Luke 12
12
Warnings and Encouragements
1Meanwhile, 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#12:1 Or speak to his disciples, saying: “First of all, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3What 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.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But 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. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10And 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, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17He 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. 19And 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.”
Do Not Worry
22Then 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. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider 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! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life#12:25 Or single cubit to your height? 26Since 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. 28If 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! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But 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. 33Sell 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. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Watchfulness
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like 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. 37It 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. 38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39But 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. 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
41Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42The 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? 43It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But 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. 46The 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. 48But 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.
Not Peace but Division
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They 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.”
Interpreting the Times
54He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56Hypocrites! 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? 58As 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. 59I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
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Luke 12: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Luke 12
12
1In the meantime so many thousands of people had gathered that they were stepping on each other. Jesus began speaking first to his disciples. “Beware the yeast of the Pharisees—hypocrisy. 2For there's nothing hidden that won't be revealed, nothing secret that won't be made known. 3Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and whatever you whispered in private will be announced from the rooftops. 4I tell you, my friends, don't be afraid of those who kill the body, for once they've done that there's no more they can do. 5Let me make it clear whom you should be afraid of. You should be afraid of the one who after he has killed has the power to dispose of them in Gehenna.#12:5. The word here is literally, “Gehenna,” sometimes translated “hell” or “hellfire.” Gehenna was the place outside of Jerusalem where fires were lit to dispose of rubbish by burning. “Hell” is a concept that is derived from Nordic and Anglo-Saxon mythology and does not parallel the idea here. See note on Matthew 5:22. That's the one you should be afraid of. 6Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? But God doesn't forget a single one of them. 7Even the hairs on your head have been counted. Don't be afraid—you're worth more than many sparrows!
8I tell you the truth, those who declare they belong to me, the Son of man will also declare they belong to him before God's angels, 9but those who deny me will be denied before God's angels. 10Everyone who speaks against the Son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11When you're brought to trial before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, don't worry about how to defend yourself, or what you should say. 12The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what's important to say.”
13Someone in the crowd asked Jesus, “Teacher, please tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
14“My friend,” Jesus replied, “Who appointed me as your judge to decide how your inheritance should be divided?” He told the people, 15“Watch out, and beware of all greedy thoughts and actions, for a person's life isn't summed up by all the things they own.”
16Then he told them a story as an illustration. “Once there was a rich man who owned land that was very productive. 17After thinking things through, the man said to himself, ‘What shall I do? I've nowhere to store my crops. 18I know what I'll do,’ he decided. ‘I'll pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and then I'll be able to store all my crops and everything I own. 19Then I'll tell myself: You have enough to live on for many years, so take life easy: eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ 20But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! Your life will be demanded back this very night, and then who will get everything you've stored up?’ 21This is what happens to people who hoard up wealth for themselves but are not rich as far as God is concerned.”
22Jesus told his disciples, “That's why I tell you don't worry about life, about what to eat, or about what clothes you should wear. 23Life is about more than food, and the body is about more than wearing clothes. 24Look at the ravens. They don't sow or reap, they don't have any storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you're far more valuable than birds! 25Can you add an hour to your life by worrying about it? 26If you can't do anything about such small things, why worry about the rest? 27Think of the lilies and how they grow. They don't work, and they don't spin thread for clothes, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was as beautifully dressed as one of them.
28So if God clothes the fields with such beautiful flowers, which are here today but gone tomorrow when they are burned in a fire to heat an oven, how much more will God clothe you, you who have so little trust! 29Don't be concerned about what you're going to eat or drink—don't worry about it. 30These are all things that people in the world worry about, but your Father knows you need them. 31Search for God's kingdom, and you'll be given these things as well. 32Don't be afraid, little flock, for your Father is happy to give you the kingdom. 33Sell what you have, and give the money to the poor. Get yourselves purses that don't wear out: treasure in heaven that will never run out, where no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 34For what you value the most shows who you really are.
35Be dressed and ready, and keep your lamps lit, 36like servants waiting for their master when he returns from his wedding feast, prepared to open the door quickly for him when he comes and knocks. 37How good it will be for those servants that the master finds watching when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will get dressed, have them sit down for a meal, and will come and serve them himself!
38Even if he comes at midnight, or just before dawn—how good for them if he finds them watching and ready! 39But remember this: if the master knew when a thief was coming, he would keep watch, and not allow his house to be broken into. 40You must also be ready, for the Son of man is coming when you don't expect him.”
41“Is this story you're telling just for us, or for everyone?” Peter asked.
42The Lord replied, “Who then is the trustworthy and wise manager, the one person in the household that the master puts in charge to share out their food at the right time? 43It will be good for that servant when his master returns and finds him doing what he should. 44I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of everything. 45But what if the servant were to say to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and then starts beating the other servants, both men and women, feasting and getting drunk? 46That servant's master will return unexpectedly one day at a time he didn't anticipate, and will punish him severely, treating him as totally untrustworthy.
47That servant who knew what his master wanted and yet didn't get ready or follow his instructions, will be beaten severely; 48but the servant who didn't know and did things deserving punishment will be beaten only lightly. From those who are given much, much will be required, and from those who are entrusted with more, more will be demanded.
49I have come to set the earth on fire, and I really wish it was already burning! 50But I have a baptism to go through, and I'm in agony, wishing it was over! 51Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, I bring division. 52From now on, if there are five in a family, they will be divided against each other: three against two, and two against three. 53They will be divided against each other—father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”#12:53. See Micah 7:6.
54Then Jesus spoke to the crowds. “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘a rain-shower's coming,’ and it happens. 55When a south wind blows, you say ‘it's going to be hot,’ and it is. 56You hypocrites, how is it that you know how to rightly interpret the weather but you don't know how to interpret the present time? 57Why don't you think for yourselves and judge what's the right thing to do? 58As you go with your accuser to the magistrate, on the way you should be working on a settlement. Otherwise you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you won't get out until you've paid the last penny.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com