Jesus at Gallilee

LUKE — LESSON 12

It is believed that the events on Luke chapter 12 occurred on the northwestern shores of the Sea of Galilee near the place called Magdala which was the home of Mary Magdalan. There are thousands of people in the crowd. Among the people there were scribes and Pharisees seeking something to use against Jesus.

In verses 1-12 Jesus warned His disciples against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He also told them not to fear those who could only kill the human body, but rather fear God who had the power to send the spirit to hell.

[Luke 12:1-3] (1) Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (2) There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. (3) What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

With the huge crowd of people all around them, Jesus spoke directly to His disciples. He warned them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Yeast in scripture is a symbol of sin. During the Passover meal they always ate bread made without yeast. Today, when Jews eat the Passover meal with their families, it is a custom to choose one of their youth and ask them to look all around the house to see if there is any yeast to be found. It represents sin in the family. So Jesus was warning them about the sin of the Pharisees was hypocrisy. “Hypocrite” is a Latin word that means a play actor, someone pretending to be someone that they are not. The Pharisees prayed long loud prayers in public places, made a show of tithing beans and other items from their gardens to show how righteous that they were. But when it came to helping the poor and the widows who had no one to provide for them, they showed no mercy. They made a big show in public of how strictly they kept the Mosaic Law yet their secret life and their hearts were filled with sin. Jesus went on to stress that there is nothing in our lives that God the Father does not know. All the sinful things done in the dark and in the most private places in our homes will be made known at the time of judgment. There are not secrets from God.

[Luke 12:4-7] (4) “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. (5) But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. (6) Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. (7) Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Jesus emphasizes the value of each person to God. Five sparrows could be purchases for what would be two pennies today yet each sparrow was precious to God. Sparrows were acceptable for the sin offering at the temple if the worshiper could not afford a lamb. The Pharisees and scribes in the crowd could hear what Jesus was saying and there might have been yelling threats and warnings against Jesus and His disciples. Jesus explained that they need not fear those who could kill the human body but rather fear God who can send the soul to eternal hell. The work translated “hell” is the Greek word “Gehenna” which literally means valley of Hinnom. The Valley of Hinnom is a deep narrow ravine on the south end of Jerusalem where the Israelites worshiped Moloch and Baal where they sacrificed their babies to those gods. After the Jews came back from the captivity in Babylon they never worshiped other gods. The valley then became like a garbage dump where dead animals were thrown. They would burn the area all the time to keep down the smell and germs. Jesus used this valley as an analogy to the fires in hell.

[Luke 12:8-12] (8) “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. (9) But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. (10) And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (11) “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, (12) for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

Remember, Jesus was talking to a very large crowd mixed with His followers, people seeking to be healed, those who believed that He would be king of the Jews, scribes and Pharisees trying to find something to use against Him. Jesus tells this huge crowd people that they must accept Him as the Son of God in order to be accepted by God and those who refuse to accept Him will not be accepted in Heaven by God. Those who reject Jesus and speak against Him can be forgiven but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Verse 10 is often referred to as the “unpardonable sin” or “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”. Jesus made a distinction between sinning against Him and against the Holy Spirit. This is one of those Biblical questions that have many answers but none are certain.

There is another passage the gives more light on this unpardonable sin.

[Mark 3:22-30] (22) And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (23) So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? (24) If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (25) If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (26) And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. (27) In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. (28) Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, (29) but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” (30) He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

Jesus and His disciples were in a house where many people had gathered to hear Him and to be healed of diseases. Jesus stayed with the people and refused to take time to eat. Scribes and Pharisees were there and they accused Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub or Satan to drive out demons. In Jesus’ time they believed that many ailments that we know today to be diseases were believed to be caused by an evil demon. So Jesus’ accusers were saying that He used the power of Satan to drive out Satan’s demons. Jesus asks them if Satan would drive out Satan. That did not make sense. Then Jesus said, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Abraham Lincoln referred to this scripture at the time of the Civil War, saying that “a nation divided itself cannot stand.” With that said, the unforgivable sin seems to be giving Satan credit for the works of the Holy Spirit.

