Luke 12:1–21

A Warning against Hypocrisy

12^*As thousands of people crowded together, so that they were stepping on each other, Jesus said first to his disciples, “Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean their hypocrisy. ^2*Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. ³So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight, and whatever you have whispered in private in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

Whom to Fear

⁴“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot afterwards do anything worse. ⁵I will show you whom to fear: fear God, who, after killing, has the authority to throw into hell. Believe me, he is the one you must fear!

⁶“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God. ⁷Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

Confessing and Rejecting Christ

⁸“I assure you that for those who declare publicly that they belong to me, the Son of Man will do the same before the angels of God. ⁹But those who reject me publicly, the Son of Man will also reject before the angels of God.

^10*“Whoever says a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but those who say evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

^11*“When they bring you to be tried in the synagogues or before governors or rulers, do not be worried about how you will defend yourself or what you will say. ^12*For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

¹⁴Jesus answered him, “My friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” ¹⁵And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because a person’s true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be.”

¹⁶Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. ¹⁷He began to think to himself, ‘I haven’t anywhere to keep all my crops. What can I do? ¹⁸This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods. ¹⁹Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’ ”

²¹And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”