Luke 12 Round 2: The Cure for What Plagues Our Souls

What would happen if we viewed Jesus as our soul's physician? In Luke 12, we discover a divine doctor offering precise prescriptions for our deepest spiritual ailments.

The chapter unfolds as Jesus addresses various troubles that plague our hearts. First, He warns leaders about the contagious "yeast of the Pharisees" - hypocrisy that can infect our ministries when we forget our true purpose. He addresses the common fear many believers have about blaspheming the Holy Spirit, offering reassurance that those concerned about it have likely not committed this sin.

Jesus then turns to our relationship with possessions, telling the story of a rich fool who stored up treasures but wasn't rich toward God. The prescription? Find your identity in relationship with Christ rather than in accumulations. This cure for greed liberates us from the endless pursuit of more that never satisfies.

For anxiety about daily needs, Jesus points to ravens and lilies - creatures that don't worry yet are beautifully provided for. "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else," He urges, "and he will give you everything you need." This reordering of priorities offers a powerful antidote to worry.

Regarding future uncertainty, Jesus teaches readiness through the parable of servants awaiting their master's return. The medicine here is faithful stewardship combined with trust in God's justice. When we do our best with what we have and trust God with what we cannot control, future anxiety loses its grip.

Jesus concludes with the sobering reality that following Him will cause division, even within families. Yet He offers practical guidance for reconciliation without compromising truth.

Join us as we receive these divine prescriptions that treat not just symptoms but the root causes of our spiritual diseases. When we know who Jesus is, we discover who we are - and that knowledge transforms everything about how we live.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Bible Breakdown
• 15:20 Jesus's Warning About Hypocrisy

