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Scripture Reading: Luke 12:1-48
In the messages on chapter eleven we saw that when we pray ourselves into God and receive His rich supply, which is the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit, we are filled with this supply and occupied by it so that there is no room in us for demons, evil spirits. Because we are filled with the riches of the divine supply, we are full of light and we can illumine others. This light then brings us into Christ as the One who passed through death and entered into resurrection. Now we can experience Him as the real Jonah and the real Solomon. In Him as the real Solomon we know the wisdom of God, the eternal purpose of God, and the economy of God. In this economy we enjoy the mystery of God. This mystery is Christ as the expression of God and the church as the expression of Christ. This is the real jubilee.
By praying ourselves into God to enjoy the riches of His supply, we experience the divinity and humanity of Christ. We enjoy His divine attributes and human virtues. Then we live a life which is of the highest standard of morality, and this standard of morality enables us to enjoy the New Testament jubilee.
Chapters eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen of Luke are difficult to understand. As we consider these chapters, we need to realize that our natural understanding of the holy Word is altogether not reliable. In order to understand any book of the Bible, we need to know the principles and elements according to which that book was written. We need to discover the governing principles and the basic elements of the writing of a particular book. Many readers of the New Testament have not seen the governing principles and the basic and intrinsic elements according to which the Gospel of Luke was written. We thank the Lord that, in His mercy, He has shown us these things. Based upon what we have seen of the governing principles and the basic elements of the Gospel of Luke, we have the proper perspective to see the meaning and significance of chapters eleven through fourteen.
It is difficult to enter into the depths of chapter eleven and see its significance. It is even more difficult to enter into the depths of chapter twelve and grasp the significance of this chapter.
Luke 12:1-48 contains three warnings: the warning concerning religious hypocrisy (vv. 1-12), the warning concerning covetousness (vv. 13-34), and the warning to be watchful and faithful (vv. 35-48). We need to receive these three warnings, warnings that are actually a continuation of the Lord’s word in chapter eleven. In this message we shall seek to understand the significance of the warnings given here by the Man-Savior.
According to chapter eleven, we need to pray ourselves into God so that we may remain in Him and be filled with His riches, filled with the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, that we may live a life in the highest standard of morality for the enjoyment and participation in the New Testament jubilee. We need to remember that the Lord’s words recorded in chapter eleven were spoken as He was approaching Jerusalem. This means that while He was teaching the disciples concerning spiritual things, He was approaching Jerusalem.
At that time, Jerusalem was a center of the Jewish religion and of a high culture with material possessions. Those living in Jerusalem cared for religion and for earthly possessions in order to enjoy a better life. Therefore, as the capital of Judea, Jerusalem was characterized by religion and culture with its enjoyment of material things.
In chapters eleven through fourteen the Lord Jesus was training His followers to live a life of the highest standard of morality so that they might be brought into the full participation of the New Testament jubilee. We have seen that this teaching was given on the way to Jerusalem.
As the Lord and His disciples were on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, His heart was set on one thing, and the heart of His disciples was set on another thing. The Lord’s heart was set on His death. He was going to Jerusalem to die to the religion and culture found there. He was not going to Jerusalem to participate in those things. In Jerusalem the Lord would die to religion and culture; He would die to this present life and all earthly possessions. The Lord’s disciples had something very different on their heart. Their concept was that their Master was going to Jerusalem to receive the kingdom. This enables us to understand why John and James, the sons of thunder, asked the Lord that they might sit with Him on His right and on His left in His kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). Their hearts were full of the thought of the kingdom. Their Master had been a great success in Galilee and now, they thought, was the time for Him to go to the capital, to Jerusalem, to take the throne and receive the kingdom.
But in the Lord’s heart was the thought of going to Jerusalem to die. The Lord did not appreciate either religion or culture with its earthly possessions. Therefore, in chapter twelve Luke puts together certain instances in order to show that the Lord had no heart for religion or for the earthly possessions in Jerusalem.
In 12:1 the Lord gave a warning concerning religious hypocrisy: “At that time, when a crowd of many thousands were gathered together so that they trampled on one another, He began to say to His disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” In particular, the Lord tells us to beware of the hypocrisy of the Jewish religion, for He speaks of “the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Actually, all religions lead to hypocrisy. Nowhere is hypocrisy more prevailing than in religion. Religion is a field, a realm, for hypocrisy to prevail. Consider the hypocrisy in the Jewish religion when the Lord Jesus was on earth. What hypocrisy there was among the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers! In Matthew 23 the Lord pronounced woes upon them for their hypocrisy. Here in 12:1 the Lord exposes the hypocrisy of the Jewish religion.
