Luke 12
Disciples Prepared for Ministry; Teachings about Anxiety, Greed, And The Need to Be Prepared for Jesus’ Return.
Teaching of the disciples continues as primary in this part of the third Gospel (Luke 9:51 to Luke 19:10). Jesus’ words to them at the beginning of the present section (Luke 12:1 to Luke 13:17) broadened to include the crowds toward the end. - Thomas Constable
Matthew also recorded most of the content of this chapter but not organized in this way. As many commentators note, Luke did not seem as concerned with chronology as with content, grouping Jesus’ teachings together topically.
The coming judgment and the need for proper preparation are the threads that tie all of chapter 12 together. - M. Bailey
Jesus Prepared His Disciples
Leaven of The Pharisees (Matthew 16:5-6; Mark 8:14-15)
Vs. 1-2 - He began to say to his disciples first, “Be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Herod were evil influences that spread through Israel as yeast spreads through a lump of dough. Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the yeast-like effect of these people. His probable meaning was that they were not to be influenced by the wrong teaching and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees or the ungodly ways of people like Herod. - Don Fleming
What is now unknown because of hypocrisy will one day become known. - Thomas Constable
Matthew and Mark recorded this teaching just after the miraculous feeding of over four thousand people who came to hear Jesus teach. At first, the disciples thought that Jesus mentioned leaven because they had forgotten to bring bread on their journey.
This showed that although they had twice seen him miraculously feed a large crowd, they still lacked the faith to believe he could provide for them. In addition they lacked spiritual understanding, and saw the meaning of Jesus’ illustration only after he explained it to them. - Don Fleming
The One to Fear (Matthew 10:28-31)
Vs. 4 - I say to you, my friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the one to fear:
There would be much to fear in the coming days for these men. It’s likely they had no idea of the level of opposition they would face, both before and after Jesus’ passion. So Jesus reminded them here, similar to Proverbs 29:25, that “The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.”
Matthew recorded this teaching as a part of Jesus’ instruction to the Twelve before sending them out on a brief mission of preaching and healing.
Vs. 5 - Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!
This is the second time that Luke recorded Jesus referencing “hell” or “hades.” Earlier (Luke 10:15), Jesus said that the city of Capernaum would go “down to Hades” because they refused to accept Him as the Messiah. According to commentators, the concept of Hades was thought to be the realm of death or punishment in the afterlife. Here, Jesus taught that God held the authority to determine the destiny of men in the afterlife.
The word translated hell is Gehenna. It is derived from the words Valley of Hinnom, which was located on the south and west sides of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, it was a place of child-sacrifice to Molech (2 Chronicles 28:3, Jeremiah 7:30-31, 19:1-6, 32:35). The reforming King Josiah stopped child sacrifice in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Kings 23:10), and it became a garbage dump, a stench with continually smoldering fires. - David Guzik
Acknowledging Christ (Matthew 10:32-33)
Vs. 8 - And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
Vs. 11 - Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.
Again, in Matthew’s record, Jesus spoke these words of warning and exhortation to the Twelve before sending them out on a brief mission. Luke recorded multiple examples (in Acts) of the apostles standing before rulers and authorities, faced with this very decision to acknowledge or deny. Jesus was carefully warning and preparing them for the challenges they would face after His ascension.
Vs. 10 - Anyone 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.
Both Matthew and Mark recorded this teaching just after Jesus was accused of exorcising demons by the power of Satan (Luke 11).
God could forgive the doubts and misunderstandings people had about Jesus, but he would not forgive their defiant rejection of the clear evidence that all Jesus’ works were good and that they originated in God. Those who called God’s Spirit Satan, who called good evil, had put themselves in a position where they had no way of acknowledging God’s goodness. Therefore, they had no way of receiving his forgiveness. - Don Fleming
Rich toward God
Matthew included most of the teaching in this section in Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), but Luke grouped this instruction together here in a section that addresses anxiety and greed.
Who Appointed Me a Judge?
Vs. 13-14 - Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
“Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
It was not uncommon for people in Palestine to take their unsettled disputes to respected Rabbis; but Jesus refused to be mixed up in anyone's disputes about money. But out of that request there came to Jesus an opportunity to lay down what his followers' attitude to material things should be. He had something to say both to those who had an abundant supply of material possessions and to those who had not. - William Barclay
Rather than addressing the details of this man’s dilemma, Jesus chose to address the greed in his heart.
The Rich Fool
Vs. 15-16 - He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”
Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive.
The problem with the rich fool is not that he has bumper crops or that he decides to build more storage space. The problem is that he invests his entire life in his possessions. He draws all his security from his material goods and fails to reckon with God. - Thomas Schreiner
In this teaching, with its illustrative parable, Jesus taught His disciples and the multitude to beware of a foolish attitude toward material possessions. The wrong attitude is that the richness of life depends on the richness of wealth. Disciples need to be aware of this viewpoint because the desire to increase wealth can draw them away from following Jesus faithfully. This is especially true since Jesus promised them opposition and persecution rather than wealth and comfort. - Thomas Constable
Ravens and Wildflowers (Matthew 6:25-34)
Vs. 22 - Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.”
Vs. 24 - Consider the ravens: They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them.
Vs. 27 - Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.
