Flashback Episode — Guarding Against Greed: Luke 12:13-34


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If you have ever faced or struggled with worry in your life, the message Jesus shares in our passage for this episode may be a relief for you, or it may challenge you. However, regardless of whether this passage is challenging or it brings relief, Jesus’ message in this passage is both powerful and relevant.

And this teaching, or perhaps just the parable included in the first portion of Jesus’ teaching, is shared because of a request from someone in the crowd listening to Jesus. Let’s read what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 12, Luke tells us:

13 Someone in the crowd said to Him [referring to Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

Pausing reading for a moment, Jesus’ words here are powerful, and if you highlight statements in your Bible, this last message is worth highlighting because it is worth remembering. While we intellectually grasp the idea that our lives don’t consist of our possessions, almost every message we will receive from culture, from advertising, and from social media will try to define the value of our lives as being based on what we have, what we don’t have, and what we supposedly need.

However, even with everything, our lives are distinctly different from our possessions. From Jesus’ warning about greed, I wonder if greed in our lives is at the foundation of seeing our worth as been the sum of what we own and what we have.

Let’s read Jesus’ warning again, and then continue into the parable He shares as a follow-up illustration. Reading from verse 15, Jesus said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Pausing our reading again, this parable is powerful every time I read it. While some people might read this parable as God judging and killing this man for being greedy and not generous, the big truth in this passage comes from the rhetorical question God asks this man at the end of this parable. Summarizing God’s question, He basically asks this man what all the savings and value the wealth he had stored up will do for him once he is dead. After this man is dead, he cannot take what he has stored with him beyond the grave.

This means that regardless of how much we store and save in this life, when we die, the result is the same: Someone else will get everything we saved.

The implication is that we can choose how to use our wealth while we are alive, but how our wealth is used after we are gone is completely up to others. Even with a will, it is up to other people whether they will honor our last wishes or not. By being generous with our money when we are alive, we get to experience the joy that comes with giving because we can see how our gifts are able to benefit others.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing in verse 22:

22 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26 If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this big teaching about how useless it is to worry, Jesus makes a powerful statement at the end of this message. In verse 34, Jesus tells everyone living at every point in history: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where we have placed our treasure, we have also placed our hearts. When we give money away to help others, we have the amazing opportunity of storing up treasure in heaven. Our intentional generosity is never lost, even when we do everything we can to be anonymous.

When we give up our possessions and give money to help others, we rob greed of its power. Greed is powerful in our lives when our focus is placed on what we own. When we shift our focus onto selling, giving, and focusing on helping others, greed is robbed of its power in our lives.

However, the biggest benefit of choosing a life of generosity isn’t the removal of greed, or the storing of our treasure in heaven. Instead, the biggest benefit of living a generous life of service to others is that our hearts will be stored in the same place where our treasure is, and when our treasure is stored in heaven, our hearts will be there as well!

God desires your heart and mine. When we live lives focused on serving God, helping others, and storing our treasure in heaven, God gets our hearts as well – and God is the only one who is able to restore a sin-stained heart. God solved the sin problem through Jesus, and He is willing to solve our personal sin problem when we give our hearts to Him!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to live a life of generosity and service in order to store up treasures in heaven! Trust in what God has given to us through Jesus and His sacrifice and live a life of gratitude, giving thanks to God for everything He has blessed us with!

Also, always continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Through personal prayer and Bible study, strengthen your relationship with God and discover what He wants to teach you personally through His Word. While others people have ideas and opinions, God wants to speak through the Bible to you personally!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Luke – Episode 24: While teaching about greed and worry, Jesus shares how a simple shift of our focus can both defeat greed in our lives, while also reminding us how worry by itself is useless.

Join the discussion on the original episode's page: Click Here.

Defending God: Luke 12:1-12

Focus Passage: Luke 12:1-12 (GW)

Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

“My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. 10 Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

Read Luke 12:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was warning the disciples about the dangers of hypocrisy and avoiding the subtle influences of culture, He shares with them a powerful promise that we all can learn from. Before being derailed by someone in the crowd interrupting Him, Jesus tells the disciples, “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.” (v. 11-12)

Of all the warnings, promises, and challenges Jesus gave the disciples, I imagine this one was among the most equally faced among these earliest followers. I believe every single one of them was pulled in before synagogues, rulers, and authorities to defend themselves and the message of Jesus.

I would imagine this could be the most intimidating thing for anyone to face, except for what Jesus promises will happen during these times. Jesus shares that when we are placed on trial for God, the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say, or in other words, the Holy Spirit will speak through us. The promise Jesus shared was for both His disciples in the first century and all of His followers who face trials from that point forward.

In this promise, Jesus takes all of the pressure off of us and He places it on God. While I doubt that this makes being present in the moment any less fearful, we can know without a doubt that God loves us, He values us, and He will use our lives for His glory.

Jesus tells us in this promise that God will defend Himself through us. It is not up to us to defend God. If we try to defend God on our own merit, we will fail. The only way for us to win is to let the Holy Spirit defend God through us. When we win using the Holy Spirit, we may not be spared torture, and we may not keep our life, but we will be saved for eternity – which is the only life that matters.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Praise for Our Redeemer: Psalm 8:1-9


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As we continue forward in our year looking at prophecies Jesus fulfilled and passages from the Old Testament that are connected in some way with the New Testament, we arrive at an event that happens early on within the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Depending on the gospel that you read, the event we will look at in Jesus’ life might have even been the first thing to happen following Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, which was the focus of our past two episodes.

However, prior to diving into Jesus’ life and ministry, let’s look back in the Old Testament, in a psalm, that Jesus ultimately drew on to defend some people who were being targeted by the religious leaders.

