Chapter BY Chapter

This passage is as follows:

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In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

 

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

 

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds!  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!  And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.  For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

 

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.  Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

(End of passage)

 

Chapter 11 ended with Jesus being invited to a dinner with Pharisees and lawyers there.  Jesus mentioned that the Pharisees make everything clean on the outside, but are full of greed and wickedness on the inside.  The Pharisees were offended, and the lawyers spoke up and said this offends them too.  Then Jesus really goes after them because they maintained the tombs of the prophets, but they did not continue the teachings of the prophets.

 

Chapter 12 begins with, “In the meantime.”  The Greek words for this are “en hois,” which means, “in these.”  It implies time, so it could be more accurately translated, “in these times,” or “around these times.”  The next thing it says is, “when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another.”  The Greek word here for “thousands” is “MyriadOn,” which doesn’t literally mean thousands, but rather literally, “an uncountable number.”  So, in these times, so many people are gathered together.  What do you think they are gathered together for?  To see and hear Jesus.  Let’s see what Jesus is going to say here.

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Verses 1-3,

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In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”

 

The first thing that Jesus said was, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”  Do you think that the people gathering for Jesus agreed with that statement?  Yes, I do.  Do you think that the people gathering for Jesus experienced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees?  Yes I do.  What things have we learned so far in Luke that are hypocrisies of the Pharisees (and we can include the lawyers in this)?

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1. Greedy.

2. Exact tithing, but do Not give to the poor and handicapped.

3. Give people burdens, but don’t help them.

4. Fail to teach the teachings of the prophets.

5. Seek public recognition in the synagogues, market places and tombs of the prophets.

6. Ignoring Jesus’ healings.

7. Critical of eating with sinners – looked down on sinners.

8. Not willing to allow Jesus to heal on the Sabbath, but allowed rescuing animals on the Sabbath.

9. Refused to be baptized, or to repent of their sins.

 

So, the Pharisees and the lawyers were hypocrites.  What is meant by the next part about, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known?”  Jesus is talking about the day of judgment.  This is in Revelation 20:12,

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

 

So, all will be standing before God’s great white throne and books will be opened that show everything that each and every person has done.  Everyone will be there to see.  So, live as though everyone sees everything because as Jesus said here, “everything that you whispered in private will be proclaimed from the housetops.”

 

Revelation 20:15, makes it plain who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  And Jesus is going to make it plain here what it is that you have to do to get your name written in the book of life.

 

Verses 4-12,

 

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him!  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.  And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

 

So, what is it that we need to do to do to have our names written in the book of life?  Acknowledge Jesus before men.  What does that entail?  Does it just mean to simply acknowledge that Jesus existed?  It means much more than that because Jesus said that if you acknowledge him, you will be brought before the synagogues, rulers and authorities.  This shows that Jesus expected us to be defending him in every way.  What things would we have to defend and acknowledge to defend Jesus?

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1. All of his teachings.

2. That he is who he says he is – his deity.

3. That he is our savior and the savior of all that acknowledge him.

4. That he shed his blood on the cross for our sins.

5. That he taught us how to live and we live how he taught us.

 

Now, Jesus starts out this section telling his disciples not to worry.  Don’t fear those that can kill the body and cannot do anything after that.  Only fear God because he can cast you into hell after you are killed.  5 sparrows in that time sold for two pennies.  In the Greek, that is the word, “assaria,” which is the value of half an hours work.  So, if we take a median of $15.00 an hour as a wage, then each sparrow is worth $2.50.  Typically, we don’t worry too much if we lose $2.50, or if the wife spends that much without telling us.  But God worries about each and every sparrow.  And Jesus goes on to say that even the hairs on our head are numbered!  Gee, my number must be changing constantly.  How does God keep track of that? 

 

Why does Jesus say that blaspheming the Son of Man be forgiven, while blaspheming the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven?  Isn’t this the same sin?  To blaspheme means to say bad and false things, slander.  Obviously, the Pharisees have already blasphemed Jesus.  Did they blaspheme the Holy Spirit?  Yes, yes they did.  They said that the miracles of Jesus were done by Beelzebul.  The miracles were done by the Holy Spirit.  We know this because the power went out from Jesus to heal all who touched him.  When he healed the Centurion’s servant, Jesus did not directly heal the servant, but his spirit went out to do the healing.  Therefore, the Pharisees who denied the deity of Jesus will not be forgiven.  Jesus is saying that if you do not believe that Jesus is God, then you have gone too far.  This is an essential teaching.  You could say that Jesus did not wash his hands before eating.  That was true.  The Pharisee that said that would be forgiven of that.  You could not say that Jesus did his miracles by Beelzebul.  Jesus did the miracles by the Holy Spirit.  Saying such things put you in a spiritual state that was too far gone.

 

What does Jesus mean by, “The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say?”  Jesus specifically says this is about when people will forcibly arrest you and charge you with being a follower of Jesus.  Does this apply to regular witnessing?  Yes, it applies to regular witnessing, but there is no reason in either case that you shouldn’t study for it.  The point that Jesus makes is “Don’t worry about it.”

