Luke 12:1-21 "Judgment and Stuff" Ecclesiastes 5:1 says Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Jesus took that admonition seriously. Because in Luke 12 we are on the road to Jerusalem the road to the house of God. Luke 9:51-13:21 is a single section in Luke's gospel. 9:51 opens when Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem. 13:22 will launch stage two of his journey. Jesus has set his face to go to Jerusalem he has set his face toward the cross. And as he goes, he is warning the people of the judgment to come. Every passage in this section has centered on the theme of the coming judgment: the disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven against the Samaritans, but Jesus says that fire from heaven is going to come against the cities of Israel. Some of the people thought that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul, but Jesus says that if he casts out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon them. And as he casts out Israel's demons, he warns that if they do not follow him, the demons will come back! And the Pharisees objected that Jesus did not wash his hands before eating, fearing that he would "contaminate" them But Jesus pronounces curses upon them because they were contaminating Israel with their unwashed hearts. As our section continues Jesus will continue to strengthen his warnings. The coming of the kingdom means the coming of the king and when the king comes he will judge righteously. That was Israel's hope! The Pharisees longed for the coming of the kingdom, when God would judge his people. But the Pharisees had tamed God. They spoke of the righteousness of God by which he would judge the nations! But they did not reckon with the fact that that same righteousness would find Israel guilty! I fear that we are too much like the Pharisees! We want a nice, comfortable God a God who is on "our side"; a God who is safe and nice. In our passage today Jesus warns us that God is not safe. And the question is not whether God is on your side, but whether you are on God's side! 1. God's Judgment Will Reveal All Things (12:1-3) Note that the context is set with "many thousands" of people, so many that they are "trampling one another." Jesus' message of the coming judgment is not driving people away! On the contrary, they are flocking to him. Why? Because the Jews wanted to be on the right side of the final judgment. When God judged the world, they wanted to be on God's side! And the crowds want to hear Jesus indeed, his condemnation of the Pharisees would have been quite popular in some circles. So when Jesus launches this talk with "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" there would have been considerable approval! But Jesus aims these words at his disciples. As the crowds gather around Jesus, Jesus warns his disciples not to judge by appearances. It looks like Jesus is a success! He is drawing the crowds. He is making a name for himself. And they are the disciples of the Messiah! Jesus is saying, "don't get a swelled head." Jesus is heading for the cross. At the cross they will be tempted to fall away. It will appear that Jesus has failed. Jesus has just condemned the Pharisees for their unclean hearts. They say that they are concerned for the purity of Israel, but inwardly they are proud and arrogant. Jesus says that Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. The Pharisees make a good show on the outside, but they hide that which is within. You are not to be that way! Because in the end in the judgment whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. God will judge every careless word. You are to be forthright and open. Let that which is in you be displayed to the world! When I was in college I attended a church where everyone was happy. On Sunday morning you would have thought there were no problems in that church. Everyone was excited and bouncing around. I loved the energy and the enthusiasm. But gradually I started wondering was I the only one who was hurting inside? And so I started realizing it was only a show. Inside they were suffering just like me. But it was not "okay" to be suffering. Everyone had to put on their happy face for church. That was a reflection of their theology a theology that had no place for suffering. The outside and the inside didn't match. And that is hypocrisy. Do not try to pretend that everything is "okay." The leaven of the Pharisees that which contaminates the whole lump is hypocrisy. trying to make a good show on the outside, when everything is rotten within! Why do you insist on trying to make a good show on the outside? Are you afraid of what others will think of you? Are you afraid of what they will say about you? Jesus says that what you have said in the dark (in the watches of the night, when no one is around) shall be heard in the light. Because God hears what you say in the night! 2. So Fear God, Not Man (12:4-12) So do not fear those who kill the body. Jesus is saying to his disciples do not fear the Jewish officials in the temple; do not fear the Roman officials in Jerusalem. Because all they can do is kill the body and then nothing more. Rather, I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Don't be afraid of what people think. Don't even be afraid of what powerful people think! Fear God. Verses 6-12 then give two reasons why you should fear God, and not men. First, because of God's providential care for his creatures. God remembers the sparrows. We have a phrase "a dime a dozen" to refer to something that's cheap. Well, sparrows are a dime for two dozen! But if even the most insignificant parts of God's creation are under his watchful care, how much more are you! Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Surely God has better things to do than keep track of all the hairs on your head though I suppose the job gets easier over time! But Jesus is saying that God pays attention to the smallest detail. You cannot hide from God he already knows. So don't be afraid of what others may think or do, because your fate is not really in their hands it is in God's hands. But secondly (vv8-12), you should fear God and not men because of the coming judgment. Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. If you are afraid of men, then you will deny Jesus. Jesus is speaking first to the disciples they will indeed be brought before synagogues and rulers; they will be called upon to renounce Jesus. Will they acknowledge him or deny him? Will they confess that Jesus is Lord? Or will they be afraid of men, and deny him? Jesus says that everyone 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. What is the difference between speaking against the Son of Man, and blaspheming the Holy Spirit? Jesus is saying that those who are speaking against him during his ministry the ministry of the Son of Man can still be forgiven. They don't understand and their ignorance, while culpable, is not unforgivable. The Holy Spirit has not yet been sent. When the Holy Spirit is poured out, that is the demonstration that the age to come has arrived. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit rushes upon the church. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the blind and gives life to the dead. The one who denies Christ blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is nothing less than willful apostasy. I think it is safe to say that an unbeliever is incapable of this blasphemy. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. Jesus is speaking of how you will respond to persecution. When you come under fire for your faith, will you confess Christ? or will you blaspheme the Holy Spirit? It is passages like this that led some in the early church to say that those who caved in under torture could not be restored to fellowship in the church. But others pointed to Peter who denied Christ, and yet was given a second chance by Jesus himself. The case of Peter makes it clear that just saying the words, "I never knew him" is not equal to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, Jesus' point is that the kingdom of God is here. You are either with him, or against him. And how you conduct yourself under fire will reveal where you stand! Your life may never be on the line quite like this. You may never have to stand before hostile rulers who are demanding that you recant. But you do face the pressure to deny Christ every day. And Jesus' promise is still for you as well: in the hour of testing, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Again, this was first promised to the disciples. They would have the Spirit's presence in the hour of testing. But Luke writes this down for us as well so that we may remember that the Holy Spirit dwells with his church, and he will give you wisdom to know how to reply to those who oppose Christ. 3. Because Life is Not about Stuff (12:13-21) Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me! In other words, here was a guy who was so pre-occupied with his own situation, that he wasn't paying attention to what Jesus was saying! He had come here because he wanted Jesus to fix his brother. His brother no doubt his older brother refused to share the inheritance. And he was mad. At first blush you may wonder how verses 13ff fit into the passage. Verses 13-34 focus on contentment and material possessions. But verses 13-34 are bracketed by this discussion of fearing God rather than man (12:1-12), and being prepared for the coming judgment (12:35-59). We need to remember that question I was asking you a few weeks ago! What is your eschatology? What is your end your goal your future? What is the thing that you are driving toward? What are you focused on? When you remember that eschatology has to do with the question, where are you going? What are you oriented around? Then you can easily see that Jesus' statements about contentment and material possessions are thoroughly eschatological! They are all about the coming of the kingdom; which means, they are all about the coming judgment. In short, life is not about stuff. And how you relate to 'stuff' says a lot about your eschatology! I'm not talking about what you think of the millennium, or the rapture. I'm talking about how you think about life and your place in it. How do you think about your life? Is your first question, "how can I get ahead in my business?" Or is your first question, "how can I be most useful in the kingdom of God?" Take a look at your budget. You have a great track record in terms of your support for the church. I don't look at the financial records, but just based on the size of the church, most of you must be tithing! But my question for you is whether the rest of your budget reflects kingdom priorities? Take a look at your time. Is your time oriented around "stuff" or around Christ's kingdom? Have we segregated our religious world and activities from the rest of life? Think about that as you listen to Jesus' parable: The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, "What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?" And he said, "I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'" In other words, this man thinks that he has learned wisdom from Ecclesiastes 5. Ecclesiastes 5:18 says that it is good to eat and drink and find enjoyment in our toil. 5:19 says that it is the gift of God to enjoy one's wealth. But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Jesus' point is not that the rich man should have been giving all his grain to the poor. That might have been a good idea, but Jesus could just have easily have told the parable of the wealthy benefactor, who went around giving lots of money to all sorts of charitable organizations, and said to himself, "Soul, you have lots of people who love you; relax, eat, drink, be merry!" Because Jesus has one, and only one, interest here: where is your treasure? He will conclude his comments in verse 34: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Jesus is asking very plainly: what is your eschatology? Where is your heart focused? Is it on your stuff? Is it on your family? Is it on your job? What are you looking for in life? Judgment is coming. The day is coming when everything that is now hidden will be out in the open. Are you ready for judgment day? Because you never know when God will say, Fool! This night your soul is required of you! Are you ready to die? Children, this question is for you as well. You will not live forever and you may not live even to grow up! Everyone will die. What are you looking for in life? Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Life consists in Jesus Christ. Life consists in knowing him, loving him, and holding fast to him. When Christ, who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory.