Gospel Meditation

Luke 12:49–59

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.

1.         Jesus openly declares that He does not bring peace but division, so unlike every other world religious system. We know the peace He brings, forgiveness of sin and giving the new birth, but it is not hidden that there is trouble along with it.

2.         Surprisingly the division hits close to home, within the family. Is this reality part of counting the cost of discipleship?

3.         All people groups know how to predict what weather is heading their way, but the hypocrites, those religious professionals (Pharisees & Sadducees) are unable to interpret the times, KAIROS in the Greek. Could Jesus be alluding to more than the divisions of family and friends, but also pointing to demonic forces as well?

4.         Now a most difficult passage, these verses 57 to 59, titled “Settle with Your Accuser” in the ESV, about settling differences with an accuser so that the whole squabble does not place one in prison.

5.         The last verse, #59 reads: “I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Now this must refer to having ended up in a prison, but what is the prison?

6.         My answer is it is about the much tragic prison of all, and that is hell itself, where a person, endlessly, experiences grief and pain. Jesus so warns us.

Gospel Meditation

Luke 12:35–48

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         There are several titles for this passage, one above and also Watchful Servants and The Alert Slave.

2.         Jesus tells His followers that they must be ready to do the will of their Lord and blessed are those who are serving Him when He returns.

3.         Of great surprise then, those who belong to Jesus, identify Him as Lord, and are born again, will find Jesus Himself serving them.

4.         The timing of His return will not be known to the disciples, so they must always be awake and alert.

5.         Again it is repeated in a slightly different way, that the directive of Jesus is His disciples must be ready since His return is unknown.

6.         Jesus reminds His disciples that masters of households reward those who follow them faithfully.

7.         But woe to the servant who abuses his privileges by mistreating other servants under him, well, the consequences will be dire.

8.         Those who knowingly go against what they knew they ought not to be doing will bear the consequences.

9.         These are Jesus’ directions for His followers, here delivered directly to the twelve apostles.

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Luke 12:22–34

Do Not be Anxious

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         Most of what we find in our passage is also found in Matthew 6, a part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus may have spoken this twice or Luke decides to place it here.

2.         Jesus, understanding the anxiety that existed in the lives of people in general wants to relieve His followers from being burdened by the common worries all people face.

3.         He reminds His disciples how the Creator God cares for living things like the raven, lilies, even the grass of the field. The point is that God cares for the disciples of Jesus.

4.         Jesus is highly aware of the stress people live under and wants His disciples to be free of it and that by not seeking as of first importance that which everyone needs to survive.

5.         Not that the disciples are not to provide for themselves, but there is something that is much greater for them to focus on, and that is the kingdom of God.

6.         In seeking first the kingdom, all the rest will also be added to them, the practical things of life.

7.         “Fear not” Jesus says, and it is fear that underlies anxiety, it is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom, to be a part of God’s great plan of salvation.

8.         We are to seek as of greatest importance the “treasure” in heaven and then our heart, our personhood, will be in the right place.

Gospel Meditation: Luke 12:13–21

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Recite the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.

1.         This parable of the rich fool comes at a time when huge crowds are surrounding Jesus. Someone then, who was standing close to Jesus, asked Him to arbitrate in a dispute between the man and his brother regarding the amount of an inheritance each would receive. Apparently, the father had recently died

2.         Though commonly Rabbis did adjudicate is such instances, Jesus declines to do so.

3.         Jesus begins then to speak truth to this man who He determines is acting out of covetousness. Jesus says to “take care” or carefully think about what is really going on. The inner motive of the man Jesus sees to be based on covetousness, the desire for wealth and thus power.

4.         Jesus then tells a parable about a rich man who did very well as a farmer, in fact did so well at raising crops that he needed to tear down his present barns and build bigger ones in order to store the produce.

5.         The farmer boasts that he will now be able to live fabulously, as an “epicurean” whose motto was, “relax, eat, drink, and be merry.”

6.         However, he does not know that he will not live another day, and then, who will enjoy the wealth. Obviously, it would be the brother whom he was looking to cheat.

7.         Jesus says it is better to be rich “toward God.”