In 12:1 we see that the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees was equal to leaven. In the New Testament leaven signifies the element of corruption. Here the Lord warns us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. The Pharisees were false and practiced falsehood to the uttermost. Their falsehood became a hypocrisy that was the leaven, the element of corruption, in the Jewish religion.
All of the Lord’s disciples were Jews. Since they all came out of a Jewish source, they had a deep appreciation of the Jewish religion and a high regard for the Pharisees. They thought that the Pharisees were those with a high morality. But as the Man-Savior was approaching Jerusalem, the center of hypocritical religion, He began to expose the hypocrisy of that religion to His followers. Therefore, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
In 12:2-12 the Lord went on to tell His disciples that the hypocrisy of religion would eventually lead to the persecution of His sincere and honest followers. Religious hypocrisy always becomes a source of persecution to the genuine followers of Jesus. As those who would be in the New Testament jubilee today, we need to beware of the hypocrisy in religion, for this hypocrisy will become a source of persecution. As the genuine followers of the Lord are enjoying the jubilee, they will be opposed by the hypocritical ones in the hypocritical religion. This opposition will develop into persecution, a persecution of the genuine followers of the Lord Jesus who are experiencing the New Testament jubilee.
In 12:13-34 the Lord gives His disciples another kind of warning, the warning concerning covetousness. Luke places these two warnings together in a significant continuation. In Jerusalem there was not only the peril of religious hypocrisy, but also the peril of the covetousness of material possessions.
Luke 12:13 says, “And someone out of the crowd said to Him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” The Lord took this as an opportunity to warn the disciples about covetousness. First the Lord said to the one who requested that He tell the brother to divide the inheritance with him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or a divider over you?” (v. 14). Then He went on to say to His disciples, “Take heed and guard yourself from all covetousness; for no one’s life is in the abundance of his possessions” (v. 15). Then the Lord told them the parable recorded in verses 16 through 21.
If we are in the jubilee, participating in the New Testament inheritance of the Triune God, we need to beware of coveting earthly possessions. Our life in God does not depend upon such possessions. It may be better for us to dispose of our material possessions. In verse 33 the Lord says, “Sell your possessions and give alms; make for yourselves purses which do not become old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens, where a thief does not come near nor even a moth corrupts.” The point here is that as we are participating in the New Testament jubilee, we should not hold on to material possessions as an earthly treasure. We need to lay up treasures for ourselves in the heavens.
In 12:1-34 the Lord warned the disciples concerning religion and earthly possessions. While He was approaching Jerusalem, He spoke to them concerning these things. Hypocrisy and covetousness are great problems related to the enjoyment of the New Testament jubilee by the genuine followers of Jesus.
Beginning in verse 22, the Lord charged the disciples not to be anxious concerning their life. “And He said to His disciples, Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat; nor for your body, what you should put on; for the life is more than food, and the body than clothing.” Since our Father in heaven takes care of us, there is no need for us to be anxious about food or clothing.
In verse 24 the Lord says, “Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap, for which there is neither storehouse nor barn; and God nourishes them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!” He also uses the illustration of lilies: “Consider the lilies, how they grow; they do not toil nor even spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, you of little faith!” (vv. 27-28). Instead of being anxious, we should have faith in our heavenly Father.
In 12:31 the Lord says, “However, seek His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you.” We should seek God’s kingdom, which is actually the New Testament jubilee. If we are seeking the jubilee, the Father will give us food and clothing. He will add these things to us. The Lord says that our Father delights to give us the kingdom (v. 32). Certainly He will never forget our need. The Lord clearly says, “Your Father knows that you need these things” (v. 30). We are here for the jubilee, the kingdom, and since the Father delights to give us the kingdom, certainly He will take care of our material needs. Therefore, we do not need to worry or have anxiety.
More than fifty years ago, the Lord charged me to give up my job and serve Him full time. When I was called by the Lord, I exercised my natural way of figuring concerning my living. I said, “Lord, I am willing to eat the leaves of the trees and drink water from the springs on the mountains. I am satisfied to live like this, but You must take care of my wife and children.” Of course, the Lord did not allow me to live this way. He took care of my needs and the needs of my family. The point here is that although we may not have faith in our Father, He is faithful.
