BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 35

It’s all in the Open

Luke 12:1-12

I think one reason that some of us watch too much Fox News, CNN or MSBN is our desire to know what is going on.  Beyond that there is whole idea of picking sides. Being a conservative I am ready to hear when the opposite side messes up when in actuality there is enough sinister behind the scenes maneuvering to be disappointed with everyone.  I have come to learn that eventually no matter how hard one may try to hide his or her real character the truth will be brought to light.  I think it was P.T. Barnum who said, “You can fool some of the people part of the time but not all of the people all of the time.”  Sadly, recently there have been enough scandals that I cannot even keep up with them.  Jesus gave the greatest advice when He told those around Him to seek to know the truth.  By truly knowing it and living it one can be free. 

I have found that if I tell a lie then I wind up having to tell more of them to cover up the first one.  Soon if carried to its logical conclusion I would no longer know the truth if it was right before my eyes.  This is the problem faced by the Pharisees. They had lived so long under the self-made law that they could not recognize that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law.  For me the gospel is the truth and to deviate from its teachings makes my whole life a dishonest display of false piety.  Although I fail I want to live according to God’s word.

Churches must guard against presenting a false front to the world.  We can do this by having our priorities all wrong.  One of the falsehoods that so many present is that large numbers in attendance shows that we must be doing something right.  What may be happening is a lot of busy work that appeal to the needs and senses of people but do nothing to build a mature follower of Christ.  When someone comes up with a better mousetrap many will gravitate to the new place because all they truly desire is to be entertained. 

It is more important for us to take a hard look at ourselves to see what are the core beliefs for which we stand.  It is easy to be popular but in the long run it does not help a person deal with the real need of their life.  We should be all about presenting the truth of the gospel even when it is not the popular thing to do.

Luke 12:1

Luke begins with what took place following the exchange with the religious leaders.  After Jesus had pretty much destroyed the bases for how they lived they became as is written, hostile toward Jesus.  As mentioned last week they became very confrontational.  Every venue in which they had the opportunity they attempted to trap Jesus with all kinds of questions.  Their intentions were to have cause to accuse Him of breaking the Mosaic Law.

It was during one of those debates that the crowds were drawn out of curiosity to where Jesus was.  They were so intent on hearing what was taking place, it was what one would expect at a mob scene with everyone jockeying for a better seat or position.  Luke indicates that things were out of control with people actually stepping on one another. 

Jesus took that opportunity to tell His disciples to be on guard against the false teachings of the Pharisees.  He called their work hypocrisy because they were not what they appeared to be. They were like so many false prophets of today who slip into positions of leadership and subtly influence others to believe a lie.  The yeast of which Jesus spoke was the piece of sourdough that permeated the whole batch of dough altering the way it reacted when cooked.  The teachings of false teachers can do the same to any church.

1. What was the attitude of the Pharisees and lawyers after the debate Jesus had with them?
2. What usually happens in a debate involving Christianity and Atheism?  (Because Atheism is based on a lie the proponents of that ideology become belligerent and hostile.)
3. What did Jesus mean by using the metaphor of the yeast? (The sourdough affects all of the dough and alters its nature.)
4. What examples of yeast do we have in society today?
5. How are they able to gain influence over others? (They use half-truths and try to alter the teachings of Scripture as the serpent did in the Garden of Eden.)
6. How can we be on guard against them? (By studying and meditating on God’s word and comparing what they teach against what the truths are found in the Bible.)
7. In what ways do we see hypocrisy at work in the church today?

Luke 12:2-3

For years the religious leaders had kept the people in the dark with their false interpretations of the Law.  Now Jesus was telling the people that those leaders would no longer be able to hide behind the mask of hypocrisy. Their entire lives would be on display for the whole world to see.  How they thought they could continue with the kind of life they were leading is amazing.  If they truly knew the Scriptures as they thought they did then they would have understood that it is impossible to hide from God. Back in Psalm 139 David wrote that there was no place that a person could go to hide from God.  The writer of Hebrews said, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 5:13) 

He goes on to write, “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Jesus, in Luke, told the people, even what is said in the privacy of one’s home will be made public. Every man’s sin will be made public at some point.  The last judgment will bring about the final revealing of all the acts done by every man.

1. What was the great cover up about which Jesus spoke? (The hypocrisy of the Pharisees.)
2. What does the Scriptures tell us about man’s attempt to cover up and hide things from man and God?
3. What have been the occasions when you have not been totally honest with yourself or God? 
4. How did you feel when you came under conviction of what you had done?
5. Why do men attempt to hide from God?
6. In what ways will your secret actions be revealed? (Eventually our true nature will be revealed.)

Luke 12:4-5

Jesus never sugar coated the future for His followers.  In a number of places He told them they could expect persecution and death. At the beginning of His earthly ministry He spoke of the persecuted in the Sermon on the Mount.  See Matthew 5:10-11. During the last hours of His life He again warned them of the impending time of persecution and even the death of some of them at the hands of the religious leaders. See John 16:1-4.

Here in Luke He was telling them that even those things were inevitable that they need not have fear.  Men under the power of satan could only kill the body but could not affect what occurs with a man’s soul. He went on to say that the One to fear is God.  It is He who has ultimate say over what happens after death.  He has the authority to allow a person into heaven or cast him into hell the place of eternal punishment.  Every person who has ever lived will spend eternity in one of those places.   

1. Why was it important that Jesus explain what would happen to His disciples in the future? (He needed to make sure of their commitment no matter what took place.)
2. What power does satan have?
3. What power has God retained for Himself? (Whether we spend eternity in heaven or hell.)
4. Why do people act as if God does not have the final authority over where you spend eternity?    
5. What are evidences that this is true?
6. What decision have you made in regard of your future in eternity?

