Luke 12 Jesus exhorted His disciples to have the right priorities in their lives. I. Fearing God (12:1-12) The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus, the crowds were thronging Jesus, but He was neither afraid of the enemy nor impressed by the multitudes. He lived to please God alone. He saw that the Twelve were worried about the Pharisees, so He warned them to fear God alone and not fear men. If we fear God, we need not fear anyone or anything else (Ps. 112). When we start fearing people, then we are in danger of compromising in order to please them and protect ourselves, and this leads to hypocrisy (playacting). Jesus compared hypocrisy to yeast: it starts small, spreads, and eventually infects the whole. The Jews would recognize yeast as a picture of impurity (Ex. 12:15-20; see 1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9). But hypocrisy is destined to fail because eventually God will reveal all things (vv. 2-3), and God is the final judge. The fear of man grieves the Father who cares for us (vv. 4-7), the Son who died for us (vv. 8-9), and the Holy Spirit who enables us to be strong in the Lord (vv. 10-12). In the power of the Spirit, we must confess Christ boldly and let men do what they will. God is in control (Acts 4:23-31). The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (v. 10) has special reference to the Jewish nation that was rejecting the evidence Jesus gave them of who He was and what they needed to do. When they refused the ministry of John the Baptist, they rejected God the Father who sent John; but there was still the witness of the Son. When they rejected Jesus, He prayed for them (Luke 23:34). They still had the witness of the Spirit (Acts 1:8). When they rejected the witness of the Spirit through the church (Acts 2-7), they sinned against the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), and there was no further witness left! II. Trusting God (12:13-34) This rich man was more concerned about getting money than hearing the Word of God (see 8:14). He wanted Jesus to solve his problems but not save him from his covetousness! Had Jesus made a just division of the property, this would not have solved the problem, for the heart of every problem is the problem in the heart. The statement in v. 15 contradicts the philosophy of the world and is illustrated in the parable (vv. 16-21). Money does not necessarily solve problems; it created new problems for this farmer. It is not a sin to be wealthy, but it is a sin to make wealth your god (Col. 3:5). Note the emphasis the farmer gave to himself (I and my). Wealth can be a window through which we see God (1 Tim. 6:17) or a mirror in which we see only ourselves. It can make us generous or selfish, depending on what is in our hearts. The rich are prone to be covetous, and the poor are prone to worry. Both are sins. When we substitute things for life, we stop living by faith and trusting God. All of nature trusts God to meet their needs, and so should we. Worry only tears us down. The key to a worry-free life is a heart fixed wholly on God (v. 31; Matt. 6:33). This is the undivided outlook of 11:34-36. If we belong to God, then it is His obligation to care for us; so we need not worry. III. Serving God (12:35-59) Living for material possessions can blind us to the future and make us unprepared for the Lords return. We can get so wrapped up in this worlds goods that we neglect eternity. We must be servants who are faithfully waiting and watching for the Bridegroom (vv. 35-40) and working for the Master (vv. 41-48). He will come like a thief (v. 39; 1 Thes. 5:2; Rev. 16:15), so we must be ready. If we decide that the Lord may not return today, then we start living for ourselves (v. 45); and this will mean judgment when we stand before the Lord (v. 46; 1 John 2:28). The phrases cut him in two (v. 46) and beaten (vv. 47-48) do not suggest that there will be physical discipline at the Judgment Seat of Christ, for we shall have glorified bodies. They are a vivid reminder that Jesus will deal with unfaithful servants and not give them their rewards. It is a serious thing to have a God-given responsibility. If we think that serving Christ is demanding and difficult, think of what He experienced! (vv. 49-50) He felt the waves and billows of Gods judgment in His baptism on the cross. Are we in the furnace of affliction? He felt that fire before we did. Are we experiencing war in the home because of our faith in Christ? He knew what that was like too (8:19-21; Micah 7:6; John 7:1-5). We must take care that nothing keeps us from serving the Lord faithfully, neither the seeming delay of His coming (v. 45), nor persecution (vv. 51-53), nor the unbelieving attitude of the world (vv. 54-59). Our modern world understands science, can predict storms and comets, and can put men on the moon, but they cannot understand the signs of the times. Like people in the days of Noah, they have a false security based on ignorance. A time of judgment was coming to Israel, but they would waste the opportunity for peace that God gave them (vv. 58-59; 19:41-44).
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:33:55 +0000
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