 

Let’s see if Jesus has more to say about worry.

 

Verses 13-21,

 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

 

If Jesus came to enforce the Law of Moses, would he have said, “Who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  No, if that was the case, Jesus would not have said that.  So, if Jesus did not come to be a judge, why did he say, “I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets?”  Jesus came to do the Law, to obey it and to do what the prophets prophesied.  That is what fulfillment is about.  What was this man’s situation, that he asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance?  Apparently, this man’s father died and left everything or more to one brother, not to this man.  The first son could inherit a double portion, or if the inheritance was small or hard to divide, the father could have left it all to one son.  So, most likely, this son was coveting something that someone else had.  This is why Jesus immediately says, “Guard against all covetousness.”  Why?  Life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions.  Jesus gives an example of a man that had so much that he made plans to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.  But God took his soul that night.  He could have done better by having a closer walk with God, and fewer possessions.  Jesus mentioned being “rich toward God.”  How does someone become rich toward God?

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1. Reading Scripture

2. Praying

3. Helping others

4. Treating other as you would want to be treated

5. Sharing the gospel

 

Jesus continues to tell us not to worry.  Let’s read it.

 

Verses 22-34,

 

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds!  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!  And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.  For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

 

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.  Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

This section is very much like Matthew 6:25-34.  The Matthew 6 passage happened near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  This passage in Luke is near the end of Jesus’ ministry.  This shows us that this is something that Jesus taught frequently.  Jesus said this to his disciples.  Does that mean Jesus only told this to the twelve?  No.  Jesus’ disciples are all those that follow him.  Was Luke one of these disciples?  Yes, Luke includes himself as one of Jesus’ disciples right from chapter 1 and forward.  Jesus starts this exactly the same way that he did in Matthew 6.  Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat or drink, or what we should wear.  During the Coronavirus crisis, there was a lady that asked on Facebook what she needed for personal protection wear while going to the store.  In a comment she was told that if she went to the store with a face mask and latex gloves on, she would be fine.  After a few days, she replied to that comment that she went to the store with a face mask and latex gloves on, but everyone else was wearing clothes.  Jesus does want you to wear clothes.  He wants you to eat and drink too.  Jesus didn’t want his disciples to go without drink, food, or clothes.  He just wanted his disciples not to worry about them.  What examples of not worrying does Jesus give?

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1. The ravens neither sow nor reap, but God feeds them.

2. You are much more valuable to God than the birds.

3. Worrying about it won’t add a single hour to your life.

4. Lilies don’t work or spin wool, but look how beautiful they are.

5. Everyone in the world seeks for these things, so God knows that you need them.

 

What is Jesus’ solution?  Seek God’s kingdom and these things will be added to you.

How do we become rich towards God again?

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1. Reading Scripture

2. Praying

3. Helping others

4. Treating other as you would want to be treated

5. Sharing the gospel

 

Should we worry about getting God’s kingdom?  No.  Jesus says that it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  Give to those that are in need.  What will be in your moneybags that do not grow old and in your treasure in heaven?

 

I remember reading a comic book once.  Richie Rich, the poor little rich boy and his family was taken hostage by s robber.  The robber looked all over their mansion, but couldn’t find where they were storing their treasure.  The robber finally tells Richie Rich to lead him to their treasure.  The robber has a gun, so Richie Rich has to comply.  Richie Rich leads him to a vault door with a giant combination lock in the basement.  Opening the vault door, they walk through a long tunnel that leads to a chamber under a hill behind their house.  When they get there, there is another vault door.  They open it and go inside.  Inside, they find family picture albums, old broken toys, handprints in hardened clay, a quilt with their names sewn on, maps with routes marked with a felt tips pen lining the route they took for a trip, a ring bearers pillow, an old ragged teddy bear, a suitcase with stickers on it from Paris, London, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Ankorage, and New York, an old highchair, a rusty old Christmas tree decoration with a year painted on it, a cork with “happy 4th of July” written on it, a box of old letters from relatives, and a Cracker Jack decoder ring.  The robber yells out, “Where is all your money at?”  Richie replies, “All our money is in the factory that we run and paying all the employees so we can make stuff that everyone needs.  We get just enough each month to pay for our bills and food.”  This is where our real treasure is at.  Our treasure is our memories of all the fun we have had in our lives.”

 

So, it will be in heaven.  Our treasures will be there.  They will be our brother and sister, some of the people that we shared Jesus with, that man we served at the homeless shelter, that girl in Uganda that you raised money for so she would have food, the person that saw you pick up litter, that neighbor that you cooked food for when they were ill, that soldier that you sent a care package to, and that person that you prayed for that you didn’t even know, that person you visited in prison or in the hospital.

 

Jesus ends this section saying where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Does it work the other way around too?  Where your heart is, is that where your treasure will be as well???

 

YES!!!

 

Song: Treasure by Seeds Family Worship