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Luke Chapter 12
Posted by Dion Todd June 29th, 2015 4,696 Views 0 Comments
Luke Chapter 12
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Luke 12 Outline:
12:01-03 The leaven of the Pharisees.
12:04-12 Live ready for judgment.
12:13-21 The rich fool.
12:22-34 Seek the Kingdom of God.
12:35-40 The coming of the Son of man.
12:41-48 The responsibility of servants.
12:49-53 Fire on the earth.
12:54-59 The signs of the times.
Fun Facts:
— Jesus called His disciples friends (Luke 12:4).
— Luke 12:24 is the only place that ravens are mentioned in the new testament. They were considered “unclean” (Lev 11:15) but God cared for them as well.
Study Notes:
Luke 12:1-3 Though many thousands of people had gathered to hear Jesus, when He began to teach, He spoke to His disciples first. They were not allowed to sit idly by and listen. Jesus made it clear that His words were for them as well.
Leaven was a fermentation agent, in the Bible leftover dough (sour dough) was mixed with new dough to help it rise. Yeast has replaced sour dough today and some translations use yeast instead of leaven.
The idea is that the leaven / yeast of the Pharisees which was hypocrisy, would slowly and constantly spread once started. Being a hypocrite means that things have to be hidden from the public, but Jesus said that all things would be revealed. This may refer to the coming judgment day, as well as God exposing sin.
Luke 12:4-5 The teaching of the Pharisees judgement leads onto a more general discussion on the fear of God. The fear of God is not talked about much these days but to me is a deep respect and recognition of the awesome greatness and power of the almighty God. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) but not this. We are to fear / respect / reverence / obey God. Think of standing in front of a supreme court judge who has the power to sentence you to death, and scale it up to the Creator of the universe.
Luke 12:6 Jesus did not want to frighten His friends and reassured them with a story of the little birds. He balanced His message by saying that not even one sparrow was forgotten before God, and we are worth more than many sparrows. Even the hairs on our head are all numbered.
Luke 12:8 Jesus gave a warning that whoever acknowledged Him would be acknowledged before the angels of God and whoever denied Him, would be denied. Today we are unlikely to deny Him as Peter did, though times are growing darker and we may be given a choice. We may, however, deny the authority of His teaching, presuming that we know better or we may try and explain away what He said. Some deny His divinity.
Luke 12:10 The unpardonable sin. Jesus told the crowd that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven. This is what I understand about that: Blasphemy means to vilify, defame, rail on, revile, or speak evil about someone. Jesus talked about this in Mark 3:22 after the Pharisees said that He cast out demons by the power of beelzebub. They intentionally attributed the power of the Holy Spirit to the devil. They called good evil. People in such a situation cannot repent and seek forgiveness because they lack a sense of sin at all, they felt right and God wrong. It is this continuing attitude that is the ultimate sin. God’s power to forgive is not abated, but this kind of sinner no longer has the capacity to repent and believe.
People may blaspheme and then repent; the blasphemy is not their final word. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is in a much worse case. We must understand this, not of the uttering of any form of words, but of the set of the life (‘It denotes the conscious and wicked rejection of the saving power and grace of God towards man’). This blasphemy is so serious because it concerns the whole person, and not a few words spoken on any one occasion.
The Holy Spirit is our Helper. He is present with God’s people, especially when persecuted (12). If you are concerned at all that you have ever committed an unforgivable sin, you have not, because the one able to do it does not care one bit. They will continue hardened, unrepentant and unforgiven to the end because that is their choice, not God’s.
Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd interrupted Jesus and He taught on the right use of material possessions. Rabbis customarily gave decisions on disputed points of law and this man saw Jesus as a rabbi. Jesus looked past all of this and addressed the attitudes of the ones involved. The word translated “Man” here is used for “Stranger.” Also the man did not ask for a fair decision, just to decide in his favor. Jesus made it clear that He came to bring people to God, not property to people.
Guard yourselves, take heed, beware against every type of greed with a seriousness of blocking attacks with a shield in battle. A person's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Jesus tells a parable about a very selfish farmer who used "me, myself, and I" a lot. He has a huge harvest and is not concerned about using his wealth wisely. He has no concern of serving God, helping others, or even providing a better life for himself. He is only concerned with hoarding and self-indulgence. God called this man a fool. No one knows what tomorrow holds for them but this man assumed that he was in control of his future. Jesus concludes the story with a contrast of laying up treasures for self, and not being rich toward the things of God, which matters the most.
Luke 12:22 Jesus addressed His disciples again and moves on from the sins of greed and selfishness to that of worry and anxiety, which in a way are connected. Greed can never get enough. Worry is afraid that it may not have enough. Wealth can be a danger to those who do not have it, as well as those who do.