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the Biblebreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's word together. Well, hello, and welcome back to your journey through the Gospel of Luke. Today, Luke chapter 12. Man, I'm really, really excited about this one because I think we're gonna see Luke's training, you know, his actual occupation as a physician, a doctor, we're gonna see it shine through today because Jesus is going to be kind of like a doctor and giving a cure for the things that plague our souls. But before we get into that, my name is Pastor Brandon, and my goal is, if it's your first time joining us, is just to slowly walk through the Bible. Like the question would be, what are you in a hurry for? Man, if we're gonna be Christ's followers, we're gonna follow the Lord all of our life, man, let's just take the slow approach of slowly letting God's word just filter down into our souls because when we know who Jesus is, we can know who we are. And when we know who we are, we can know what to do. I like to think of it as the idea of life as like a calculus problem. It's complex, it's hard, it's difficult, and there is absolutely no reason why we should have any confidence that we can solve some of these problems unless we've taken the prerequisites. If we started all the way back in pre-algebra and then algebra and then algebra too, and all these different things, and we have slowly learned the knowledge that then we could apply to the calculus problem, then we can have a degree of confidence that we're on the right track. Well, that's a lot of what we're doing right now, is this is pre-algebra. This is just learning some of the basics of God's word as we go through God's word together. And what we're doing is we're getting confidence to know that this is what God says for us to do. This is how we live our life according to God's word. And so, therefore, when the calculus problem of life occurs, we're not just out there with no confidence, but rather we can say, Oh, I remember God's word says these are the principles we live by. And so that's my hope for you is that we're slowly learning confidence on how to live this life the Jesus way. So let's get into today's text because this is gonna be absolutely amazing. We've been looking at all the different ministry of Jesus, and we are quickly, I don't know if you can tell by reading this, but quickly the pace is picking up that we're eventually gonna get to where Jesus is betrayed, arrested, crucified, then raised from the dead. And in this chapter, he is gonna really talk about this idea of the cure for different issues we deal with in life. We're gonna go through the idea of verse 1 through 12. He's gonna talk about the cure for many of the issues that leaders deal with. Verse 13 through 21, he's gonna talk about where we place our hope, the cure for knowing where to place our hope. And then, man, I really love verse 22 through 33 and then on. So I'm just, I want to read this and then we're gonna pause and just go through it together. So here we go. You've got your NLT Bible open. If you're not driving and you got a cup of coffee ready, let's do this. Let's jump into God's word. Here we go. Chapter 12, verse 1. Meanwhile, the crowds grew into the thousands and were milling about and stepping on each other. I'm sorry, I just I love that already. They not only were they growing, but they were stepping all over each other. They were just like, get out of my way, okay? That's that's great. Jesus turned to his first disciple and warned them, Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the house tops for all to hear. Dear friends, don't be afraid of those who can kill your body, because they can do nothing, they can do nothing more than that afterward. But I tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and to throw you into hell. Yes, he's the one to fear. What is the price of five sparrows or two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid. You are more valuable to God than the whole flock of sparrows. I tell you the truth, anyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels. That anyone who denies me on earth will be denied before God's angels. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues before rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you will defend yourself and what to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said. Now pause. I want to talk about this from two angles. First of all, from the angle of a leader, and then number two, the most asked question I get as a pastor. So, first of all, as a leader. Notice that the Bible says, the text says, that he turns to his disciples, not to the crowd. These people are the ones who are caring for the flock, if I can say it that way, the people. And he says, be so very careful that the sins of the Pharisees do not become your sins. And as a leader, I can understand that. I can understand that as a leader, sometimes it can be difficult to get caught up in systems and get caught up in trying to impress others that I forget why I do this. You know, we I don't think anybody in leadership that becomes bad or, you know, breaks bad, as they say, I don't think that they start out bad. I think that they can become distracted and become confused and slowly develop into something that's unhealthy. And so Jesus is saying, hey, hey, hey, keep your attention in the right place or you're gonna mess it up. So I think that's a very, very important thing. And so as leaders, I think we need to heed this constantly. Remember who you're really talking to and talking about. You're really standing before God, so live like it. And that's not intended to be a fear, but there is a responsibility there that as leaders we have to grapple with. The second thing that I really, really want to make sure we talk about for a moment is he talks about this idea of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Can I tell you as a pastor, that is the most like controversial question and the most asked question that I get from Christians. Pastor, I'm so afraid that I've blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I'm so afraid that I can't be forgiven because I've done this. And I think what it really has to do with is people are so afraid of kind of crossing a line to where there's no more hope for them. And they're so afraid that if they they cross that line, then God will just give up on them and they'll always be done. I want to give you just a little bit of clarity, and you can find this from other places, that when Jesus talks about this in other gospels, it is in response to people rejecting him and rejecting the Holy Spirit. And so what Jesus is saying is not that if you don't receive what I'm doing, then I'm just gonna get mad and be passive aggressive and whatever, but it is this that the Holy Spirit is the one who comes to convict. And therefore, if you reject, you blaspheme, you turn against the Holy Spirit, there's nothing else coming. So if you reject the Holy Spirit, you're not gonna be forgiven because the Holy Spirit is the one who draws us. And so I tell people all the time that if you're even remotely worried that you might have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, then you haven't blasphemed the Holy Spirit. That blasphemy is not, you know, one day you go, I don't know if God's