Luke
12:54–59 What
we will study in Understand the Times…01.
The Meteorologists (Luke 12:54-55); 02. No Discernment (Luke 12:56); and 03. Reconciliation to God (Luke 12:57-59).
01. The
Meteorologists (Luke 12:54-55)
Back at the beginning of this chapter, Dr. Luke told us that
there was “an
innumerable multitude of people (who) had gathered together, so that they trampled one
another…” (Luke 12:1). Throughout
this chapter we have seen Jesus alternating between speaking both to the crowd
as well as to His disciples.
Luke
12:54 “Then He also said to the multitudes,” Here in our text today
we see Jesus speaking to the multitude again, and just like in Luke 11:14–16 and Luke 11:29–32, He is speaking to
people who desire to see signs performed. And just like in Luke 11:14–16 and Luke 11:29–32, He does not give
them a sign, but instead states that the signs are already there, if only they
would pay attention! Jesus was a sign Himself to the people, proclaiming the
coming of Kingdom of God (Luke
4:18–19) through His teachings and miracles. It is an evil generation
that seeks after signs and wonders (Luke
11:29).
Luke
12:54 “Whenever
you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower
is coming’; and so it is.” The rainstorms in the land of Israel come
from the Mediterranean Sea, which is to the west. Outside of the Mediterranean
Sea, the surrounding regions of Israel produce no rain; Israel has deserts to
the East and the South, and mountain ranges to the North, all of which produce
no rain. We see evidence of this in 1 Kings 18:41–46 when YHWH provided rain that broke
the famine in the land after Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel.
So it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that when you see clouds forming to
the West over the Mediterranean Sea, that rain is
coming. In Matthew 16:1–4, Matthew records for us a similar discourse when “the Pharisees and
Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from
heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is
evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in
the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and
threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you
cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous
generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign
of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.” There is an old adage that was said amongst
the sailors: Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in
the morning, sailor's warning. Other variations replace “sailor” with
“shepherd”. When we see a red sky at night, this
means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of
dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in
from the west. Basically good weather will follow. A red sunrise reflects the
dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates
that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep
fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its
way.[1]
Luke
12:55 Here
we see the same is true regarding the blowing of the South wind, coming over
the hot Negev desert. This too took little wisdom to predict that it will be a hot day[2] (G2742 καύσων kausōn[3]).
We see this an example of this when Elihu was talking to Job in Job 37:17.
02. No Discernment
(Luke
12:56)
Luke
12:56 “Hypocrites!” (G5273 ὑποκριταί) In Luke 12:1
Jesus told the disciples to “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Jesus calls the people in the multitude hypocrites because they have enough
wisdom to discern the weather (You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth),
but choose to be foolish regarding the incarnate Christ standing in their midst
(but how is it you
do not discern this time?). In Romans 1:18–21, Paul uses a similar argument by stating that
because God is clearly revealed through His creation, so that those who “suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are
without excuse, because, although they knew
God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit says that natural revelation is important—men are without excuse. The witness to
God in nature is so clear and so constant that ignoring it is indefensible.
Their condemnation is based not on their rejecting Christ of whom they have not
heard, but on their sinning against the light they have.[4] That’s
why when we share with people about Jesus, we don’t have to worry about proving
that He exists, for according to this passage, God makes Himself clearly known
to them. Think about it, Jesus is referencing weather, something that is
beyond the control of man, yet they are Hypocrites, stage actors who pretend to
be something that they are not because they are only concerned with what
affects their superficial lives. If a person can be skilled enough to read the
signs for the coming weather, it is hypocrisy when the same discernment skills
are not used to see that the works of Jesus is the “Coming One” in flesh (Luke
7:18-22). “The Coming One”
is a term for the Messiah. In the Greek this term (G2064 ἐρχόμενος)
and it speaks of He that is coming according to the prophecies. Jesus often
claimed to be “The Coming One” in
the Old Testament. Jesus said that “…Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and
he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) and that “Moses…wrote
about Me.” (John 5:46) and
David called Him YHWH (Matthew 22:41–45).
