Page 165 - Demo

LUKE 
The Leaven of the Pharisees.*
1Meanwhile, so many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot. He 12
began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that
is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.
Courage Under Persecution.* 2b “There is nothing concealed
that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.c 3Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard
in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. 5I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna;* yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?* Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. 7Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.d 8I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. 9But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.e
Sayings About the Holy Spirit.* 10“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.f 11When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,g do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. 12For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
Saying Against Greed. 13* Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”h 15Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”i
Parable of the Rich Fool. 16Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods 19j and I shall say
a
12:7
“There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2). God cares for and watches over everything, to the tiniest detail. Knowing God’s great care for us, we should fear nothing except what would draw us away from God.
12:10
What is this sin that will not be forgiven? To deny the Holy Spirit.
12:15
Money and possessions are not sinful in themselves
—it all depends on how we handle them. Jesus warns against the greed that may be driving the man to argue with his brother over the inheritance, and against the di erent kind of greed that causes the wealthy man to hoard his riches rather than sharing them.
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* [12:1] See notes on Mk 8:15 and Mt 16:5–12.
*[12:2–9] Luke presents a collection of sayings of Jesus exhorting his followers to
acknowledge him and his mission fearlessly and assuring them of God’s protection even in
times of persecution. They are paralleled in Mt 10:26–33.
* [12:5] Gehenna: see note on Mt 5:22.
* [12:6] Two small coins: the Roman copper coin, the assarion (Latin as), was worth about
one-sixteenth of a denarius (see note on Lk 7:41).
* [12:10–12] The sayings about the holy Spirit are set in the context of fearlessness in the face
of persecution (Lk 12:2–9; cf. Mt 12:31–32). The holy Spirit will be presented in Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, as the power responsible for the guidance of the Christian mission and the source of courage in the face of persecution.
* [12:13–34] Luke has joined together sayings contrasting those whose focus and trust in life is on material possessions, symbolized here by the rich fool of the parable (Lk 12:16–21), with those who recognize their complete dependence on God (Lk 12:21), those whose radical detachment from material possessions symbolizes their heavenly treasure (Lk 12:33–34).
* [12:21] Rich in what matters to God: literally, “rich for God.”
a. [12:1] Mt 16:6; Mk 8:15.
b. [12:2–9] Mt 10:26–33.
c. [12:2] 8:17; Mk 4:22.
d. [12:7] 12:24; 21:18; Acts 27:34. e. [12:9] 9:26; Mk 8:38; 2 Tm 2:12.
f. [12:10] Mt 12:31–32; Mk 3:28–29.
g. [12:11–12] 21:12–15; Mt 10:17–20; Mk 13:11. h. [12:14] Ex 2:14; Acts 7:27.
i. [12:15] 1 Tm 6:9–10.
j. [12:19–21] Mt 6:19–21; 1 Tm 6:17.