Luke 12:10-31 Bible Teaching

Understanding Blasphemy in the Context of Forgiveness

WELCOME PRAYER SONG SILENCE

So, we left off at verse 10 which says:

The Unforgivable Sin

Luke 12.10-31 January 5th 2020

10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

And we talked all about it – what Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is and isn’t. So, let’s read our text for today beginning at verse 11. I am going to read the text in two pockets as they are given to us in this way. So, first pocket – verses 11-12

Guidance Through the Holy Ghost

11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

And the second pocket, verses 13-31, which are one long dissertation on the attitude Jesus tells his disciples to have toward the things of this world, the worries, and matters.

Jesus’ Teachings on Earthly Concerns

13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

A Message to the Disciples

So back to verse 11

11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:

This is definitely to them/then, as this advice was genuinely applicable to what was headed their way, proven by the words “when they bring YOU unto the SYNAGOGUES and MAGISTRATES and POWERS.

Even more to the point Matthew says when they will scourge you in their synagogues. Of course, Jesus warned his apostles that this would be the case in their lives and the book of Acts proves it true. We might take the message and retrofit it to our day and age and suppose that, at least here in America the same treatment is occurring in some form or shape, but bottom line the message applies to them, that age, and what was going to happen to them.

Deuteronomy 25:2-3 says that

The Fulfillment of Prophecy and the Role of the Holy Spirit

Stripes should be no more than forty as a punishment, and this was at the discretion of the judge who was present when the scourging took place.

2nd Corinthians 11:24 informs us that Paul was subject to them in his ministry. Roman scourging was not required to conform to the Law of Moses and so Jesus was hit until the Romans felt his beating was sufficient to their whims. In Jesus' case, it was to the extent that he could not bear his cross.

In addition to Luke saying, 11 "And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers," Matthew also adds, “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.” This prediction was completely and abundantly fulfilled as Acts 5:26; 12:1-4; 23:33; 16:1,28,30 indicate.

They were to be witnesses to them of the Gospel of the faith and if they rejected Christianity, they would be witnesses against them in the coming day of judgment. Of course, this is another indication of Jesus' Messiahship – the prophesies he made concerning the way they would be treated in the future.

Reliance on the Holy Spirit

Verse 11 concludes with “take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: (and then verse 12) 12 For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. When we think about it, to “take no thought on what to say” when taken before kings and magistrates is a major call to faith. But Jesus is reassuring them that they do not need to fear nor rely on the arm of the flesh, but to trust God, that he would send the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit would give them utterance.

Remember, these were poor, not formally educated fishermen and tax collectors, who like most of us, be naturally terrified to stand and speak before Kings and such. Add in the fact that in the East many cultures lifted their kings up as near deity, so the pressure was really on in their minds. But Jesus promised them comfort in the knowledge that they would be GIVEN the words to say.

The Comforter Promised

We recall Jesus' words to his twelve in John 14:16-18 when he said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

It seems to me that what Jesus is saying here in Luke is a reference to the Holy Spirit telling them what to say. I am similarly convinced that this very same comforter is in us today, even the Spirit of Truth and the world does not know it or its ways. That all who are His have this comforter, and whether we are hauled before Presidents and kings or not, this very same spirit will teach and tell us all that we need to say in any and every occasion.

At this point, we are taken in a new direction.

13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. Someone in the multitude appears to have had a dispute with his brother over an inheritance of some kind, apparently feeling that Jesus could interfere and get the brother to divide the sum with him.

From what Jesus says next in response it seems that the one requesting his help did not have a just case but was instead motivated by greed or covetousness. Before we read this, I want to point out that Jesus was not of this world. His Kingdom was not of this world and to me, when people use Him to do business in this world it often winds up as bad form.

I’m not so sure that we can serve both God and Mammon, so the solution seems to be serve God and do whatever is necessary to keep mammon in its proper place. I get this from the way Jesus dealt with it – he, as Chuck Smith used to say, kept “a light touch on the things of this world.” To me, it appears that this person from the multitude wanted to use Jesus to his benefit – to appeal to his power of persuasion to

Covetousness in Biblical Teachings

Get what he wanted from his brother in terms of an inheritance.

From the Old Testament, an inheritance is the property which is left by a father to his children. Among the Jews the older brother had two shares, or twice as much as any other child (according to Deuteronomy 21:17). The remainder was then equally divided among all the remaining children. Perhaps this fellow wanted to get an equal share of an inheritance instead of the portion allowed by law.