Jesus rebuked two of His disciples on the rode to Emmaus after He rose from the
dead because they were being “foolish ones, and slow of heart to
believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”
(Luke 24:25) about Him and “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27)
The Old Testament is full of references to “The Coming One” that undoubtedly point
to Jesus: Throughout the Old Testament, anytime that you see a reference to the
“Angel of YHWH”
it is a reference to the pre-incarnate appearance of “The Coming One” (56 times in 52 verses: Genesis 16:7; Genesis 16:9-11;
Genesis 22:11;
Genesis 22:15;
Exodus 3:2;
Numbers
22:22-27; Numbers 22:31-32; Numbers 22:34-35; Judges 2:1;
Judges 2:4;
Judges 5:23;
Judges
6:11-12; Judges 6:21-22; Judges 13:3; Judges 13:13;
Judges
13:15-18; Judges 13:20-21; 2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Kings 19:7;
2 Kings 1:3;
2 Kings 1:15;
2 Kings
19:35; 1 Chronicles 21:12; 1 Chronicles 21:15-16; 1 Chronicles
21:18; 1 Chronicles 21:30; Psalm 34:7; Psalm 35:5-6; Isaiah 37:36;
Zechariah
1:11-12; Zechariah 3:1; Zechariah 3:5-6; Zechariah 12:8).
In Genesis 1:1, we see “The Coming One”, along with the Father
and the Holy Spirit creating everything. In Hebrew the word for “god” is “El”
singular. The word for “gods” is elohim, plural. The word “God” here is Elohim (Gods). The
Hebrew word for “created”
is (H1254 בָּרָא bârâʾ), and it means to shape, fashion, create, and bârâʾ is used in reference
of divine activity.[5]
The word (H1254
בָּרָא bârâʾ) here in Genesis 1:1 is written in the Third Person
Singular and as a Verb. So if you were to translate this literally, it would
read, “In the beginning, Gods, He created
the heavens and the earth.” What that means is that either we are dealing
with some very bad grammar, or we are confronted with something unique about
God. This very first sentence of the Bible hints at the Doctrine of the
Trinity, see also Genesis 1:26 (the creation of man) and John 1:1-3.
His coming was first prophesied to Adam and Eve right after the Fall. God told
them that Satan who deceived them would be destroyed by “The Coming One” in Genesis 3:15
and 1 John 3:8. Right before God cast
Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He killed an animal to provide clothes to cover
the shame of Adam and Eve’s sin, picturing Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for
our sin and shame (Genesis 3:21; Hebrews 12:1–2). “The Coming One” was to be a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18;
Acts 3:25;
Galatians
3:16), and from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Hebrews 7:14).
When Abraham offered his son Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14, it symbolized the sacrifice
of “The Coming One”; just as God
provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac, so too was Jesus the substitute
sacrifice for sinners (1 John 2:1-2). Joseph, the eleventh son of
Israel, was scorned and rejected by his brothers, and yet he became their
deliverer. Just as Jesus “came
to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name:” (John 1:11–12) Every spotless, innocent lamb
that was offered as a sacrifice foreshadowed the final sacrifice of “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29;
cf. 1 Peter 1:18–19) The manna in the
wilderness foreshadowed the coming of “The
Coming One”, who is the true “bread of life…which came down from heaven. If
anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever”
(John
6:31–58)
Beginning with Aaron, the first High Priest (Exodus 28:1), and
all those who succeeded him, they were all picturing “The Coming One” as the Great High Priest (Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 3:1;
Hebrews 4:14-15;
Hebrews 6:20).
Boaz, Ruth’s kinsman redeemer (Ruth 4:1-12) was foreshadowing “The Coming One” as our Kinsman
Redeemer (Matthew 1:21; cf. Exodus 6:6;
Exodus 15:13;
Job 19:25;
Psalm 69:18;
Psalm 74:2;
Psalm 103:4;
Psalm 107:2;
Psalm 119:154;
Isaiah 35:9;
Isaiah 41:14;
Isaiah 43:14;
Isaiah 44:6;
Isaiah 47:4;
Isaiah 60:16;
Isaiah 62:12;
Jeremiah
50:34; Micah 4:10; Galatians 4:4). In Psalm 2:1-12,
we see that “The Coming One” is the
Anointed (Psalm
2:2), the King (Psalm 2:6) and the Son (Psalm 2:12)(cf. John 1:41;
Acts 10:38;
Hebrews 1:9;
Matthew 28:18;
Ephesians
1:22). He is the Holy One who is resurrected in Psalm 16:10; the Good Shepherd
in Psalm
23:1 and the One betrayed in Psalm 41:9 (John 13:18; John 13:26-27). Isaiah foretold
that “The Coming One” would be a
Light that will shine on those who walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2; cf. Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:78-79; Luke 2:32; John 8:12; John 12:35, 46; Ephesians 5:8; Ephesians 5:13-14; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5–7).
Isaiah foretold that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23;
Luke 1:35)
and be God with us (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-2; John 1:14).