Luke 12:31 After discussing the negative and what not to do, Jesus moves on to discuss what you should be doing. His message was basically, “Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and God will provide the things that you need.” In verse 33 Jesus instructs His followers to sell possessions and give to the needy which would provide them with treasure in heaven.
Apparently Jesus was not against people owning houses because the beloved disciple took the mother of Jesus into his home (John 19:27), and Jesus stayed at Martha’s house (Luke 10:38). I believe that there is a balance here in that the rich man in the previous parable who had to build even bigger barns to hold his wealth. When is enough, enough? When would you be able to help someone else? In the case of the rich fool, never.
Luke 12:35 After the teaching of the right way to use wealth, Jesus reminds them that earthly possessions are temporary but His return is sure and we should be ready for it because He will come at an hour that we do not expect. He tells a parable about a master that has gone to a wedding feast and the servants are at home waiting on his return. The second coming is certain, but the time is unknown.
Luke 12:41 Peter asks Jesus who the parable of the watchful servant was meant for and Jesus answered with another parable. A master appointed a servant as manager over his household and then apparently went on a journey. The servant had considerable freedom over the estate. A diligent servant whom his master found working efficiently when he returned would be promoted. If the master stayed gone a long time though, a careless servant may begin to feel independent. He may forget that he is actually just the servant, and not the master. It is a bit like the sheriff of Nottingham in the story of Robin Hood. The longer the king delayed coming, the more wicked he became. The master’s sudden return would surprise him and the wicked servant would be cut in pieces and put with the unfaithful (46).
Some thoughts: Jesus was talking to Peter and His disciples (Luke 12:41). He plainly told them that they were to serve faithfully, watchfully and to feed the other servants while He was away. if they abused the freedom they were given and became wicked servants, they would be put with the unfaithful on His return (46). The disciple who knew His Master’s will but did not get ready or act on it would receive a severe beating. God’s unconditional love will not be a "get out of jail free" card if they chose to continue in disobedience.
Luke 12:49 There is a sense in which Jesus came to bring peace. Some things, however, are more important than peace, and sometimes his message and the way it is received mean division. Jesus spells this out.
(50) The baptism that He spoke of was death, which He mentioned when James and John asked Him to sit beside Him in His kingdom (Mark 10:38). To die on the cross was the very purpose of His coming and it hung over Jesus like a shadow.
Jesus brought inner peace, but not outer peace. His message brought division. Jesus told His followers to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23; 14:27). When people do not do this themselves, they become critical of those who do and this divides them. These divisions often will occur in families. Also, the family of five in verse 52 have not grown to six in the next verse, for the mother and the mother-in-law are the same woman. The family is father, mother, son, son’s wife (who would come and live with them), and daughter.
Luke 12:54 Jesus told the crowds that they could read the signs and winds of the earth, but completely ignored the winds of God. Even though they were very religious, they completely missed seeing the significance of the coming of Jesus.
Luke 12:57 Jesus encourages those listening to make peace with God, to settle the case before it went to court, before the day of judgment comes because if they wait to the end, they will have to pay the full price.
Study Questions: (if your answers are very long, you may want to type them first in something like Word or Notepad, which doesn't require an Internet connection, then copy and paste (Ctrl-A to select, Ctrl-V to copy, Ctrl-V to paste), to prevent mishaps. Also, there is a 3K character limit, so if they are super long, feel free to post more than once, and just answer a couple of questions at a time. You are welcome to post any questions you may have. We look forward to your thoughts!)
1. Jesus spoke against the “leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). In the previous verses, the Pharisees were asking for Jesus to teach, but actually trying to catch him in error. It is probably easier than we think to be the one who doesn’t “say what we mean and mean what we say” and “practice what we preach”. In what ways can we avoid the trap the Pharisees fell into?
2. In Luke 12:4-6, Jesus said that we should not fear those who can kill our bodies, but he who has “authority to cast into hell”, yet we are not to fear because we “are of more value than many sparrows”. What does this section mean to you?
3. The Lord instructed us not to be anxious because the Holy Spirit “will teach us in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12). In what ways has the Holy Spirit spoken to you, and how can we learn to be more sensitive to His voice?
4. In Luke 12:22, Jesus assures us that we do not have be anxious about our needs, no more than the lilies of the field. Most of us have probably gone through times when this faith is challenged by circumstances. How can we strengthen our faith here?
5. Jesus said in Luke 12:45-46 of the servant who acted badly (beat the servants, got drunk) that the Master would “cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.” What does this section mean to you?
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