The Promise in a Warning: 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!

During one of the times Jesus was teaching the disciples, a large crowd was present and listening in. Within this teaching that focused in on warning the disciples about the dangers of hypocrisy, Jesus tells them something about how God relates to each of us that is powerful, challenging, and incredibly fair.

In the middle of this teaching, Jesus comes out and says that “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.” (v. 8-9)

This short two-verse message is incredible to think about. In essence, Jesus basically tells us that He will recognize everyone who publicly acknowledges Him in front of others, while those who keep their faith a secret and don’t share Him with others are at risk of losing out. While Jesus says that He will tell the angels that He doesn’t know the people who say they don’t know Him, there is little difference in openly telling others that you don’t know Jesus and simply not saying that you do.

Jesus’ words in this verse might be challenging for some people to face, but I see this as one of Jesus’ most amazing promises. While this is a warning for those who want to keep their faith a secret and those who don’t want to acknowledge they are followers of Jesus, in the words of this warning Jesus basically gives us the easiest way to be sure we are recognized by Jesus and the easiest way to be known to Him. All we have to do is share Him publicly, and to tell others that we are on God’s/Jesus’ side.

When challenged by those opposed to God, will we let them ridicule us into denying our faith, or will we stand firm even if we don’t know all the answers. Jesus promises us that He will “acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others” and we can claim this promise when faced with the decision whether to publicly live for God when faced with opposition.

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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