Daniel in Daniel
9:24-27 foretold the very day that “The Coming One”, the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey
as Zechariah foretold (Zechariah 9:9; cf. Psalm
118:26), and that was about to happen soon (Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–10; Luke 19:29–38; John 12:12–15). Isaiah described the crucifixion of “The Coming One” in Isaiah 53:1-12
seven hundred years before it happened (Matthew 27:31–56; Mark 15:20–41; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:16–30)!
Jesus rebukes those in the multitude, including the religious leaders who are
amateur meteorologists, who can usually tell what the weather is going to be
that day by looking at the signs, but they are unable to spiritually discern
the signs of the times, and realize that the Messiah is standing before them,
performing miracles and they are not ready to accept Him (John 1:10–13)! These people in this crowd cannot
discern the time that they live in just like The Greedy Rich Fool (Luke
12:13-21). It is interesting
that there are many who devote much time studying about the weather, politics,
sports, higher education, but yet they neglect and are ignorant about the
things of God (Ecclesiastes 12:1–14).
03. Reconciliation
to God (Luke 12:57-59)
Here Jesus now mentions four people who are all involved in
the process of human judgment, the adversary, the magistrate, the judge and the prison officer. Jesus says that even here on earth it is wise
that we are to make every
effort, even
along the way to settle with our adversary, lest he drag you to the judge, the
judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison
and having to pay the very
last mite.
Luke
12:57 “Yes, and
why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?” What Jesus
is saying here is that even without the presence and teaching
of Jesus they had light enough to tell what is right and so without excuse because
they know enough on their own through creation as Paul argued in Romans 1-3.[6]
In context, when we see Jesus mentioning the adversary, the magistrate, the judge and the prison officer, He is referring to the Divine judgment
that these hypocrites (Luke 12:1; Luke 12:56)
are flirting with.
These hypocrites, the Pharisees and the multitude, along
with all those who will not repent and acknowledge Jesus as their Saviour (Romans 10:9-10)
are all on their way to the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), which is
where they will be judged and suffer eternal punishment in hell. Jesus is
trying to get their attention to realize that they are facing a great judgment
and realize that they can have eternal life before it is too late as the writer
of Hebrews warns in Hebrews 9:27. Despite this grim reality, God
offers mankind the Good News of Salvation, which is a free, available for all,
and it means complete forgiveness from all your sins for all those who repent
and believe in Jesus as the Christ (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Colossians
2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24). For all who trust God, repent
and accept His forgiveness, He will not condemn us to eternal life in Hell (Psalm 32:1-2; John 3:18;
John 5:24;
Romans 4:7-8;
Romans 5:1-2;
Romans 8:1).
Eternal life in Hell is spared for those who repent and accept the forgiveness
from God because Jesus bore the righteous wrath of God against all of mankind’s
sins, satisfying the righteous demands of God’s justice (Romans 3:21-26; Romans 8:3;
2 Corinthians
5:21). God’s approval of the sinless sacrifice being substituted for
man was displayed when God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:22-24). So Jesus was
saying that they should discern the time in which they lived. Then they should
get right with God by repenting of their sins and by committing themselves to
Him in full surrender.[7]
Luke
12:58 “make every effort along the way to
settle with him,” You have the length of your life to settle with
God, don’t wait, because we are never guaranteed another breath! God has made
Jesus the judge (John 5:22; Ecclesiastes
12:14; Isaiah 45:23; Acts 10:42; Acts 17:30–31; Romans 14:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 2:10–11; Jude 14–15; Revelation 20:11–15).
Luke 12:59 “till you have paid” (ἑως ἀποδῳς [heōs apodōis]). Second
aorist active subjunctive of ἀποδιδωμι [apodidōmi], to pay back in full.[8] The
mite here is a Jewish copper coin that is worth about 1/8 of a cent. This same
word is used only here and in Mark 12:42 and Luke 21:2 (the poor widow’s mite). This mite is the smallest coin in Israel, so
it’s signifying that once one is in debtor’s prison, it will be impossible to
get out, no matter how small the debt. That’s a picture of Hell, for you are condemned
to Hell even with just one sin committed, and try as you might, you can never
get yourself out.
[1]
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/weather-sailor.html
[2] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 536). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[3] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 41). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[4] Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord &
R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 442). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[5] Whitaker, R., Brown, F., Driver, S. R. (Samuel R.,
& Briggs, C. A. (Charles A. (1906). The
Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: from
A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver
and Charles Briggs, based on the lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius. Boston; New
York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
[6] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:57). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[7] MacDonald, William (1995-03-15). Believer's Bible
Commentary (p. 1408). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
[8] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 12:59). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