When faced with anxiety and the many concerns of daily life, Jesus called His disciples to consider that, if God cared for even the smallest of His creatures, would He not provide for humans, His most treasured creation. He would, as David penned, open His hand to “satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16).
In all this passage, the thought which Jesus forbids is anxious thought or worry. Jesus never ordered any man to live in a shiftless, thriftless, reckless way. What he did tell a man was to do his best and then leave the rest to God. - William Barclay
Obviously people have a responsibility to provide for their own needs. Jesus was forbidding worrying over these things. - Thomas Constable
Treasure in Heaven (Matthew 6:21)
Vs. 31 - But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.
Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying; He told them to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God. - David Guzik
Vs. 33 - Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Disciples are not to fear, but to trust God. They will not draw their security from possessions, and so they will be free to give their possessions to others. - Thomas Schreiner
Vs. 33-34 - Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus is saying, "Bend all your life to obeying God's will and rest content with that. Work for the things which last forever, things which you need not leave behind when you leave this earth, but which you can take with you." If a man seeks the treasures of heaven, his heart will be fixed on heaven; but if he seeks the treasures of earth, his heart will be thirled to earth--and some day he must say good-bye to them. - William Barclay
Ready for Jesus’ Return
In this section, Luke included multiple metaphors that Jesus frequently used to illustrate the importance of readiness for His return. Rather than living in anxiety and greed, the disciples of Jesus are to live with expectancy, looking for His return and aware of the judgment that will accompany it. It’s likely that these teachings were memorable but quite misunderstood by His followers until after His passion.
Freedom from anxiety can lead to laziness. Jesus did not want His disciples to be lazy but to prepare for His return. He taught this lesson with two parables. This teaching is the first indication in Luke that Jesus would leave His disciples and then return to them later. - Thomas Constable
Wedding Banquet
Vs. 36-37 - You are to be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes.
Only Luke recorded this illustration. Jesus’ disciples were to live watchful lives, always ready for His imminent return, like servants waiting for a household master to return from attending a banquet. But Jesus included a bizarre detail in this analogy. Upon his return, the master would serve his servants.
The story should read that the master would sit at the table and the servants serve the meal to the master. The servants would be pleased to serve the master. But notice the turn of the story. The servants are going to be told to sit at the table and the master is going to prepare himself to serve and will serve them. A shocking turn of the story which provides the motivation for us to desire to be prepared and awake. - Brent Kercheville
A Thief at Night (Matthew 24:43-45)
Vs. 39-40 - But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew’s version of this analogy is included in Jesus’ lengthy discourse on the end times (Matthew 24). The point is that Jesus’ return will be unexpected and unpredictable. His disciples must be ready at all times.
Household Manager
Vs. 42-43 - The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.
When Peter asked if the parable applied only to the apostles or to people in general, Jesus gave no direct answer but told another parable. The master of a household appointed one of his servants to the position of manager over all the other servants while he went away on a trip. He gave the manager-servant instructions concerning the running of the household, but when the master was away longer than expected, the man thought he could do as he liked. Suddenly the master returned and, on discovering what had happened, dealt severely with the manager-servant. - Don Fleming
Vs. 48 - But the one who did not know and did what deserved punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.
All the servants guilty of wrongdoing were punished, but the one who had more detailed knowledge of his master’s will was punished more severely. Everyone is accountable to God, but God expects more of those who know more. - Don Fleming
This explanation of accountability based on intimate knowledge may have been Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question in verse 41. Perhaps the apostles, due to their proximity to the Messiah, would be held to a higher standard of accountability.
Fire and Division (Matthew 10:34-36)
Vs. 49 - I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!
The fire that Jesus wants to be kindled is the fire of judgment that discriminates between the unrighteous and righteous. - Thomas Schreiner
Vs. 50 - But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished!
The baptism that Jesus must undergo is not a literal baptism; rather, it is a metaphor of some overwhelming catastrophe - clearly his death on the cross. - Thomas Schreiner
Vs. 51-53 - Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
From the time Jesus appeared preaching publicly, even households, the tightest social units, began to experience division. The difference of opinion that divided people was their beliefs about Jesus’ person and work. This situation would continue. No physical relationship would escape the possibility of this division. - Thomas Constable
Jesus referenced a prophecy of Micah here (Micah 7:6) to illustrate how His Messianic ministry would become the source of division and disagreement among many closely-related people.
Micah warned the Judeans against trusting in their neighbors, friends, or even wives who reassured them that everything would be all right. They could trust no one because everyone was telling lies to gain their own advantage. They could not trust the members of their own families because everyone was after his or her own interests and would stoop to betrayal to obtain them. - Thomas Constable
Interpret This Time
Vs. 56 - Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?
All the signs and scriptures pointed to Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, but His people did not interpret the times as well as the skies. The kingdom of God had come to earth, but many of His own people did not receive him.
Decide for Yourselves (Matthew 5:23-26)
Vs. 57-58 (NLT) - Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there.
Jesus urged His audience to acknowledge the signs that He had come as their Messiah. Like someone en route to court, this was the time of decision, the moment to settle any debt.
If a person were going to court, knowing he could lose the case and spend some time in jail, then he would certainly try to reconcile with his adversary on the way to the courthouse. So too a person who is under the threat of judgment should reconcile with God while there is still time. - Thomas Schreiner
