Luke · chapter 12 of 24
Updated on
Luke 12 gathers Jesus' teaching to his disciples and a vast crowd: beware of hypocrisy, fear God and not people, and trust the Father who cares for the birds and the lilies. It includes the parable of the rich fool and the call not to be anxious, to store up treasure in heaven and to be ready for his return.
With thousands of people crowding around him, Jesus begins by speaking first to his disciples. Luke 12 is about how to live without fear, without greed and with our eyes on the kingdom. It is one of the most practical chapters of the Gospel on trusting God, money and being ready for the Lord's return.
When thousands have gathered, Jesus first warns his disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy: what is hidden will come to light. He tells them not to fear those who kill the body but to fear God, and not to be afraid, because the Father remembers even sparrows and they are worth more. Whoever acknowledges him before people will be acknowledged by the Son of Man before the angels, and the Holy Spirit will teach them what to say when they are brought before authorities.
Someone in the crowd asks him to settle a family inheritance. Jesus refuses to be a judge and warns against every kind of greed, and tells the parable of a rich man whose harvest overflows his barns. He plans to build bigger barns and relax, but God tells him that this very night his life will be required. So it is with the one who stores up for himself and is not rich toward God. Jesus then teaches us not to worry about food or clothes: the ravens and the lilies show that the Father cares for them, and seeking his kingdom will bring the rest. He asks us to sell possessions, give to the needy and make purses that do not wear out, because where our treasure is, our heart will be.
Jesus asks us to be ready, with clothes fastened and lamps lit, like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding; blessed are those he finds watching. If the master of the house had known when the thief was coming, he would have been alert; the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour. To whom much is given, much will be required. Jesus speaks of fire and the division his coming brings, and reproaches the crowd that can read the sky but not the present time; he urges settling accounts in time with an adversary.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus says even the hairs of our head are numbered, and that the disciples are worth more than many sparrows. The God who notices the smallest things cares for those who belong to him.
Jesus warns us to be on guard against every form of greed, because a person's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Security is not found in what we own.
Jesus calls his disciples a little flock and urges them not to fear, because the Father was pleased to give them the kingdom. Generosity springs from knowing we have already received what matters most.
Where a person's treasure is, there the heart will be also. The question is what we treasure: what wears out or what remains with God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Hypocrisy. — Luke 12:1
Answer: God, who after killing has authority to cast into hell. — Luke 12:4-5
Answer: Tear down his barns, build larger ones and store everything there to relax, eat and enjoy himself. — Luke 12:16-19
Answer: That this very night his life would be required, and he would not know whose his hoard would be. — Luke 12:20
Answer: The ravens, which God feeds, and the lilies, which God clothes. — Luke 12:24-28
Answer: Dressed for action, with lamps burning, watching. — Luke 12:35-37
Luke 12 asks where you place your security: in your bank account, your health, your reputation or in the Father. The parable of the rich fool does not condemn planning, but living as if God did not exist. In a small group you can talk about what keeps us awake at night and how Jesus' promise of the Father's care answers that worry.
Watchfulness is not fear but faithful service while we wait. Each day is a chance to be generous with the time, money and abilities God has entrusted to us. Choose one concrete gesture this week that shows your treasure is in heaven.
Luke 12 ends with the warning to be reconciled while there is time. In Luke 13 Jesus insists on the need to repent and, with the parable of the fig tree and the healing of a bent woman, shows God's patience and compassion.
Jesus says that whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but not whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. Many understand it as the persistent, deliberate rejection of the Spirit's work that leads to Christ. Someone who fears having committed it usually shows by that fear that they have not.
The text does not condemn saving or work. The parable criticizes the man who lives only for himself, with no thought of God or others, and who believes life depends on what he stores. Elsewhere the Bible praises foresight; here it is greed that is judged.
Jesus teaches that responsibility grows with what has been received and known. Someone who knows and does not act will be judged more strictly than someone who did not know, and to whom much is given, much will be asked. It is a call to take seriously the faith we have received.