Luke 12:6-7

Jesus told those around that if they are safe in the hands of God they not need to fear what may happen to them in this world.  He gave a detailed description of God’s total knowledge.  When one considers that He is even aware of the number of hairs on a person’s head that is pretty conclusive evidence.  As John wrote to know that followers of Christ are totally secure in the hands of God is assuring.

1. What do these verses say about God?
2. What evidence did Jesus give of our eternal security?
3. How do those words make you feel?
4. How do these verses relate to what Jesus said in John 10:27-30 and 1 Peter 1:3-4?

Luke 12:8

Paul wrote in Romans 1:16 that he was not ashamed of the gospel. Here Jesus was encouraging His followers to take the lead from Paul.  He was calling them not to be silent before men but to share the good news about Him with all they met.  If they did so He promised to witness of their faith before the angels in heaven.

1. What did Jesus mean when He called His followers to confess Him before men?
2. What are some of the ways that we can carry out His words?
3. What is the importance of speaking of what He has done in your life? (It is hard for others to see you other than a good person unless you verbalize your faith.)
4. What does it mean to you to think that Jesus will speak about you because of your witness in His name to the angels in heaven?
5. In what way does this reassure you of the security of your eternal life?

Luke 12:9

Conversely, to deny Jesus before men by one’s silence will bring about the same silence from Him on a person’s behalf in heaven.  To refuse to witness of Him before men would have indicated a lack of faith in the good news He brought into the world.  The strong words spoken by Jesus indicated how He viewed of the importance of commitment to Him and the willingness to openly telling others about Him.

1. Why did Jesus present the negative consequences of not confessing Him before men?
2. What is one of the ways that we show the lack of faith in all that Christ has said? (We keep the good news to ourselves out of fear.)
3. What in this verse gives a clue to how Jesus viewed confessing Him before men?
4. In what way do the words found in Romans 10:13-14 show the importance of our role in the spreading of the gospel?

Luke 12:10

Jesus carries His admonishment one step further.  Even though He told them that they would be forgiven if they spoke anything against Him.  He did not however stop there.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin. This was a heavy condemnation against all those who had seen the works He had done and refused to understand that He had done it under the power of the Holy Spirit.  He had said in John that He could do nothing unless directed by God.  In essence to deny Jesus was denying the Holy Spirit also.  To reject the Son was to reject the God who sent Him.  That is exactly what the religious leaders had done.  Sadly, at that point they had hardened their heart against God doing a work of turning the heart of stone into one of flesh as was written in Ezekiel 11:19.

1. What was the last stage of denial in a person’s life? (Denying the Holy Spirit.)
2. Why was this sin not forgivable? (It denied the work of the Holy Spirit in the world which had been going on since before creation.)
3. Why did Jesus allow people to speak against Himself? (Because the ultimate rejection was of His Father and not just Him.)
4. When has a person reached that point in his life? (If you think that you may have reached it you there is still hope for you because the Holy Spirit is convicting you of your thoughts.)
5. To whom was Jesus directing those words?
6. Why? (They were so blinded by their own self-righteousness that they could not see that the Son of God, the Messiah was right before them.)

Luke 12:11-12

The final words in this particular discourse were for the ears of the disciples. Notice He did not say if you are, but when you are brought before the authorities. They were told that on those occasions they were to not plan ahead of time how they would defend themselves. At that point in time the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say appropriate for the time.  I do not usually do this but I am going to share what this verse means to me.  I believe that it points out the upmost importance in the life of every Christian to study God’s word and meditate on it until it becomes ingrained in our lives.  Then when the occasion arises when a defense or confession needs to take place the Holy Spirit can pull out from that well of knowledge the exact words needed for that moment.  It is as if He can only get living water from a full well but will come up empty if there is no water there.  Preparation will lead us to being sure of what we speak because we know the source.

1. What was the one thing that Jesus was sure was going to take place after He was gone? (His disciples would be brought before the authorities because they confessed Him as Savior and Lord.
2. What was the one thing they did not need to do? (Write out their defense ahead of time.)
3. How was the Holy Spirit able to give them the words to speak? (The word of God was already an important part of their lives.)
4. How can we be prepared for God to use us in difficult situations? (Prepare ahead of time by making His word a vital part of your life?
5. What examples can you share of an occasion when you sensed the Holy Spirit giving you the right words to speak?

 

• Arm yourself with God’s word so that you will not be mislead by false teachers.
• Understand that you cannot hide anything from God.  He knows every infinite detail about you. See Psalm 139
• Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness knowing that God knows everything that happens anyway.
• Stand up and be willing to share the gospel at all times and in every places.
• As Paul said in Romans 1:16 never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Do not be fearful of men.  They cannot keep you from your rightful place with God for eternity.

The church has two choices.  We can either put up a false front of righteous as did the Pharisees or we can show the world how truly committed we are to Christ.  The former puts us in a position of bringing attention to our accomplishments.  The second brings all the glory to God.  If we think we can hide behind the masks of self-righteous we will be sadly mistaken.  Not only will the world see right through that façade but God will judge us for attempting to mislead others.  Jesus spoke to His disciples clearly of their responsibility.  It is the same instruction He has given us today.  We are to openly and willingly confess Him as Savior and Lord before a world that desperately needs to hear that news.  To refuse to do so is as He said is to reject Him. This is the task given to the church in Matthew 20:18-19.  It is still in effect today.  Let us not be found guilty of rejecting our Lord.