The Ministry Continues ~ Part 11

We continue our study of The Ministry Continues, beginning in Luke 12:1.

Warning Against Hypocrisy

¹ Meanwhile, as a crowd in the tens of thousands gathered so closely as to trample each other down, Yeshua began to say to His talmidim first, “Guard yourselves from the hametz (leaven)of the P’rushim, by which I mean their hypocrisy. ² There is nothing covered up that will not be uncovered or hidden that will not become known. ³ What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. ~ Luke 12:1-3

Yeshua refers to the P’rushim hidden sins, which will be exposed at the Final Judgment. (compare Rev. 20:11–15).

Fearing God, Not Man

⁴ “My friends, I tell you: don’t fear those who kill the body but then have nothing more they can do. ⁵ I will show you whom to fear: fear him who, after killing you, has authority to throw you into Gei-Hinnom! (Hell)Yes, I tell you, this is the one to fear! ⁶ Aren’t sparrows sold for next to nothing, five for two assarions? (The assarion was the smallest Roman coin.) And not one of them has been forgotten by God. ⁷ Why, every hair on your head has been counted! Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

⁸ “Moreover, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. ⁹ But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before God’s angels. ¹⁰ Also, everyone who says something against the Son of Man will have it forgiven him, but whoever has blasphemed the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven.

Luke is the only writer who places all this material in one passage (compare Mattityahu 10:32–33, 12:31–32; Mark 3:28–29 corresponds to v. 10 only). In counseling His followers against fear generally (vv. 4–7), Yeshua encourages them not to be afraid to acknowledge their faith publicly. One need not be a behavioristic psychologist to understand His means: reward (v. 8) and punishment (v. 9). Verse 10 explains what v. 9 means by “disowning Yeshua”: a person unenlightened by the working of the Ruach in him may say something against the Son of Man, but he will have it forgiven him because he doesn’t really grasp the full import of his words. But if the Ruach has caused genuine knowledge of Yeshua to enter his spirit, then in speaking against Yeshua, he may well be blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh.

What conclusions are to be drawn? On the one hand, Believers in Yeshua should note that non-Believers may “say something against the Son of Man” without incurring God’s wrath because they are “unaware of what they are doing” (Acts 3:17; also Luke 23:34) since the Ruach has not brought the significance home to them. Even now, the Good News about Yeshua has never been presented to thousands, if not millions of people in a way that made sense to them. Only when a person understands the Gospel in his mind, heart, and spirit yet still rejects it does he blaspheming the Ruach and risk eternal punishment. ^[1]

¹¹ “When they bring you before the synagogues and the ruling powers and the authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourself or what you will say; ¹² because when the time comes, the Ruach HaKodesh will teach you what you need to say.” ~ Luke 12:4-12

The ruling powers and the authorities include both Jewish and Gentile (in this case, Roman) tribunals. Yeshua continues to comfort believers concerning fear: they need not be anxious about committing the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Ruach when under investigation by hostile officialdom because the Ruach Himself will provide the words they need glorify God in such dire moments. ^[2]

In our next post, we will pick back up in Luke 12:13. We will continue in Luke until we finish the topic of The Ministry Continues.

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^[1] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament,.

^[2] Ibid.