Luke 12
12
A Warning Against Hypocrisy
1#Jas 3:17; 1Co 5:7–8Meanwhile, when thousands of the crowd were assembled, so as to trample on one another, He began to say to His disciples first, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2#Mk 4:22; Lk 8:17For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3#Mt 10:27Therefore what you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. And what you have whispered in the ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Whom to Fear
Mt 10:28–31
4#Jer 1:8; 1Pe 3:14“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that can do no more. 5#Ps 9:17; Mt 10:28But I will warn you whom you shall fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear Him. 6#Mt 10:29Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies#Gk. 2 assaria. An assarion was worth 1/16 of a denarius, which was a day’s wage.? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7#1Sa 14:45; Mt 6:26Indeed, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows.
Confessing Christ Before Men
Mt 10:19–20, 32–33; 12:32
8#Lk 15:10; Ro 10:9–10“I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. 9#Mk 8:38; 2Ti 2:12But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10#Mt 12:31–32; 1Jn 5:16; 1Ti 1:13And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
11#Mt 23:34“When they bring you to the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not be anxious how you will answer or what you will say. 12#Lk 21:15; Mt 10:20For 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.”
14#Ro 2:1; 2:3Jesus said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator between you?” 15#1Ti 6:6–10; Heb 13:5Then He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16And He told a parable to them, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have no room to store my crops?’
18“Then he said, ‘This I will do: I will pull down my barns and build greater ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19#Ecc 11:9; Pr 27:1And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take rest. Eat, drink, and be merry.’
20#Jer 17:11; Job 27:8; Ps 39:6“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21#Lk 12:33; Mt 6:19–20“So is he who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Care and Anxiety
Mt 6:25–34, 19–21
22#Lk 12:29; 1Co 7:32Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor for your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. 24#Job 38:41; Ps 147:9Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns. Yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds? 25Who of you by worrying can add one cubit#A cubit is about half a meter. to his height? 26If you then cannot do what is least, why are you anxious about the other things?
27“Consider how the lilies grow. They neither spin nor weave. Yet I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28#Mt 8:26; 14:31If God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29#Mt 6:31And do not seek what you will eat or what you will drink, nor be of an anxious mind. 30#Mt 6:8; 6:32For the nations of the world seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31#1Ki 3:11–13; Mt 6:33But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given to you.
32#Isa 40:11; 41:14“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33#Mt 19:21; Lk 16:9Sell your possessions and give alms. Provide yourselves purses that do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34#Mt 6:21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Watchful Servants
Mt 24:45–51
35#Eph 6:14; 1Pe 1:13“Let your waist be girded and your lights be burning, 36#Rev 3:20and you be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door immediately for him when he comes and knocks. 37#Mt 24:42Blessed are those servants whom the master will find watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself and have them sit down to dine, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes in the second watch, or comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. 39#Mt 24:43–44; 2Pe 3:10But know this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40Therefore be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41#Mk 13:37Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”
42#Mt 24:45–46; Lk 19:15–19The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his house servants, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44Truly, I say to you, he will appoint him over all his possessions. 45But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master delays his coming,’ and begins to beat the house servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46#Lk 12:40the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not look for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him to pieces and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
47#Jas 4:17; Dt 25:2–3“That servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48#Lev 5:17; 1Ti 1:13But he who unknowingly committed acts worthy of punishment shall be beaten with few stripes. For to whom much is given, of him much shall be required. And from him to whom much was entrusted, much will be asked.
Jesus the Cause of Division
Mt 10:34–36
49“I have come to send fire upon the earth and wish that it were already kindled! 50#Jn 19:30But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how pressed I am until it is accomplished! 51#Mt 10:34–36Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52For there will be from now on five divided in one house, three against two and two against three. 53#Mic 7:6They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, and mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Discerning the Appointed Time
Mt 16:2–3
54Then He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it is. 55And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘There will be heat,’ and it happens. 56#Mt 16:3You hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth. But why do you not know how to discern this time?