Verse 14

14 And he (Jesus) said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

Who made me a judge? It is not my business to settle controversies of this kind. They are to be settled by the magistrate. Jesus came for another purpose–to preach the gospel and save the world. This is a clear reminder what ministers of the Gospel are focused upon – the Gospel, and not the affairs of the world.

Appeal to Judges

In this case, this man ought to have appealed to judges who were in place to settle such disputes. So just like when they sought to take Jesus and make him a King, Jesus also refused to play a judge over earthly matters. There’s a lesson in here folks. And then we read

15 And he said unto them, (meaning the people who were surround him, which as we read last week was a large crowd) Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

For him to warn against the perils of covetousness was akin to saying that the man who requested his service was guilty of such OR perhaps, his brother was – hard to say.

Understanding Covetousness

What is covetousness? The desire to get the wealth or property of another by any means necessary and may also include a desire of gain or riches beyond what is necessary for our wants. It is a violation of the tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17) and is actually called idolatry (in Colossians 3:5). It’s a tough one for us humans because it is the very desire to obtain things that moves many of us to labor. We see a nice house that we would like to raise our family in and desire it. Is that wrong? We fancy a nice car our neighbor owns and desire to have one too. Is that covetousness?

Let’s go to the scripture. The first mention of it is found in Exodus 20:17, where God gives the COI the tenth commandment of ten, saying:

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”

And so we have to again ask what does it mean to covet something of our neighbor verses desire it because we appreciate its value and would like it in our lives. Covetousness seems to be a strong, even overwhelming desire to actually possess something someone else has – that very thing – and therefore assumes an attitude of avarice which is a hallmark of selfish cold-heartedness.

So it is one thing to try to improve the comfort of our lives by going out and purchasing, with our own money a V27F riding lawnmower for our family because we liked the one our neighbor has, and inordinately adoring his from afar, to the point we seeth with jealousy over it and want to take the one he has for ourselves. Like most things with the scripture, it comes down to motive.

To actually covet a man's wife means the heart would justify taking her from him if one could. So covetousness is a heart condition, when we think of it. Again, it is one thing for a woman to appreciate attributes her neighbor's husband has in fixing things around the home but it is an all-together different matter for her to try or desire to have him for herself. Get it?

In this story one of these brothers was covetous of the possession involved, and wanted to retain more of the wealth or property for himself. Jesus, approaches the subject not by saying that they were wicked but tells a parable to show the foolishness of coveting material earthly things. And in this shift of mind, in this perspective tweak, his teaches the people the way to avoid covetousness. Remember, coveting is compared to idolatry – so it is the inordinate desire for a possession – so inordinate

Jesus on Material Wealth

that a person would sell God, neighbor and their very soul to possess it. So Jesus says

Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Boy, is that contrary to what the world propagates, eh? But Jesus makes the point clear – a MANS LIFE CONSISTS NOT IN THE ABUNDANCE OF THE THINGS WHICH HE POSSESSES!

We could spend a lot of time comparing the happiness of aboriginal folks living in mud floor huts to rock stars living in opulence who kill themselves – but we won’t do that. We could talk about the happiness and fulfillment of carpenters verse Kardashians. But no.

The Parable of the Rich Man

We will listen to how Jesus approaches the subject – which begins with a parable and then winds through a whole series of teachings on the subject of materialism, things in this world, riches and the like. And so at verse 16 we read

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

“Brought forth plentifully,” seems to mean the rich man had a bounteous harvest out of the ground he owned, one way beyond expectation.

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? This speaks to the very nature of human beings when we are presented with an unexpected abundance – we think and reason of the best way to manage and assign the bounty in our lives.

So, he reasoned and perhaps was somewhat perplexed as an increase of anything increases thought and perplexity. Over the course of my younger adult life I have worked (as a securities broker) and rubbed shoulders with some wealthy people and I’ve shared, on occasion some stories over the years of the way they approach their wealth.

Material Possessions vs Eternal Possessions

One thing for sure is the more a person obtains the more complex that part of their lives become. And this seems to be the case of this rich ground owner who is now sitting on a pile of product. So he asks himself, “What shall I do? I have no room where to bestow (put) for all of this fruit (grain, etc)?”

Anyone who has watched Breaking Bad or documentaries on Pablo Escobar know these characters faced the same problem – where to put all of the cash that he made. It was a serious problem for them. And so here in Jesus parable the man comes up with an ingenious plan (verse 18)

18 And he said, “This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. The word here for barn in Greek best means granaries and so the parable is about wheat or some sort of grain. Now, is this wrong or bad? Not at all. Christians would even call him being a “good steward.” And this is my point. Jesus parable is not about maintaining good care of things to us in our age. That is expected.

