Luke
Chapter 12
Luke 12:1-12
1 In the mean time, when there
were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples
first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered, that
shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken
in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the
ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that
have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye
shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell;
yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two
farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
7 But even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many
sparrows.
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of
man also confess before the angels of God:
9 But he that denieth
me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
10 And whosoever shall speak a word
against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be
forgiven.
11 And when they bring you unto the
synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye
no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you
in the same hour what ye ought to say.
A very large crowd gathered around Jesus and those with Him!
The KJV describes the crowd as “innumerable (Gr. myrias-μυριάς), or a myriad!”
There were so many people that they “trode”
(Gr. katapateō-καταπατέω),
or trampled each other. It was a very large crowd!
It was another teaching opportunity!
Christ warned them, “Beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees! It is only hypocrisy.”
Spiritual hypocrisy is a virus carried into churches by
those who just pretend to be Christians!
Pretenders are spiritual spots and blemishes on the true
Church!
2 Peter
2:13b Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
What is the hypocrisy?
The Pharisees taught tradition and ignored the Bible! That
is still true today within Judaism and the within Churches!
Matt 15:6b Thus have ye made the commandment
of God of none effect by your tradition.
Many today teach traditions and
avoid biblical truth!
Those pretenders are deceivers!
However, they are also the most deceived!
Christ told us openly, “There is
nothing covered that shall not be uncovered, and nothing hidden, that shall not
become apparent.”
The light of Christ shall shine on all, truth and
untruth! It shall shine on saints and
sinners revealing the hearts and intentions of all mankind!
Christ continued, “In fact, whatever
you have spoken in private shall be heard in the light! And that which you have
whispered to others shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
No matter how private you may think your innermost words and
thoughts may be they shall be revealed in the light of Christ Jesus!
Christ then told the crowd, “Don’t
fear those who may only kill the body! Instead, fear Him Who also has the power
to cast you into Gehinna’s fire!”
Fear and respect are closely associated! Our respect must
first be for our Creator!
Keep in mind that the four Gospels were all written during
the age of the New Testament, but their common subject is the final days of the
Old Covenant! The New Testament age did not actually begin unto Christ’s
ascension to heaven to again be seated next to His Father!
Christ then asked, “Aren’t five
sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
And He told them, “The very hairs of
your head are all numbered!
When Christians say that God is omniscient, it is because He
is omniscient! God does know all there is to know about all there is to know!
Then Christ asked, “Aren’t you worth
more that birds?”
The fact is that People are worth much than birds! But, that
is not why God sent Christ to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14)! God sent
His Son because that was in His plan for the ages! The Son was sent to achieve
the fulfillment of the Father’s plan! Christ Jesus was sent to give His life
for mankind! Birds did not sin against God! Men did that!
Romans
8:20-21
20 For the creature was made
subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the
same in hope,
21 Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into
the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Never forget that Christ Jesus died for all men!
In this era of seeming Islamic dominance the fact that Christ Jesus died for all is difficult
for many to accept! All have not accepted the Good News of Christ Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross! As a result of His obedience every knee shall bow and
every tongue shall confess, “Jesus is Lord!”
Calvinism teaches Limited Atonement, Christ died for only a
few!
Limited Atonement is an anti-biblical teaching! At this time
we do not see the totality of His work!
Have you ever seen a house under construction, or a picture
in the process of being painted? That is what we now see!
A house under construction does not look complete! It looks
incomplete! Likewise an incomplete painting looks incomplete! Today, many are
making decisions based on an incomplete understanding!
Christ Jesus taught, “Whoever shall
confess me before men, I, in turn, confess him before the angels of God!
However, he that denies Me before men shall be denied
before the angels of God!”
Let me point out that Christ said “whoever,” and not
“whenever!” All who come to Christ do so on an individual schedule! There is no
just thing as collective salvation that is a false Black Liberation theology
teaching put forth by liars in a satanic attempt to cheat Christ Jesus from the
harvest of His labors! Only the deceived believe that nonsense!
The confession referenced in verse 8 is the salvation
confession, “Jesus is Lord!”
Romans
14:11 For it is
written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Isaiah
45:23 I have sworn by myself, the word is
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
The truth that every knee shall bow and
every tongue shall confess Christ Jesus as Lord is found in both the Old and
New Testaments!
The next verses must also be
explained in the light of other Scriptures!
In Luke 12:10 Jesus tells us, “Whosoever shall speak a word against the
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth
against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.”
Luke, as were the other Gospels, was written during the New
Testament age, but the subject is the last of the Age of the Law! Christ lived
and was crucified under the law! In that
manner, He fulfilled the Law for all who are baptized into Him!
We also find a more complete statement about blaspheming the
Holy Spirit in Matthew!