Settling With Your Accuser
Mt 5:25–26
57“Why even among yourselves do you not judge what is right? 58#Mt 5:23–26; 18:30When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, as you are on the way, diligently try to settle matters with him, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. 59#Mk 12:42; Mt 18:34I tell you, you shall not come out from there until you have paid the very last penny.”#Gk. lepton, the smallest coin circulated, means “small” or “thin.”
Currently Selected:
Luke 12: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Luke 12
12
Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees
1In the meantime, #ch. 11:29 when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, #Matt. 16:6, 11, 12; Mark 8:15 “Beware of #1 Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9 the leaven of the Pharisees, #Matt. 23:28; Mark 12:15which is hypocrisy. 2#ch. 8:17; Mark 4:22; [1 Tim. 5:25]; For ver. 2-9, see Matt. 10:26-33Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in #Matt. 6:6 private rooms shall be proclaimed on #See ch. 5:19the housetops.
Have No Fear
4 “I tell you, my friends, #
Isa. 8:12, 13; 51:12, 13; Jer. 1:8; 1 Pet. 3:14 do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him #James 4:12who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.#12:5 Greek Gehenna Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?#12:6 Greek two assaria; an assarion was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer) And #[Ps. 50:11]not one of them is forgotten before God. 7Why, #See 1 Sam. 14:45 even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; #Matt. 6:26; 12:12you are of more value than many sparrows.
Acknowledge Christ Before Men
8 “And I tell you, # [Rom. 10:9, 10; Heb. 10:35; Rev. 3:5] everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge # [ch. 15:10; Matt. 25:31; 1 Tim. 5:21; Rev. 3:5] before the angels of God, 9but #2 Tim. 2:12; 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 2:23; [Mark 8:38] the one who denies me before men #ch. 13:25; Matt. 7:23; 25:12 will be denied #[See ver. 8 above]before the angels of God. 10And #[Matt. 12:31, 32; Mark 3:28-30; Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26; 1 John 5:16] everyone who speaks a word #Matt. 11:19; John 7:12; 9:24 against the Son of Man #1 Tim. 1:12, 13 will be forgiven, but the one who #[Acts 7:51; Heb. 10:29]blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11#Matt. 10:17, 19; [ch. 21:12, 14; Mark 13:11] And when they #See Matt. 23:34 bring you before the synagogues and #Titus 3:1 the rulers and #Titus 3:1 the authorities, #See ver. 22do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12#See Matt. 10:19, 20for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 # ch. 11:27 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14But he said to him, #Mic. 6:8; Rom. 2:1, 3; 9:20 “Man, #[Ex. 2:14; Acts 7:27]who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And he said to them, #1 Tim. 6:6-11; [Heb. 13:5]“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16And he told them a parable, saying, #[Ps. 49:16-20]“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, #[Eccles. 5:10]‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my #ver. 24barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up #[Prov. 27:1; James 4:13-15] for many years; relax, #Eccles. 2:24; 11:9; 1 Cor. 15:32; [ch. 15:23]eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20But God said to him, #Jer. 17:11; [Matt. 16:26] ‘Fool! #[See ver. 19 above] This night #Job 27:8 your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, #Ps. 39:6; [Job 27:17-22; Eccles. 2:18, 21]whose will they be?’ 21So is the one #Matt. 6:19, 20who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Be Anxious
22And he said to his disciples, #For ver. 22-31, see Matt. 6:25-33 “Therefore I tell you, #ver. 11; ch. 10:41; Matt. 10:19; 13:22 (Gk.); 1 Cor. 7:32 (Gk.); Phil. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:7do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24#[Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9] Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. #See ver. 7Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his #ch. 2:52 (Gk.)span of life?#12:25 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters 26If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,#12:27 Some manuscripts Consider the lilies; they neither spin nor weave yet I tell you, #1 Kgs. 10:4-7even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28But 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, #Matt. 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; [ch. 17:6]O you of little faith! 29And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor #[James 1:6]be worried. 30For #Matt. 6:8all the nations of the world seek after these things, and #Matt. 6:8your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, #[Matt. 5:6, 20] seek #ch. 11:2 his#12:31 Some manuscripts God’s kingdom, #[1 Kgs. 3:11-14; Mark 10:29, 30; 1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 3:9]and these things will be added to you.