And remember, this was to them/then and the fact that the end of that age was coming upon them. But the point is relative to the value of material possessions as compared to eternal possessions. The point is about focusing on material possessions and comforts here relative to the value of eternal things beyond. Don’t lose track of this focus. So, in the parable the rich man devises a plan to build bigger silos (so to speak) for his unexpected abundance. (verse 19)

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Here Jesus points out that the man found solace and comfort in his goods and great property. Enough to last a long while, so that he had anxiety in this life, and believed himself to be set, comfortable and without any needs – and this helped foster an attitude that said:

“take you ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

A couple of things here. FIRST, this was the last sort of attitude a believer wanted to have then as Jesus has warned and re-warned them to be on high alert.

SECONDLY, this the very doctrine of the ancient Epicureans who proceeded Jesus by 400 years. They thought the only thing of value was what could be enjoyed, that

The Folly of Focusing on Material Wealth

Life was about “eating, drinking, and merriment. And it was their goal to obtain and indulge in what they called the "delicacies of the season." Of course, their focus on these ephemeral things kept them from focusing on the more important part, right, the eternal?

So the folly in the man was not that he took care of the excess goods responsibly. The folly was for him to think that he had arrived, which came from poor priorities. That to think that to have a barn full of wheat was equal to true comfort. At this point Jesus introduces the foolishness of the man's thinking and speaks for God himself, saying:

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

The Parable and Its Real-Life Reflection

In the eternal scheme of things, Jesus is explaining that it was extremely foolish to suppose that a focus on material comforts and acquisitions had ANY value or merit when compared to the eternal. So Jesus has God, creator of heaven and earth say to this man: “You fool,” (with fool here coming from afron, meaning bad decision maker, and not moros, meaning moron).

I have to include this anecdotal insight at this point because I am living this parable out right now with my own Dad. Raised a lone child of alcoholics in East LA, the man came up learning to fend for himself, and became a most responsible person. Husband at 17, father at 18 and married 70 years to date. What we would call a self-made millionaire – but not a man of faith.

As he has aged, now in a wheelchair and subject to the whims of a full-time nursing staff, his heart and soul of souls have emerged – along with the treasures of his heart. As the executive of he and my mom's estate I am involved in his life on a daily basis. His focus: finding the next best stock to invest in that will make him millions, inventing something that will change the world, and leaving some kind of legacy to his surviving family in terms of his thoughts, opinions, and philosophy of life. There is absolutely no interest in the things of God, the things beyond, or even others – his desire to do for others is a means to point to himself, what he has accomplished and done and amassed.

Part of the problem with this is his wisdom has failed him and his ability to correctly navigate things, and so he is left to making seriously impetuous and desperate choices – which he thinks are ingenious, not caring or realizing that at any moment God will call him home. I have learned SOO much real life from witnessing all of this firsthand, and break in my heart for the focus that have become the last years of his life.

If riches, wealth, properties, and power had the capacity to extend life here AND beyond, to grant eternal existence in the presence of God, I would applaud the attitude. But they actually maintain, and even promote, the opposite results.

Jesus' Parable: The True Treasure

Here in Jesus' parable, He takes us right into the heart of it all, having God respond to this rich man, and saying:

You fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

In this we have Jesus telling us plainly that there is a time when God will call or require our souls and we will all enter physical death as our souls are extracted from our bodies.

Just a few days ago I called Earl because I heard his sister-in-law, Dianna (who used to attend here after leaving Mormonism) was ill. I asked how she was doing and he said okay and I asked for the address of the hospital she was in. Two hours later he called me and said, in words more or less similar to Jesus, that “her soul was required of her.” What a joy to know of her heart and love for Jesus that was present in that soul before she left us.

Here in Jesus' parable, this man had built his entire future upon the contents of a silo only to have God interrupt the whole scheme. Jesus adds here: “then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” If left to children who also have zero interest in the afterlife, the cycle will repeat.

The Principle of Being Rich Toward God

Those who love the Lord their God, a reasonable appropriation and view of the material, but always with an eye single to the eternities and the glory of God. And Jesus summarizes the parable by saying:

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

This appears to be the indictment on the man seeking to have him settle the dispute with his brother or of his brother – one, maybe both of them, had or were trying to lay up treasures for themselves BUT was not rich toward God. So the principle? Be RICH toward God first, foremost, and ahead of everything else in your life. If you are rich in earthly things, never allow them or make them your greatest focus or treasure, but always make them subservient to your wealth in God and His Kingdom.