Matt
12:31-32
31 “Therefore
I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against
the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Anyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the
Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age
to come.” (NKJV)
Here, we must understand the ages!
Christ walked the earth in His first advent under the Age of
the law! We now live in the Church Age
or the Age of grace!
“This age” refers to the age of the law!
“The age to come” refers to this present age!
Many teach an unforgiveable sin, but that teaching denies
the power of God and exalts the power of sin!
Christ told those who truly follow Him that they are not to
plan ahead concerning what to say when wrongfully accused!
Romans
8:14 For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
When we are led by the Spirit of
God, we are given the proper response at the time it is needed!
Luke 12:13-21
13 And one of the company said
unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who
made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth
not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto
them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I
bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou
fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Greed
was a dominate factor in the early Church just as it is within the Church
today!
One
of Christ’s followers asked Him to order the redistribution of another’s wealth
just as we see today in Pro-Muslim Marxism/Communism! Christ rebuked that
humanistic teaching saying, “Man,
who made me a judge or a divider over you?”
Then
He said to them, “Take heed, and beware of
covetousness: for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things
which he possesses.”
Black
Liberation Theology teaches that unless all Caucasians give all they have or
ever hope to have to those of African descent they cannot be saved.
Black
Liberation is a humanistic Marxist/Communist substitute for true Christianity!
Black Liberation also puts forth the false teaching of collective salvation!
Jesus
said, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully! And, the rich man thought, ‘What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my
fruits?’
The
word “I” always seems to appear in places where it does not belong!
“The rich man responded to his own question, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build greater;
and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, You have many things laid up
that will last for many years! Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry.’
However, God had another plan!
“But God said to him, ‘You fool, tonight your soul shall
be taken from you! Then who shall possess all you now have?’”
We
continually build so that those who follow may use what we build!
“Those who stockpile treasure for themselves may be humanly
rich, but not spiritually rich!’”
Physical riches perish, but spiritual riches in Christ abide
forever!
Luke 12:22-40
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and
the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they
neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse
nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye
better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking
thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that
thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow:
they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass,
which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast
into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the
nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of
God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms;
provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth,
neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 Let your loins be girded about,
and your lights burning;
36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when
he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh,
they may open unto him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants,
whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that
he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth
and serve them.
38 And if he shall come in the second
watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those
servants.
39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken
through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for
the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Following the openly taught parable of the rich man, Jesus
taught the lesson of the parable only
to His disciples!
Christ Jesus further taught, “Therefore
I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you eat, or your clothing!
Worry and faith cannot be mixed in fact they are antonyms!
“Life is more than food, and the
body is more than what you
wear!”
“Think about the birds!
“They don’t sow or reap, and they
have no storehouse or barn! And yet God feeds them! Aren’t you more valuable than
the birds?
Many today are just as heathenistic
as those of Jesus’ day then. Today many
worship birds, animals, and fish, or they worship their own reflection in a
mirror! They worship the creation rather than the Creator!
Romans
1:25b worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.
We are to worship God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)!
Many today rely on their “free
will.” That “free will” is extremely overrated!
Christ asked “Which of you by his or her human will can add one cubit to his/her
height?
“If you are not able to do the small
things, why do you worry about the rest?”
In saying that Jesus told those listening that human will,
while it does exist, it is extremely limited! And we, as Christians, should not
worry about the outcome of things! The outcome of all events has been decided
in favor of the body of Christ!
We have been baptized into Christ Jesus! He is the Victor and those who belong to Him
are victorious because we have been baptized into Him!
“Think about the flowers! They just
grow! They don’t do any manual labor such as make clothing! And yet, Solomon in
all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as one of them.
“If God clothes the grass, which is
here today, and is burned up tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you!”
If we are not clothed in the righteousness of Christ,
wearing the most expensive physical clothing does not matter! Just think that
many shall go into the Lake of Fire dressed in their finest!
Jesus continued, “O you of little
faith? Why do you worry and fret about food and
drink?”
This may seem to be an affront to His Apostles, but it is
actually a statement of fact! Many Christians are people of “little faith!”
But, the opposite is true! All Christians live according to the faith OF Christ! It is the “free will”
folks living on their human free will who operate on limited faith!
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and
not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified.
In Matt 17:20b Jesus told His Apostles, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, you shall say to the mountain, ‘Be removed from here
and go to a far place, and it shall obey! Nothing shall be impossible for you.’
Christ continued His teaching according to Luke, “These are things the heathen worry about! Your Father knows
what you need!”
Then, Jesus offered the practical application of properly
focused faith!
“Instead, you should seek the
kingdom of God, and all those other things shall be added!”
And, He put it all into context!
“Fear not, little flock! It is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
The Father shall accomplish His pleasure! You shall have all
He gives!
Then Jesus told them, “Sell what you
have, and give to the poor!”