real. Oh no, look at what I've done. But it is an active, willful, continual rejection of God and looking somewhere else. And so what Jesus is saying is this is the only thing that's coming. I'm me, I'm I'm it. And so if you reject what I'm doing, you reject what the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity, is doing, then you're done for because there is no new revelation that is coming down the line. And so I want to bring that clarity to you. And if you at all are listening to this and you are worried that you've ever blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, can I go ahead and tell you? You most likely haven't. Can I say 99.9%? You haven't. People who have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, they're not listening to this. Okay? So you're good. I promise you. Okay, verse 13, here we go. Then someone called from the crowd, Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father's estate with me. Jesus replied, Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that? But I love this. But then he said, so he's like, hey, look, I'm not your judge at this moment, but if you did ask, so here we go. So he says, Beware and guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own. Then he told them a story. A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, What should I do? I don't have enough room for all my crops. Then he said, I know, I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I'll sit back and say to myself, Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool, you will die this very night, and then who will get everything you have worked for? Yes, this person is a fool to store up earthly wealth, but not have a rich relationship with God. Pause. So what Jesus is offering here is a cure for greed, a cure for constantly feeling like you have to have enough. Because honestly, I've talked to people who have amassed great wealth, have very successful businesses. And you would think that once they get to that level, that they're finally secure, they're finally settled, and they're good to go. But it's not true. The people I know that are the most unhappy and the most desperate to get one more dollar are sometimes the most visibly successful people because it is an obsession with them because they're trying to find their identity in their wealth, their identity in what they can gain and what they can earn. And what Jesus is saying right here is he says, You are a fool to store up earthly wealth, but not have a rich relationship with God. So he's not saying it's bad. There's nothing bad at all with having things and accomplishing things. Absolutely. But if you find your identity in that and you don't have a rich relationship with God, then you're a fool. Then you're foolish. Jesus says, Stop being an idiot, stop being stupid, stupid, right? And so the cure for this un this misplaced identity in your stuff and things is to put your identity in Jesus. Then you will see everything you have is a blessing. And it's the cure for that identity crisis of always having to have more. So Dr. Jesus is working on us here. And I wonder if that's kind of how Luke sees that, because even though he's on this investigative journey, he was still trained as a doctor. So he's writing us a prescription for the cures for our soul. Here's the next part. I love this. Verse 22, he says, then turning to his disciples, he said, That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life, whether you'll have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And are you not more far more valuable than a bird? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if a worry can't accomplish a little thing like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon and all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully about the flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? And listen, don't be concerned about what to eat or what to drink. Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world. But your father already knows what you need. And listen to this, verse 31. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. If you're actually reading that, I want you to, you know, take a really good pen and just circle that word. Need, need. All right, verse 32. So don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom. Verse 33. So sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven. And the purses of heaven will never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe, no thief can steal it, no moth can destroy it. And wherever your treasure is, there your desires, the desires of your heart will be awesome. So pause again. Jesus is saying, I want to give you the cure to the present anxiety you're dealing with. I will be honest with you, depending on where you're listening to this. If you're listening to this to another country beside the US, which by the way, we have some people who listen to this that are from other countries. Hi, it's good to it's good to meet you. My name is Pastor Brandon, and that's awesome. Leave me a comment and let me know where you're from. There's like two of you I noticed that are from like elsewhere. But if you are in the United States, you know, we really struggle with a lot of this because so many of us, we do have our basic necessities met. And so many of our anxieties is about our quality of life, not whether we will have life. And so you really have to put yourself in that place of these are people who most likely were eating hand to mouth. They were eating according to agricultural systems and things. And so they they had to think about having enough clothes, having enough food, having enough of this, that, and the other. And Jesus is saying, look at the birds. Man, they don't do nothing. They just go around and just be stealing food all the time. And he takes care of them. Look at look at the look at the flowers. They don't do anything. That reminds me of like like kids running around. They don't do nothing. But they are so very blessed. And he's like, I care so much more about you than these other things. So that doesn't mean that we don't acknowledge we have needs. We do the very best we can to make our our needs uh happen. You know, we we work and we do the stuff, but we always trust the Lord to provide, just like a raven. A raven doesn't just sit in his nest and wait for the food to fall. He goes and he tries to make it happen. He he goes and collects. But the thing is, is he trusts to he trusts the Lord, you know, to make sure that those things are there when he goes looking. And that's what Jesus is saying. And so therefore, he's saying, since I'm gonna take care of you, sell the extra possessions, sell the possessions that you have and give to those in need. Store up your treasures in heaven. In other words, he's saying is don't be afraid to be generous. Just like this parable he read right before he said right before that, don't be afraid to be generous, because remember, I'm taking care of you. And so the cure for the anxiety of our soul over current needs is to do the very best we can and to trust the Lord to do all the things that we can't do, because it is good for our Father. He wants, it says it brings great happiness to him to give us the kingdom. Now he's going to talk about how to deal with future anxiety. He says this in verse 35. He says, Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning as though you are waiting for your master return from a wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat with sit with them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat. He may come in in the middle of the night or just before dawn, but whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. Understand this if a homemaker knew exactly when the burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when it is least expected. But then Peter asked, Lord, is that illustration for us or for everyone? I love Peter, by the way. He's always saying dumb stuff, which is exactly what I would be saying too. It's like, can you like expand on that at all? And then Jesus replied, A faithful, sensible servant is one whom when the master, uh whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds the servant has done a good job, then there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all that he owns. But what if the servant thinks, ah, my master won't be back for a while, and begins beating the other servants, partying and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected and will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful. And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn't prepared and doesn't carry out the instructions, he will be severely punished. But someone who does not know and then does something wrong, he will be punished only lightly. And when someone has been given much, much will be required in return. But someone who has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. So Jesus then talks about the idea of how to deal with future anxiety, how to deal with what's coming in the future. Dr. Jesus says, put your trust in me. Do everything you can with everything I have given you, and trust me with the rest. That's what he was saying when he was saying it's just like if a servant is put in charge of other servants, but what does he do? He does the best he can as though his master is gonna show up that very next day, no matter whether that master does come the next day or 30 days from now or even further. He just does the very best he can with what he has, and then he trusts the Lord to know the difference. Notice how he said there at the end, he's like, if the servant knows to do well but then doesn't do it, man, he's gonna get jacked up. He's gonna get in a lot of trouble. But if a servant does not know what to do and he still messes up, well, he's still gonna have judgment, but it's not gonna be anywhere near as bad. And that's the same thing we do with our kids, right? Like if you do something wrong, I'm still gonna have to teach you that it was wrong so you don't do it next time. But in no way are we gonna be that angry because you don't know. And so what Jesus is saying is, is trust me. Put your hope in me, do the very best you can with what you've been given, and just trust that I know your heart. And I got you. I got you. All right, let's finish this up. Verse 49. Jesus said this. I love this verse, by the way. I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning. Pause. He is not saying he came to destroy everything. What he is saying is, is I came to wake us all up. I can't, and I wish that you were already awake. I love that. All right, verse 50. I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No. I have come to divide people against each other. From now on, families will be split apart. Three in favor of me, two against me, two in favor, and three against. Father will be divided against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. Pause right there. He's actually talking about a messianic prophecy that was going to be fulfilled. And what he was saying is, I realize not everybody is going to receive this. So you need to understand that this message that I have, now God become flesh. When I come to this world, I know that some people are not going to support it. So I need you to understand that's part of the fulfillment, is that not everybody is going to agree. And that's just the truth of how it works. All right, let's finish this up, verse 54. Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, Here comes a shower. And you're right. When the south wind blows, you say, Today will be a scorcher. And it is. You fools. You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but don't know how to interpret the present times. Why can't you decide for yourselves what is right? When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge who will hand you over to the officer who will throw you into prison. And if that happens, you won't be free again until you have paid the last penny. So Jesus stops and just gives some practical advice for how to bring reconciliation in relationships. So a whole lot there. And if I were to try to bring all this into kind of a one big idea for the whole thing, it would be that Jesus offers the cure for the things that trouble our soul. The first part, Jesus talked about, you know, as leaders, we have to make sure we're doing the right things for the right reasons. And then the next part is he talks about the idea of making sure we don't find our identity and our stuff and things. But our identity needs to come for Christ, needs to come from Him. Then he talks about the idea of not allowing ourselves to worry over present circumstances, but to put our trust in the Lord. So we do the very best we can with what we have, but then we trust the Lord to do what we can't do. Then he talks about what to do with the future. And the future is yet again to do the very best we can with what we have, and we trust the Lord's justice, that he's gonna know our hearts. And if we get the if we do the right thing for the right reason, he's always gonna point us in the right direction. And then he finishes up by the practical advice of just saying, well, you guys need to understand is that following me is not fun. Following me causes division because not everybody is going to agree. And so you need to understand the signs of the time, y'all. You need to understand that there's going to be times when people aren't going to agree. So don't expect them to. So what you need to do is you try to find reconciliation with them without backing up from what you believe. And I can't imagine a message that needs to be heard more today. So that's how I would apply this. It's just to purpose yourself to allow Dr. Jesus to speak life to you and just to understand that not everybody is going to agree. And so we don't get mad at them. We expect it. But we love them and we keep moving forward anyway. Let me pray for you and we'll be done today. Father, thank you so much for your word. Thank you that it is quick, it is powerful, and that it is sharper than any two-edged sword. It challenges us, it divides us from our sin. It helps us to see it for what it is. And we just repent of any sin that would stop us from being closer to you. But we know that repentance is a beautiful thing. It's a wonderful thing because it always helps us to get closer to you, that you're not mad at us, you're in love with us. And there is no shame in your presence. We celebrate that today, that we have a chance to take a step toward you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, I love you. Hope you have a great time, great day. I'll see you next time for Luke chapter 13.