Some of you may have the thought of serving the Lord full time. If you have the inclination deep within to serve the Lord full time, I encourage you to do it. Get out of the “boat” of your job, jump into the water, and see if you will “drown.” My experience was that after I left the boat, the Lord did not let me drown. At first, I told the Lord that I was in a good boat. I said that I trusted in Him but still needed a boat. However, the Lord told me to jump out of the boat. Then I told Him that I didn’t have that much faith. But it is not a matter of our faith; it is a matter of His faithfulness.
We all need to be rescued from the anxiety of life. There is no need for us to be anxious about food and clothing. The meeting of these needs depends on God’s faithfulness. He is faithful, and we should look to Him for what we need.
If we would live a life of the highest standard of morality to participate in the New Testament jubilee and enjoy God to the uttermost, we need to be warned concerning hypocrisy, covetousness, and anxiety. We also need another warning — the warning concerning watchfulness and faithfulness. We should not be captured by religion or distracted by anxiety. Instead, we should learn to be watchful and faithful, that is, to serve our Lord, who is coming back, with watchfulness and faithfulness.
We need to pay careful attention to the third warning, for it concerns our participation in the jubilee in the coming age. In the New Testament the jubilee is of two ages: the present age, the age of grace, and the coming age, the age of the kingdom or the millennium. The jubilee in the age of grace is a foretaste of the jubilee in the age of the kingdom. However, not even the jubilee in the millennium will be the full taste of the jubilee. The fullness of the jubilee will be in the new heaven and the new earth. From this we see there are three stages of the New Testament jubilee: the first stage in the age of grace, the second stage in the age of the kingdom, and the third stage in the new heaven and new earth, when we shall participate in the eternal jubilee in the New Jerusalem.
The Lord Jesus was bringing Peter, John, James, and the other disciples into the reality of the jubilee in the age of grace. In the warnings recorded in chapter twelve there is an indication that there will be a further jubilee in the coming age. Hence, the jubilee is not only in this age of grace, but will also be in the coming age of the kingdom. The Lord seemed to be warning the disciples, “You are following Me now, and you may participate in the jubilee in this age. But you will miss the jubilee in the coming age if you are not watchful and faithful while I am absent.”
In chapter eleven we did not see anything of the jubilee in the next age. But in 12:35-48 the Lord refers to the jubilee in the coming age of the kingdom. Many believers will miss the jubilee in the next age. We may be in the jubilee in this age, but if we are not faithful in its enjoyment, we will miss the jubilee in the coming age. For this reason, in verses 35 through 38 we have a warning regarding the loss of the jubilee in the coming age.
In the jubilee we have the recovery of our inheritance. But after our inheritance, our right to enjoy the Triune God, has been recovered, we need to be watchful and faithful. Otherwise, we may lose this right again, not eternally but dispensationally in the coming kingdom. This means that in the coming age instead of enjoying our birthright in the jubilee, we shall suffer some kind of discipline, as indicated in the words “lashes” and “stripes” in verses 47 and 48.
Let us now put together the three warnings in chapter twelve — the warning of the hypocrisy of religion, the warning of covetousness and anxiety over earthly possessions, and the warning about being watchful and faithful. If we do not beware of the hypocrisy in today’s religion and covetousness and anxiety concerning material possessions, we shall not enjoy the jubilee in this age. Furthermore, we need to see that we may enjoy the jubilee in this age, but miss the enjoyment of the jubilee in the next age if we are not watchful and faithful during the Lord’s absence.
In order for us to participate in the jubilee in this age, we need the warning concerning hypocrisy in religion and covetousness and anxiety concerning possessions. If we heed these two warnings, we shall enjoy the jubilee today in the age of grace. But while we are enjoying the jubilee in the present age, we need to be watchful and faithful during the Lord’s absence. If we are not watchful and the Lord comes back and finds us not being watchful and faithful, then we shall lose the enjoyment of the coming jubilee.
Let us beware of hypocrisy in religion and of the anxiety that causes us to worry about our life, especially about food and clothing. Let us beware of these things so that we may participate in the jubilee today. Then as we are enjoying the jubilee, let us be watchful and faithful in carrying out the Lord’s commission. Otherwise, when the Lord comes back, He will find us not watching and not faithful. Then we shall lose the enjoyment of the jubilee in the coming age of the kingdom.