Our passage for this episode is found in the Old Testament book of Psalms, chapter 8, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, the psalmist writes:

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

In this psalm, we discover an amazing reflection on how much God loves and values us, and this psalm also reflects on how we are often very unworthy of God’s favor.

However, early on in this psalm, we read a phrase that Jesus draws upon shortly after He has cleared the commerce from the temple courtyard. Let’s read what happened and discover what we can learn.

Our passage from Jesus’ life and ministry is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will begin reading in verse 12:

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

As I picture this event take place, after Jesus has chased off all the merchants from the temple, those who were disabled come to Him to be helped. In addition to this, if this event happened on the same day as the triumphal entry, we have a group of people who has eagerly been traveling into Jerusalem singing praises to Jesus. It wouldn’t surprise me if the praise and celebration continued through Jesus’ arrival at the temple, and with every person who He healed.

However, also looking at this event were the chief priests and the scribes. While the religious leaders did not like what had happened, they could not openly speak against the miracles and healing Jesus was doing, primarily because this wasn’t the Sabbath. About the only case they could make against the healing Jesus did was if it had happened on the Sabbath, and in this event, everyone Jesus healed was receiving their blessing during the workweek.

I suspect for this reason, the religious leaders decide to criticize the only other angle they have available, and that is the source of the praise Jesus was receiving, specifically that it was young children being loud and that their loudness was openly praising Jesus with a Messianic title.

Jesus responds to their criticism by quoting this psalm, however for one reason or another, or perhaps because I don’t know the original languages to spot a potential connection, it seems as though Jesus shifts one word in His response from the word the psalmist used.

In the original psalm, we find the idea stated as, “From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength”. When Jesus quotes this line, He shares the following statement, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’”.

From the way Jesus frames His statement, it is as though the praise these infants and children bring Jesus is a strong argument and defense against those who would accuse Jesus. It is also an amazing, God-like twist, to understand that God is able and willing to establish His strength through the mouths of children who are just beginning to talk. It would be interesting to know if the praise some of these children gave that day were actually their first words. While we have no way of knowing this, it is an interesting thought that just entered my mind.

In first century culture, perhaps even more so than today, children were often looked down on. However, like the Godhead often likes doing, we find a powerful example and prediction where the children are praised for their praise of Jesus, while the adults, who should be more aware of the significance of what is happening, are being left out because their minds and hearts were closed. While the religious leaders should have been the group to have seen the clearest the amazing significance of what Jesus was doing, they had let their minds and hearts harden against Jesus because He did not fit their pre-built picture of the Messiah.

However, before wrapping up our podcast, let’s look back at a couple phrases of this psalm that are not part of this prophecy. In Psalm 8, verses 3 through 8, the psalmist proclaims:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

While we might be left wondering why God would care for a fallen race of rebels, or specifically why He would even still love us like this psalmist also wonders, we don’t need to look any further than Jesus to know that God truly loves us, and His big goal is redeeming you and me from the grip of sin!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and thank Him for what He accomplished for you and me through Jesus’ life and death. Thank God for His love and caring, and if you ever feel as though God has abandoned you, open your Bible and reread the gospel record of Jesus.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Through regular prayer and Bible study, discover a God who loves you so much that He will stop at nothing to redeem you from sin.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Prophecy – Episode 24: When Jesus is challenged in the temple regarding what some people were saying about Him, discover how Jesus comes to this marginalized group’s defense, by quoting from a fascinating psalm that includes some profound insights about God’s love.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Making the Impossible Easy: Luke 14:1-6

Focus Passage: Luke 14:1-6 (GW)

On a day of rest—a holy day Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day, or not?” But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” They couldn’t argue with him about this.

Read Luke 14:1-6 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Often the details surrounding an event are just as interesting as what actually happened.

For example, as I was reading the passage for this journal entry, a question entered my head that wasn’t directly answered in the passage in the first place: “Why was there a sick man at this Pharisee’s home?”

The sick person could have been a family member or close friend, but if this were the case, the Pharisee would have directly asked Jesus to heal the sick man. However, Jesus instead asks the first question, making me think that Jesus is more interested in directing the conversation towards healing the man.

If the sick person was not a family member or close friend, this event could have been a setup. The passage does say the guests were watching Jesus very closely. This definitely suggests a setup.  The day of rest, the high profile, highly opinionated guests, and the significant location all suggest that the events in this passage are staged.

As a staged event, we can see that these Pharisees saw Jesus as a healer, and it would seem that even doctors were not exempt from resting on the day of worship (i.e. the Sabbath day). Pretty much anything Jesus “did” that resulted in a healing would have immediately been classified as work, regardless of the effort it took or the number of calories it consumed.

But while the question regarding whether it was right to heal someone on the Sabbath is left hanging in the air, Jesus simply heals the man like the action is no big deal. It is so understated in this passage that if a Pharisee present had been looking away briefly, he could have missed it.

Perhaps these Pharisees had seen other miracles Jesus did, or maybe they had just heard rumors and wanted to see for themselves. Either way, the action present behind this healing was probably a letdown because it was so understated.

After the healed man left, Jesus compares the action to pulling your son or your ox out of a well. Pulling someone out of a well probably would take enough energy to break a sweat, and one or more people involved in pulling an ox from a well would definitely burn plenty of calories. However, Jesus performs this healing without even coming close to “breaking a sweat”. How Jesus performed the miracles were way too simple – Jesus made the impossible look easy.

This brings me to the big idea for this journal entry: Don’t be disappointed if God’s life-changing miracles come through simple methods. God may prefer the simple, clear miracle over the complex, confusing series of steps that our mind often thinks we need.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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