DAY #113: Luke 12:1-21

While Jesus infuriated the religious leaders, his popularity among the people continued to grow. As Jesus watched the huge crowds waiting to hear him, he warned his disciples against hypocrisy—trying to appear good when their heart was far from God. Just as yeast works its way through dough, so a small amount of evil can affect a large group of people. The yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy—could permeate and contaminate society, leading the entire nation astray.

Hypocrisy can happen when certain actions or attitudes are hidden. One day, however, everything will be revealed. The Pharisees could not keep their attitudes hidden forever. Their selfishness would act like “yeast”, and soon they would expose themselves for what they really were—power-hungry impostors, not devoted religious leaders. The time of this “revelation” could be the final judgment day when the true attitude of these hypocrites will be exposed (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

Jesus explained that his followers might face death for their faith in him, but he also told them not to be afraid of people who could kill them or even of death itself. Evil people may be able to kill the body, but they cannot do any more. Jesus knew that fear of opposition or ridicule could weaken their witness for him because the natural human tendency is to cling to peace and comfort, even at the cost of one’s walk with God. Jesus said that there is only one whom all people should fear—God alone. He controls eternal consequences. It is more fearful to disobey God than to face martyrdom.

The word translated hell here is Gehenna. The name was derived from the Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where children had been sacrificed by fire to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 28:3; Jeremiah 7:31; 32:35).

While Jesus’ followers should “fear” God because of his awesome power, they are not to be afraid of him because they are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows. A person could buy five sparrows for a small amount of money; they were the cheapest type of living food sold in the market. Even so, God does not forget a single one. God loves his people so much that he cares about the smallest details of their lives—down to knowing the number of hairs on their heads.

God sent his Son to die for people worldwide, and salvation is offered to all people. But individuals still must choose whether or not to accept God’s offer. Jesus clearly explained that anyone who publicly confesses faith in and allegiance to him will find that the Son of Man will openly acknowledge that person in the presence of God’s angels. By contrast, the person who denies any relationship to Jesus will face denial by Jesus in heaven. These words refer to those whose lack of allegiance will be revealed under pressure. Most likely, this does not refer to an incident where lack of courage might cause a believer not to speak up, but rather to a person who totally rejects Christ and lives a life of denial. The astounding statement is that each person’s standing before God is based on his or her relationship to Jesus Christ.

This sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has worried many sincere Christians. The unforgivable sin is deliberate and ongoing rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work and even of God himself. A person who has committed this sin has shut himself off from God so thoroughly that he is unaware of any sin at all. A person who fears having committed this sin shows by his very concern that he has not sinned in this way.

Jesus proceeded to illustrate his point that life consists of more than wealth and possessions. This story includes a rich man who had a productive year on his farm. He tore down his barns and built bigger ones so that he could store everything. While there was nothing wrong with the man’s rejoicing in his crop or building to make storage, his basic flaw was in focusing completely on his wealth and on his own enjoyment. In Greek, this story includes the word “my” four times and the word “I” eight times. As this story reveals, the man’s joy came from his things—but things do not last forever.

The rich man was concerned for no one else, and he had no care for God. With no eternal perspective, the man’s life was completely focused on the temporal. His goal to take it easy and to eat, drink, and be merry reveals his desire for mere self-indulgence. He thought that, with his barns storing up mountains of wealth for the future, he had everything completely under control. The rich man had made a fatal flaw: he had forgotten to put God at the center of his life. Concerned for no one but himself, when the time came for him to stand before God, he was nothing more than a fool.

The moral of the story: fools spend all their time storing up earthly wealth but neglect to have a rich relationship with God. The turning point is for whom the treasures are being accumulated. If for oneself, then the evils of wealth will be turned loose. Being rich toward God means using wealth as he provides it to fulfill his priorities. People who are “rich” in this way love God and are filled with a passion to obey and serve him and to give to others. In this way, the “treasures” a person may gain in this life can be gladly handed back over to God for his use in furthering his Kingdom.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Lord, I wan t my life to count in extraordinary ways. I want so badly for the lives of folks at COV to have their lives count in extraordinary ways. Lord, help our people see what you see in them. Rouse them, wake them up to the awesome potential of the influence and expenditure of their life. So many people are in a rut Lord - same old thing - day in and day out. Lord, give them a glimpse of what you have for them, if they will make you the center of their lives.

(From John Piper) "I grew up in a home where my father spent himself as an evangelist to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. He had one consuming vision: Preach the gospel. There was a plaque in our kitchen for all my growing up years. Now it hangs in our living room. I have looked at it almost daily for about 48 years. It says, 'Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.'"

Lord, may that be the cry of Your people. All for You and You alone. Lord, help me to live my life that way today.