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TEACHING AND HEALING ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM (Chaps. 12–16)
Warnings and Encouragements (12:1–12)
Luke 12:10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Next the Savior explained to the disciples that there is a difference between criticism of Him and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who speak against the Son of Man can be forgiven if they repent and believe. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin. This is the sin of which the Pharisees were guilty (see Matt. 12:22–32). What is this sin? It is the sin of attributing the miracles of the Lord Jesus to the devil. It is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because Jesus performed all His miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it was, in effect, saying that the Holy Spirit of God is the devil. There is no forgiveness for this sin in this age or in the age to come.
This sin cannot be committed by a true believer, though some are tortured by fears that they have committed it by backsliding. Backsliding is not the unpardonable sin. A backslider can be restored to fellowship with the Lord. The very fact that a person is concerned is evidence he has not committed the unpardonable sin.
Neither is rejection of Christ by an unbeliever the unforgivable sin. A person may spurn the Savior repeatedly, yet he may later turn to the Lord and be converted. Of course, if he dies in unbelief, he can no longer be converted. His sin then, in fact, does become unpardonable.
But the sin which our Lord described as unpardonable is the sin which the Pharisees committed by saying that He performed His miracles by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.
Luke 12:11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. :12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
It was inevitable that the disciples would be brought before governmental authorities for trial. The Lord Jesus told them that it was unnecessary for them to rehearse in advance what they should say. The Holy Spirit would put the proper words in their mouths whenever it was necessary. This does not mean that servants of the Lord should not spend time in prayer and study before preaching the gospel or teaching the Word of God. It should not be used as an excuse for laziness!
However, it is a definite promise from the Lord that those who are placed on trial for their witness for Christ will be given special help from the Holy Spirit. And it is a general promise to all God’s people that if they walk in the Spirit, they will be given the suitable words to speak in the crisis moments of life.
Warning Against Greed (12:13–21)
Luke 12:13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
At this point, a man stepped out from the crowd and asked the Lord to settle a dispute between his brother and himself over an inheritance. It has often been said that where there’s a will, there are a lot of relatives. This seems to be a case in point. We are not told whether the man was being deprived of his rightful portion, or whether he was greedy for more than his share.
Luke 12:14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
The Savior quickly reminded him that He had not come into the world to handle such trivial matters. The purpose of His coming involved the salvation of sinful men and women. He would not be deflected from this grand and glorious mission to divide a pitiful inheritance. (In addition, He did not have legal authority to judge matters involving estates. His decisions would not have been binding.)
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
But the Lord did use this incident to warn His hearers against one of the most insidious evils in the human heart, namely covetousness. The insatiable lust for material possessions is one of the strongest drives in all of life. And yet it completely misses the purpose of human existence.
“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” As J. R. Miller points out: This is one of the red flags our Lord hung out which most people nowadays do not seem much to regard. Christ said a great deal about the danger of riches; but not many persons are afraid of riches. Covetousness is not practically considered a sin in these times. If a man breaks the sixth or eighth commandment, he is branded as a criminal and covered with shame; but he may break the tenth, and he is only enterprising. The Bible says the love of money is a root of all evil; but every man who quotes the saying puts a terrific emphasis on the word “love,” explaining that it is not money, but only the love of it, that is such a prolific root. To look about, one would think a man’s life did consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Men think they become great just in proportion as they gather wealth. So it seems, too; for the world measures men by their bank-account. Yet there never was a more fatal error. A man is really measured by what he is, and not by what he has.
Luke 12:16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. :17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ :18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
The parable of the rich fool illustrates the fact that possessions are not the principal thing in life.
“The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever,” said Ambrose.
Luke 12:19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
Notice his spirit of independence: my barns, my fruits, my goods, my soul. He had the future all planned.
Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
Someone has defined a fool as one whose plans end at the grave.
Luke 12:21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
We might well ask ourselves the question, “If Christ should come today, whose would all my possessions be?”
Luke 12:22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
One of the great dangers in the Christian life is that the acquisition of food and clothing becomes the first and foremost aim of our existence. We become so occupied with earning money for these things that the work of the Lord is relegated to a secondary place.
The emphasis of the NT is that the cause of Christ should have first place in our lives. Food and clothing should be subordinate.
We should work hard for the supply of our current necessities, then trust God for the future as we plunge ourselves into His service. This is the life of faith.
Luke 12:23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
We are here as ambassadors of the King, and all considerations of personal comfort and appearance must be subordinated to the one glorious task of making Him known.
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
Why do we spend our lives building bigger barns and storage bins?
Luke 12:25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? :26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
Hinson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hinson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson