Luke 12

Beware of Religious Hypocrisy

12In these circumstances, ^la crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling ^mon one another. He began to say to His disciples first: ⁿ“Be on your guard ^oagainst the yeast ^pqof the ^•Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^r2There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, ^snothing hidden that won’t be made known. ^t3Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms ^uwill be proclaimed on the housetops. ^v

Fear God

⁴“And I say to you, My friends, ^wdon’t fear ^xthose who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. ⁵But I will show you the One to fear: Fear ^yHim who has authority to throw people into ^•hell ^zafter death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! ⁶Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? ^aYet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. ^b7Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!

Acknowledging Christ

⁸“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges ^cMe before men, the ^•Son of Man ^dwill also acknowledge him before the angels of God, ^e9but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ^f10Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, ^gbut the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit ^hwill not be forgiven. ¹¹Whenever ⁱthey bring you before ^•synagogues and rulers and authorities, ^jdon’t worry ^kabout how you should defend ^lyourselves or what you should say. ¹²For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.” ^m

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, ⁿtell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴“Friend,” ^oHe said to him, “who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard ^pagainst all greed ^qbecause one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” ^r

¹⁶Then He told them a parable: ^s“A rich ^tman’s land was very productive. ¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? ¹⁸I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹Then I’ll say to myself, “You ^uhave many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; ^veat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’ ^w

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! ^xThis very night your ^•life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ ^y

²¹“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure ^zfor himself and is not rich toward God.” ^a

The Cure for Anxiety

²²Then He said to His disciples: “Therefore I tell you, ^bdon’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. ^c23For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: ^dThey don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. ^eAren’t you worth much more than the birds? ²⁵Can any of you add a ^•cubit to his height ^fby worrying? ^g26If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

²⁷“Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon ^hin all his splendor was adorned like one of these! ²⁸If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you—you of little faith? ⁱ²⁹Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. ³⁰For the Gentile world eagerly seeks ^jall these things, and your Father ^kknows that you need them.

³¹“But seek His kingdom, ^land these things will be provided for you. ^m32Don’t be afraid, ⁿlittle flock, ^obecause your Father delights ^pto give you the kingdom. ^q33Sell ^ryour possessions and give to the poor. ^sMake money-bags ^tfor yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure ^uin heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ^v

Ready for the Master’s Return

³⁵“Be ready for service ^wand have your lamps lit. ^x36You must be like people waiting for their master ^yto return ^zfrom the wedding banquet ^aso that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. ^b37Those ^•slaves the master will find alert ^cwhen he comes will be blessed. ^•I assure you: He will get ready, ^dhave them recline at the table, then come and serve them. ^e38If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, ^fand finds them alert, those slaves are blessed. ³⁹But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, ^ghe would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰You also be ready, ^hbecause the Son of Man ⁱis coming at an hour that you do not expect.” ^j

Rewards and Punishment

⁴¹“Lord,” Peter asked, “are You telling this parable to us or to everyone?”

⁴²The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager ^khis master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food ^lat the proper time? ⁴³That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded. ⁴⁴I tell you the truth: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ ^mand starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces ⁿand assign him a place with the unbelievers. ^o47And that slave who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it ^pwill be severely beaten. ^q48But the one who did not know and did things deserving ^rof blows will be beaten lightly. Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more. ^st

Not Peace but Division

⁴⁹“I came ^uto bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! ⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with, ^vand how it consumes ^wMe until it is finished! ^x51Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth? ^yNo, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵²From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

⁵³They will be divided, father against son,

son against father,

mother against daughter,

daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” ^za

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds: ^b“When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does. ^c55And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be a scorcher!’ and it is. ⁵⁶Hypocrites! ^dYou know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this time? ^e

Settling Accounts

⁵⁷“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? ^f58As you are going with your adversary ^gto the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he won’t drag you before the judge, ^hthe judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison. ⁱ⁵⁹I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last cent.” ^jk