This is the principle. And then taking this principle he teaches the following to them/then. Now before we read these things I have to present some ideas to you that are somewhat paradoxical and contradictory. I have to begin by pointing out that the end of that age was coming, and in the face of this, the advice to them was especially pointed. I am not suggesting that the things Jesus says in principle do not still apply to us, but it is up to every individual and the spirit within them on how to apply these words.

Contextual Insights

Remember that Paul said that it was better for them to not marry, a view that completely contradicts God’s command in the Old Testament to Adam and Eve. But remember, that was because of the age, setting and times, and I am not sure that advice is really sound in this day and age when we consider that it is better to marry than to burn. So, context folks, context! Which is really important to us in these next 9 verses which I am going to read all at once. So Jesus says (at verse 22):

22 . . . Therefore (in light of the principle I just taught you through the parable) I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

In these two verses, Jesus seems to be talking about priorities and focus. Don’t focus on such things – they will be provided. But I have to also admit I wonder in the face of people starving to death, freezing to death, and the rest. Does this advice apply only to believers? I don’t know. Because if it had application to the whole world, then why do people starve to death in many parts of it?

To me, the ONLY reasonable justification of this teaching is that applied to them then – and the situation they were about to face in the name of Christ. This is not to say that believers ought to focus on the things of this life as of eminent import, nor that God will not provide – I think He does, but a literal application seems to be to them/then, remembering that Paul said if a man doesn’t work he doesn’t eat.

Examples of Trust in God's Provision

Then Jesus gives the first example of three, saying to them:

24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

Then the second example:

25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one inch? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

And then the third:

27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

And to me, the key is the terms, your Father, used here. I see it this

The Kingdom of God

Human beings are of the animal kingdom – but more advanced, of course. In the animal kingdom we live lives of hunting gathering and foraging. And that is the law of the world since it fell (prior everything was provided in the Garden).

But when a person becomes a child of God by faith, it seems to me that we inherit a wonderful benefactor. And as our father of His children, he will provide. In this I have to trust. And have trusted. And will forever try to trust.

31 But rather seek ye (as the children of God and not as children of the Gentile nations of the world) see YE (first, Matthew adds) the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Living by Faith

The rest of the world, the nation of the Gentiles, as Jesus calls them, seek and focus on the things of this world. But Jesus now gives the final point that helps make it all make sense:
“Seek you first the KINGDOM of God and all things will be added unto you.”

I want to wrap our time up today by including a witness to the truth of this saying. I stand by it and my wife will attest to it. For the first years of my life I believed that I had to make all things work for our well being – like my father, I had zero trust in heavenly intervention.

When I was born from above and then existed the world for full time ministry, God allowed me to learn some really hard lessons about His goodness and benevolence and about my failing faith. I came to a point, by the Spirit, that we would trust Him and His ways through others to help us get through ministry.

In this I, by the Spirit, made the decision to never prey upon others in the name of God. We would gently let people know that if they were led we would receive their support but not much more. There were times, many times and are still times, when this resolve is tested to the max. Where we do not know where or how we will make our next payment, or pay our next bill.

Witnessing His Provision

But since 1997, and in what I would call a snowball effect, God has stepped in and added all things to us because we have tried to seek first the Kingdom of God. I would have NEVER believed this possible in my former life; now I see it as the only way to live. The reason? Because when He adds all things, he does it better than I have ever been able to do it.

He does not make it easy. He will allow suffering and uncertainty, but when we look back over our shoulders, and examine the provisions he has bestowed on us and our behalf, we are STUPIFIED by the results – in dozens and dozens of ways.

I don’t know what to say about the starving millions – except I would help them if I could. I don’t know what to say about any of this relative to the world, but I can personally witness that if you seek first the Kingdom of God – truly, he will add all things needful to your lives – and that does not just mean temporal things, but spiritual, and healing, and growth and protections.

Let’s end here.

Comments/Questions
PRAYER

That is, be not anxious, or unduly solicitous. See Barnes for Mt 6:26. God would inspire them. This was a full promise that they should be inspired, and was a most seasonable consolation. Poor, and ignorant, and obscure fishermen would naturally be solicitous what they should say before the great men of the earth. Eastern people regarded kings as raised far above common mortals: as approaching to divinity. How consoling, then, the assurance that God would aid them, and speak within them!