America’s greatest export is the Good News of Christ
Jesus! It is the only export that is
meaningful! Our exceptionalism is based on our
evangelism! When America forsakes evangelism, we will lose our exceptionalism.
Salvation is offered directly to only one nation, Israel! To
we who are Gentiles by birth salvation is by invitation only!
At this point, Christ told His chosen, “Store up those things that do not grow old! They will become
a treasure in the heavens that are not subject to failure! It is that treasure
cannot be stolen, wither or become corrupt!
“Where your treasure is, your heart
will be!”
Many people, both the rich and the poor, are led by greed!
Many rich have much and want more, while many of the poor covet what the rich
have.
Jesus told His followers, “Be ready
to serve God at all times! Keep your lights burning as though you are waiting
for the Lord to return and the wedding to begin! So that when He comes and
knocks, all may be immediately opened to Him!”
Paul
told those he served, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. (2 Tim 4:2).
Are
you ready?
Jesus offered this to those who remain ready to testify
about His grace, “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when He comes again, shall
find watching!
“Truthfully that servant shall gird
himself, and make them to sit down to eat (at the Master’s wedding
feast), and (that servant) shall serve them.
“If He (Christ Jesus) shall come in the second watch, or third watch, and find them keeping watch, they are blessed
(happy)!
“And, if the home owner had known
when the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have allowed
the thief to enter!
“So, remain ready, because for the
Son of man comes when least expected!”
Please keep that in mind! We do not know the time of
Christ’s return!
Luke 12:41-53
41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest
thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that
faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his
household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant,
whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he
will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But and if that servant say in his
heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin
to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come
in a day when he looketh not for him, and at
an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him
his portion with the unbelievers.
47 And that servant, which knew his
lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For
unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men
have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
49 I am come to send fire on the
earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
50 But I have a baptism to be
baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
51 Suppose ye
that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
52 For from henceforth there shall be
five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided
against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the
daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her
daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Then Peter asked, “Lord, is that parable for us alone, or is
it for all?
Jesus’ response may seem puzzling to many! The Lord asked, “Who is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his
household, to give them their
portion of meat in due season?”
Then He said, “Blessed is the
servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing!
“Truly I tell you, that He will make
him ruler over all that he has, but and if the servant says in his heart, ‘My lord has been delayed. And begins to abuse the various
servants, and eats and drinks to the point of drunkenness, the lord of that servant will come in a day when he is not looking
for Him, and at time when he is
not aware, and the Master will completely banish the servant!
“The servant, which knew his lord's
will, but did not properly prepare shall be beaten with many stripes.
“However, the servant which
did not know, but committed things are worthy of such rebuke shall be beaten
with few stripes.
“Because, unto whomever much is
given, much shall be required! And, to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
“I have come to send fire on the
earth, and it is already started!”
We are now living in an age of fire! But most do not
understand the fire or its purpose!
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
God is not a physical fire, but in
the consummation, He shall consume all that is rebellious toward Him!
The call of the Lord Jesus Christ may be seen in His birth!
It is seen in His scourging, death, and resurrection!
The wealthy did not arrive first to worship! That call was to lowly shepherds! They were
the first because of the Great Shepherd, Christ Jesus!
Then Jesus told those around Him, “I
have a baptism with which to be baptized, and I am in distress until it is
accomplished!”
Suffering (distress) was part of daily life for Christ! When
He left His position in heaven and came among men it was a distressful situation!
All too often we think of His passion as being his only distress, but dealing
daily with sinful men was also distressful! Christ offered life, buit most who heard Him wanted death! Things have not
changed! Today, the Church offers life while most people want death!
Further Jesus explained, “You all may think that I came to bring peace to earth!
However, I came instead to bring division!
“From this moment
henceforth there shall be division within families! A father shall be divided
against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the
daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother in law against her
daughter in law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!”
Does that sound like to peace at all costs that we find
preached in many Churches today?
Luke 12:54-59
54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say,
There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55 And when ye see the south
wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh
to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the
earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
57 Yea, and why even of yourselves
judge ye not what is right?
58 When thou goest
with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou
art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest
be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver
thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.
59 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart
thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
Jesus
also told them, “When you see a cloud coming from the
west, immediately you say that a shower is coming, and that is correct.
“If a south wind blows you say that it brings heat and it does.
“You
hypocrites can discern the weather, so why can’t you discern the prophetic
time-frame?
“Why can’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
“If someone threatens to bring a
lawsuit, you do your best to settle out of court, because if you don’t you will
be taken before the judge and perhaps put in jail where you will remain until
the last penny you owe is paid!”
In His ministry on earth Christ taught many practical thinks
that were rejected because men chose to do the impractical! Christ taught us to
stand solid, and yet most bend, or go along to get along!