. For many, this is the most difficult thing of all – and is usually difficult because of a fear of man, the exact thing Jesus warned against in His previous words
(V10) Blasphemes the Holy Spirit – The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven – not because it is a sin too big for God to forgive, but because it is an attitude of heart that cares nothing for God’s forgiveness. It never has forgiveness because it never wants God’s forgiveness.
(V11-12) Jesus spoke these words to men who would face this exact challenge. Thousands upon thousands since them have faced this challenge and received God’s sustaining grace in it.
It was not the humiliation which early Christians dreaded, not even the cruel pain and the agony. But many of them feared that their own unskilfulness in words and defence might injure rather than commend the truth. It is the promise of God that when a man is on trial for his faith, the words will come to him.
NOTE – The words defend yourself is translated from the ancient Greek word apologeomai – “apology.” It means to make a defence or give an adequate answer. We get the modern term apologetics from just this word and idea.
(V13-15) Remember thatJesus has just taught on our great value to God, and on the importance of standing for Him. In right in the middle of this, a man shouts to Jesus to ask Him to take his side against his brother in matter over money !
NOTE – According to the law of the day, the elder brother received two-thirds of the inheritance and the younger brother received one-third, now we don’t know but it can be presumed that this younger brother was demanding a equal share.
It wasn’t that Jesus is unconcerned about justice; but He was all too aware that this man’s greed would do him more harm than not having his share of the inheritance.
This is the overall principle that Jesus will develop in the following parable on material things. When we live with the attitude that our live, or successes in life are only measured in material things then we will never be happy as we will always want more.
The happiest people in the world aren’t those that have the most, but are those that need the least.
(V16-21) The man in Jesus’ parable was blessed with fertile ground; we can assume that by adding hard work to the fertile ground, he was a financial success. He was so successful that he even had trouble managing his wealth.
His trouble and anxiety were reflected by the words, “What should I do?” “When we are young we think that to be rich means to be free from anxiety altogether. But this rich man was just as full of worries as the beggar didn’t have a penny in the world.
Everyone would think the man in the parable was a great success, but God said he was a fool. Eternity proved the man a fool, and his story showed that it isn’t only sin to give material things too high a place in your life – it is also stupid.
(V22-28) Greed and worry are closely connected. Greed can never get enough, worry is afraid it will never have enough – neither have their eyes on Jesus.
Look at the ravens – God provides for the birds, and He takes care of them. Therefore, we should expect that God would take care of us. But note: the birds don’t worry, but they do work. Birds don’t just sit with open mouths, expecting God to feed them.
Look at the lilies – God cares for the flowers, but that means that every day for the flowers is not sun and sweetness. If every day was sunny, and there was never clouds and rain, the flowers would die quickly.
(V29-31) Jesus’ good news is simple. You don’t have to hold on to the things of this world with a death grip. Just concentrate on God and his Kingdom and let God take care of everything else.
NOTE – Don’t worry – translates the ancient Greek word meteorizesthe, with the root word meteor. This caused the original translators all sort of problems with not knowing what Jesus meant as it the only place in the scripture where this is used.
The idea is that a meteor to the ancients looked like it was hung suspended in air, so don’t become paralysed with worry and become stuck in one spot like they thought of meteors.
(V32-34) To give you the Kingdom – This was true in a personal sense for the disciples, because Jesus would ascend to heaven and in a sense, leave the kingdom in the hands of these disciples.
Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! –There is no suggestion here that heaven can be purchased by gifts to the poor, its more speaking again of the previous parable not to horde thousands in secret bank accounts but to live by faith.
(V35-40) If the followers of Jesus are to not be greedy or worried, they are to put their focus on the return of Jesus. Make yourself ready at all time for Jesus arrival as we know He is coming back!
(V41-48) All who are servants of Jesus must be ready for His return, but those who are ministers among His servants must all the more be ready. When the master comes, He will let the punishment match the offence. Those who knew how to be ready and yet were not will be punished worse than those who did not know and were not ready.
(V49-53) I have come to set the world on fire – We can read this fire in a few possible ways.
- It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of was judgment to come upon the Jewish people in the following decades. “In Jewish thought fire is almost always the symbol of judgment. So, then, Jesus regarded the coming of his kingdom as a time of judgment for the Jew.
- It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of is the power of the Holy Spirit that could only come after He had accomplished His work on the cross.
- It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of is the spread of the good news and the coming expansion of the work of His kingdom across the globe, which spread like a wild fire.
baptism of suffering ahead of me –The fact that Jesus spoke of His suffering as a baptism is meaningful. He wasn’t sprinkled with suffering; He was immersed in agony and again proves full immersion baptism rather than sprinkling with water.
(V54-56) Jesus rebuked the people of His day because they did not how to interpret the present time. They should have understood more about the prophecies from the Old Testament regarding the first coming of Jesus and appreciate the obvious signs confirming Jesus as the promised Messiah. In our present times there are many reasons to believe that Jesus is coming soon, adding to our sense of urgency on how to interpret the present time.
NOTE – In Israel when clouds form in the west over the Mediterranean Sea, rain is on the way and when the warm wind blows south from the Arabian desert, a heat wave is coming.
(V57-59) Jesus asked His listeners to think through it for themselves. Anyone who can judge what is right can see the importance and good of getting right with God before we come before Him as Judge. If one waits until they will stand before His throne of judgment, the time will then be too late. In the illustration Jesus used, it made sense to settle before appearing before the judge. By analogy, we can say that in light of the work of Jesus at the cross, God offers a settlement out of court (before judgment) with God, by putting our trusting love in who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross.
Jesus asked His listeners to think through it for themselves. Anyone who can decide what is right can see the importance and good of getting right with God before we come before Him as Judge.
If we waits until we will stand before His throne of judgment, the time is too late.
In the illustration Jesus used, it made sense to settle before appearing before the judge. God has offered a settlement out of court or before judgment with God, by putting our trusting love in who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross.
Jesus reminded us of the penalty of not settling with God before the Day of Judgment. And that there is a price to be paid in hell till you have paid the very last penny.
This helps to explain the fearful yet Biblical truth that hell is eternal; because payment for sins is required, and as the imperfect humanity can’t make the perfect payment, required by a perfect God.
The punishment of hell is eternal, just as life is eternal in heaven Matthew 25:46, 2 Thessalonians 1:9. The torment of hell is forever Revelation 14:11, and the fires of hell are not quenched, burning forever Mark 9:48. The unjust have their own resurrection, presumably with bodies suited to endure the punishment of hell John 5:29, Acts 24:15
Amen