[Luke 12:13-15] (13) Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (14) Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (15) Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Traditionally at a man’s death his property was given to his oldest son. It was called the “birth-right.” Others in the family received designated shares. In this case apparently the older brother had refused to give the younger his allotment. Rabbis often served to settle such disputes. Jesus made it clear the man that settling family disputes was not part of His ministry. Jesus went on to give the “Parable of the Rich Fool” which warns against greed and the desire to amass worldly goods.

[Luke 12:16-21] (16) And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. (17) He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ (18) “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. (19) And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ (20) “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ (21) “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

In verses 17-19 Jesus has the man saying “I” or “my” eight times. The man takes total credit for all the wealth that God has given him. Jesus is telling the crowd that this man is a fool. God has given him all his earthly wealth and given him his life, but the man did nothing for God. The man would die that night and all his earthly wealth will be gone. A parable is a story with a spiritual meaning. The spiritual meaning for this parable is that all things belong to God; we have not control over life and death so we should concentrate on building our treasures in heaven that last for eternity.

[Luke 12:22-34] (22) Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. (23) For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. (24) Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (25) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? (26) Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (27) “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. (28) If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! (29) And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. (30) For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. (31) But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (32) “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (33) Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (34) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus said that we are not to worry; God would provide all that we need. Does that mean we should quit our jobs, sit at home and trust God to put food in our refrigerator, gas in our cars, pay our bills and we do nothing but sit back and enjoy the blessings? No, the Lord expects up to do the following:

1. Work and do our best at the jobs He provides for us.
2. Take care of our families that He gives us.
3. Give the Lord His share to further His work.
4. To give of ourselves and our time to reach the lost, help the needy, to teach others God’s Word and His way.
5. We are to trust and believe that God will provide what we need.

[Luke 12:35-48] (35) “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, (36) like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. (37) It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. (38) It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. (39) But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. (40) You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (41) Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” (42) The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? (43) It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. (44) Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. (45) But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. (46) The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. (47) “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. (48) But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

There two parables in these verses. The first story referred to a man who had gone to a wedding feast. His servants had no way of knowing when he would return home. But it they were wise they would keep their lamps burning, in other words they would not go to bed but stay up through the night and be ready to take care of their master when he returned. The master would then serve the faithful servants.

The second parable Jesus told about a manager that was responsible for the owner’s servants, the work they did, their food and other needs. In the beginning the manager did a good job, but then the master did not come for a very long time and the manager began to beat the servants both men and women. He got drunk and did not pay attention to what work the servants did and was no longer faithful to the master. The master returned unexpectedly and punished the unfaithful manager.

In both of these parables, Jesus was talking about His Second Coming. He is warning them about what would happen to a sleeping unprepared world. Those who were faithful and prepared would welcome the return of their Lord. In verse 48 Jesus gives a serious warning to church leaders, pastors and teachers. They will be held responsible for their activities and teaching.

[Luke 12:49-59] (49) “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (50) But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! (51) Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. (52) From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. (53) They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (54) He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. (55) And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. (56) Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (57) “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? (58) As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. (59) I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

The Jews believed that the Messiah would come, overthrow the Romans and restore Israel to the nation is was under David and Solomon. They would have peace and security. Jesus told them that was not the case. He and His message were under fire. The Jewish religious leaders opposed Him from the time He began His ministry until after He was crucified. The Jewish religious leaders also opposed any of the Jews who professed Christ as the Messiah. Families were divided. Believers where no longer accepted by their families and their businesses were ruined. Families are still divided today, some believers and some not which brings division and strife.

Jesus goes on to tell them that they are smart about reading the clouds and predicting the weather, but when it came to Jesus and accepting Him as the Messiah, the people listened to the religious leaders and followed their rejection of Jesus rather than listening and deciding for themselves.

Lessons for us from Luke chapter 12:

1. God knows everything we do, everything we say, everything we think. All that we do in secret will be made known at the judgment.

2. We should not fear physical death, but rather eternity in hell.

3. We need to build our heavenly treasures, not earthly possessions.

4. We should not worry and fret but have faith that the Lord will provide for our needs.

5. We need to be prepared to meet Jesus whether in death or for Jesus to come back.

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