Luke 12 Part 2 Bible Study

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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 12:35-59 Be Ready for Christ's Return 12:35 Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.

Continuing from the previous verse, as we seek first the kingdom of God and set our hearts on things above, we are to be ready for the day which Jesus often spoke of – the time when he would return to earth in power and glory. To be ready for Christ’s coming we must be like servants who are always keen to do their master’s work for him, even when he is not with them. We must be appropriately dressed - girded about our waists with the truth of the Word of God so that we are ready to serve (Ephesians 6:14). Moreover, we are to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit so that our lives appear as burning lamps - providing a constant light as a witness for all around us.

12:36 Be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

Jesus asks us to be like servants who wait up late by the door so that they are immediately ready to open it and welcome their master when he returns from a wedding party. In the same way, we must be ready to welcome Christ who will return at an unspecified time as bridegroom of the Church to receive his own bride (see the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13).

12:37-38 Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves!

Those faithful servants who are ready and watching for their master to return (although it requires perseverance and staying up late) will be suitably rewarded; and those who are similarly faithful to God at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be blessed indeed. He will be ready and willing to serve them at his own banqueting table (John 13:4-5); an illustration of the Messianic banquet of spiritual blessings prepared for the redeemed. Like the servants in the parable, we must be prepared to wait patiently and be faithful in our perseverance, for Jesus may come at any time and only those who are watching, waiting and ready will be blessed.

12:39-40 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Just as a thief would not announce the time and date of his intended break-in to the householder (for if he did the man would be ready to catch him) so the Lord Jesus Christ will not at any time or by any means reveal the day or time of his coming to the church. His purpose is that we should be ready at all times, and so he will come at a time that they will not expect Him. 12:41 Then Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?"

Peter had been listening keenly and was interested to know if this parable applied to all people or only to the disciples.

12:42 The Lord replied, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ teaching about being ready for his coming is clearly applied to all (Mark 12:35-37). Yet Jesus’ reply to Peter highlights the need for each individual believer to be faithful in his or her service for the Lord. Who is that faithful and wise steward whom the Lord has appointed to take charge of his household to make sure that they are fed? Surely, it is believers, and perhaps especially those believers like Peter who were given responsibility for the church. The disciples, apostles, pastors, teachers and elders through the ages have been appointed to be responsible for feeding His people with the Word of God (John 21:15-17).

12:43-44 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds at work when he returns. I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Jesus clearly wants Peter to see this role as an important one; for it is so important to God that when Jesus Christ returns—if he finds that his disciples have remained true and faithful in doing what he has asked of them—they will be blessed for doing it. Indeed, those who are faithful in the task Christ has given them will have all of God’s blessings at their disposal.

12:45-46 But if that slave should say to himself, 'My master is delayed in returning,' and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

However, if a servant of the Lord should betray the unbelief of his heart—not truly believing that the Lord is coming soon—by beginning to lord it over God's people and to live a life of loose morals, then his Lord will come at a time when he is not looking or expecting him and will punish him by cutting him off so that he shall have his portion with the unbelievers.

12:47 That servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or do what his master asked will receive a severe beating.

The disciple who knows the will of the Lord but does not act upon it by preparing to do according to his will shall be severely punished.

12:48 But the one who did not know his master's will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

On the other hand, someone who does not know the will of the Lord and does something wrong will receive only a light punishment. It is when someone has received a greater understanding of the Word of God, or has been entrusted with the things of God that more will be required of them.

Christ Divides 12:49 I have come to bring fire on the earth — and how I wish it were already kindled!

In the context of the following verses it appears that Jesus may be using the word ‘fire’ here to mean discord or contention. Since he came to give his life on the cross as a sacrifice for sin, he knew that there would be those who accepted him as their Lord and Savior and those who would reject him.

This is the division that would cause contention in the world; and yet it was still necessary for without it none could be saved.

12:50 I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished!

The baptism Jesus refers to here is not in water (he had previously been baptized in water by John Baptist). Nor is it the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit had descended and remained on Him at the same time as his water baptism. Hence Jesus must be referring to the ‘baptism’ of the terrible sufferings he would go through by taking our sin upon himself and bearing them in his own body on the cross; until this was accomplished, Jesus carried the heavy burden of knowing that he yet to accomplish the Father's will (Luke 22:42).

12:51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!

Although Jesus Christ is the ‘Prince of Peace’ who had been proclaimed by angels at his birth to be the one who would bring ‘peace on earth’ yet the peace he came to bring was not (initially) the cessation of hostility between men, but the peace of reconciliation between believers and God that he would bring about through His death on the cross. In regard to peace between men he knew that this salvation would being the kind of division we have already discussed. Those who accept God’s forgiveness in Jesus and those who do not will be constantly at loggerheads.

12:52 For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three.

The division will be felt most keenly in families where two or three might believe whilst the others do not.

12:53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

The division of the cross will strike at the heat of earth’s closest relationships. A father will be against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter in law and daughter-in-law against mother-in law. The bond we

have humanly speaking is not and can never be as strong as that bond crated between the believer and God at salvation. The reason this section on division because of the cross is sandwiched between two sections about the coming of the Lord is that the division will continue until Christ comes again, when it shall be made irrevocable and final as believers enter glory whilst unbelievers enter damnation forever.

Discerning the Times 12:54-56 Jesus also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A rainstorm is coming,' and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?

Turning to the crowds Jesus tells them that when they see clouds beginning to form in the west they say they know it is going to rain, and so it does. When the wind blows from the south they know that it will be very hot, and it is. Yet Jesus is concerned that whilst they can discern the signs of the earth and sky yet they hypocritically pretended not to realize that the scriptures showed him to be the Messiah.

12:57-59 And why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!"

The capacity to understand right and wrong is found within all sane people. If they were being prosecuted for a crime or unpaid debt, and they knew themselves to be guilty, it would be wiser to settle out of court; for otherwise they would be brought before the judge and thrown into prison for the full time appointed. Yet even now, as they had sinned against God, and were on their way to judgment, God had sent them Jesus as a means of them finding forgiveness – they could settle the matter out of court, so to speak – and yet they persisted in refusing such an offer to reason together with God (Isa. 1:18) Those who are determined not to believe and accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior will never be set free because they must pay the price for their sin (Revelation 20:15). © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org