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Text -- Luke 12:1-59 (NET)

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Context
Fear God, Not People
12:1 Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 12:2 Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 12:3 So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. 12:5 But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 12:6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 12:7 In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 12:8 “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before God’s angels. 12:9 But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God’s angels. 12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 12:11 But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say, 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”
The Parable of the Rich Landowner
12:13 Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 12:14 But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 12:16 He then told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, 12:17 so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 12:18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.”
Exhortation Not to Worry
12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 12:23 For there is more to life than food, and more to the body than clothing. 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds! 12:25 And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life? 12:26 So if you cannot cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest? 12:27 Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 12:28 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you people of little faith! 12:29 So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. 12:30 For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom. 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out– a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Call to Faithful Stewardship
12:35 “Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; 12:36 be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! 12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! 12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” 12:41 Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” 12:42 The Lord replied, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 12:43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. 12:44 I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions. 12:45 But if that slave should say to himself, ‘My master is delayed in returning,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful. 12:47 That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating. 12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.
Not Peace, but Division
12:49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth– and how I wish it were already kindled! 12:50 I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! 12:51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 12:52 For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. 12:53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Reading the Signs
12:54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. 12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?
Clear the Debts
12:57 “And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 12:59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Peter a man who was a leader among the twelve apostles and wrote the two epistles of Peter
 · Pharisee a religious group or sect of the Jews
 · Solomon the tenth son of David; the father of Rehoboam; an ancestor of Jesus; the third king of Israel.,son of David and Bath-Sheba; successor of King David


Dictionary Themes and Topics: WEALTH, WEALTHY | LUKE, THE GOSPEL OF | Jesus, The Christ | Commandments | JESUS CHRIST, 4D | Servant | Faith | Anxiety | JESUS CHRIST, 4C1 | Minister | Blessing | Greed | SONS OF GOD (NEW TESTAMENT) | Rich, The | Watchfulness | God | Adoni-zedec | LAZARUS | Judgment | Steward | more
Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 12:1 The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

NET Notes: Luk 12:2 I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The te...

NET Notes: Luk 12:3 The expression “proclaimed from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:4 Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

NET Notes: Luk 12:5 The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinno...

NET Notes: Luk 12:6 The pennies refer to the assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s avera...

NET Notes: Luk 12:7 Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God (v. 5), but need not fear his tender care.

NET Notes: Luk 12:8 This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. Of course, the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus as it has been throughout the Gospel. On Jesus ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:10 Grk “it will not be forgiven the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:11 Grk “about how or what you should say in your defense,” but this is redundant with the following clause, “or what you should say....

NET Notes: Luk 12:12 Grk “what it is necessary to say.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:13 Tell my brother. In 1st century Jewish culture, a figure like a rabbi was often asked to mediate disputes, except that here mediation was not requeste...

NET Notes: Luk 12:14 The pronoun ὑμᾶς (Jumas) is plural, referring to both the man and his brother; thus the translation “you two.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:15 Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:16 Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:17 I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man̵...

NET Notes: Luk 12:18 Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.

NET Notes: Luk 12:19 Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

NET Notes: Luk 12:20 Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

NET Notes: Luk 12:21 It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the par...

NET Notes: Luk 12:22 Some mss (B 070 Ë13 33 1424 al) supply the pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, although the witnesses for the om...

NET Notes: Luk 12:24 Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:25 Or “a cubit to his height.” A cubit (πῆχυς, phcu") can measure length (normally about 45 cm or 18 inches) o...

NET Notes: Luk 12:26 Or “why are you anxious for.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:27 Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπ&...

NET Notes: Luk 12:28 The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he wi...

NET Notes: Luk 12:29 The words “about such things” have been supplied to qualify the meaning; the phrase relates to obtaining food and drink mentioned in the p...

NET Notes: Luk 12:30 Grk “seek.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:31 His (that is, God’s) kingdom is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:2...

NET Notes: Luk 12:32 Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:33 The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&a...

NET Notes: Luk 12:34 Seeking heavenly treasure means serving others and honoring God by doing so; see Luke 6:35-36.

NET Notes: Luk 12:35 Keep your lamps burning means to be ready at all times.

NET Notes: Luk 12:36 An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).

NET Notes: Luk 12:37 He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15...

NET Notes: Luk 12:38 Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 12:39 Most mss (א1 A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat syp,h sams bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:40 Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time – so long, in fact, that some would not be looking fo...

NET Notes: Luk 12:41 Is the parable only for disciples (us) or for all humanity (everyone)? Or does Peter mean for disciples (us) or for the crowd (everyone)? The fact tha...

NET Notes: Luk 12:42 This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46....

NET Notes: Luk 12:43 That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

NET Notes: Luk 12:44 Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See also Luke 19:11-27.

NET Notes: Luk 12:45 Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖ&#...

NET Notes: Luk 12:46 Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point o...

NET Notes: Luk 12:47 Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with th...

NET Notes: Luk 12:48 Grk “they will ask even more.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:49 Grk “cast.” For βάλλω (ballw) in the sense of causing a state or condition, see L&N 13.14.

NET Notes: Luk 12:50 Grk “to be baptized with.”

NET Notes: Luk 12:51 Or “hostility.” This term pictures dissension and hostility (BDAG 234 s.v. διαμερισμό ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:52 From now on is a popular phrase in Luke: 1:48; 5:10; 22:18, 69; see Mic 7:6.

NET Notes: Luk 12:53 There is dispute whether this phrase belongs to the end of v. 52 or begins v. 53. Given the shift of object, a connection to v. 53 is slightly preferr...

NET Notes: Luk 12:54 The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).

NET Notes: Luk 12:55 The south wind comes from the desert, and thus brings scorching heat.

NET Notes: Luk 12:56 Most mss (Ì45 A W Ψ Ë1,13 Ï lat) have a syntax here that reflects a slightly different rhetorical question: “but how do you ...

NET Notes: Luk 12:57 Jesus calls for some personal reflection. However, this unit probably does connect to the previous one – thus the translation of δέ (d...

NET Notes: Luk 12:58 The officer (πράκτωρ, praktwr) was a civil official who functioned like a bailiff and was in charge of debtor’...

NET Notes: Luk 12:59 This cent was a lepton, the smallest coin available. It was copper or bronze, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius. The parallel in Mat...

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