32 #
Isa. 41:14; 44:2 “Fear not, little #
Isa. 40:11; Matt. 26:31; John 10:16; 21:15-17; Acts 20:28, 29; 1 Pet. 5:2, 3 flock, for # [ch. 10:21; Matt. 11:26; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 2:13] it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you # ch. 22:29; See Matt. 13:19 the kingdom. 33#See Matt. 19:21 Sell your possessions, and #ch. 11:41 give to the needy. #[ch. 16:9] Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with #Matt. 6:20; [ver. 21; 1 Pet. 1:4]a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34#Matt. 6:21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You Must Be Ready
35 #
Eph. 6:14; 1 Pet. 1:13 “Stay dressed for action # 12:35 Greek Let your loins stay girded ; compare Exodus 12:11 and #[Matt. 25:7]keep your lamps burning, 36and be like men who are #See 2 Pet. 3:12 waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and #Rev. 3:20knocks. 37#See Matt. 24:42, 46 Blessed are those servants#12:37 Or bondservants whom the master finds #See Matt. 24:42, 46 awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, #John 13:4; [ver. 35; ch. 17:8] he will dress himself for service and #[ch. 22:27]have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39#For ver. 39-46, [Matt. 24:43-51] But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour #[1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3]the thief was coming, he#12:39 Some manuscripts add would have stayed awake and would not have left his house to be broken into. 40You also must be #ver. 47; Matt. 25:10 ready, for #ch. 21:27the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
41Peter said, “Lord, #[Mark 13:37]are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42And the Lord said, “Who then is #See Matt. 24:45 the faithful and #See Matt. 24:45 wise #ch. 16:1manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43#John 13:17; Rev. 16:15Blessed is that servant#12:43 Or bondservant; also verses 45, 46, 47 whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44Truly, I say to you, #Matt. 25:21, 23he will set him over all his possessions. 45But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master #Matt. 25:5; [Heb. 10:37; 2 Pet. 3:4, 9] is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and #1 Thess. 5:7get drunk, 46the master of that servant will come #2 Pet. 3:12; [ver. 40]on a day when he does not expect him and #2 Pet. 3:12; [ver. 40]at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47#[Matt. 11:24; John 15:22, 24] And that servant who #[James 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:21] knew his master’s will but #ver. 40 did not get ready #[James 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:21] or act according to his will, will receive a #[Deut. 25:2, 3]severe beating. 48#Lev. 5:17; [Num. 15:29, 30] But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, #Rom. 1:19, 20; 2:14, 15; [1 Tim. 1:13] will receive a light beating. #[Matt. 25:29]; See Matt. 13:12Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Not Peace, but Division
49 # [Matt. 3:11] “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50#Mark 10:38 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how #2 Cor. 5:14 (Gk.)great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51#For ver. 51-53, see Matt. 10:34, 35 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? #[Rev. 6:4]No, I tell you, but rather division. 52For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, #Matt. 10:21; [Mic. 7:6]father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
54He also said to the crowds, #[Matt. 16:2, 3] “When you see #1 Kgs. 18:43, 44a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55And #[See ver. 54 above] when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be #See Matt. 20:12scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56You hypocrites! #Matt. 16:3You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settle with Your Accuser
57 “And why # ch. 21:30 do you not judge #
John 7:24; 1 Cor. 11:13 for yourselves what is right? 58#Matt. 5:25, 26; [Prov. 25:8]As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59I tell you, #[Matt. 18:34, 35] you will never get out until you have paid the very last #ch. 21:2; Mark 12:42penny.”#12:59 Greek lepton, a Jewish bronze or copper coin worth about 1/128 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV: