Luke 12

God Knows and Cares

1Under these circumstances, after 1so many thousands of 2people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “3Beware of the 4leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 25But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have 6whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on 7the housetops.

4“Now I say to you, 8My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: 9fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into 1011hell; yes, I tell you, fear 12Him! 6Are 13five sparrows not sold for two 14assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 715But even the hairs of your head are all counted. 16Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

8“Now I say to you, everyone who 17confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9but 18the one who denies Me before people will be denied 19before the angels of God. 1020And everyone who 21speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11Now when they bring you before 22the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not 23worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12for 24the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Greed Denounced

13Now someone 25in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14But He said to him, “2627You there--who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” 15But He said to them, “28Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” 16And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19And I will say to 29myself, “30You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ 20But God said to him, ‘31You fool! This very night 3233your soul is demanded of you; and 34as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21Such is the one who 35stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

22And He said to His disciples, “36For this reason I tell you, 37do not worry about your 38life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24Consider the 39ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor 40barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25And which of you by worrying can add a 4142day to his 43life’s span? 26Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor 44spin; but I tell you, not even 45Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28Now 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? 46You of little faith! 29And do not 47seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not 48keep worrying. 30For 49all these things are what the nations of the world 50eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. 31But 51seek His kingdom, and 52these things will be 53provided to you. 325455Do not be afraid, 56little flock, because 57your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

33“58Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, 59an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. 34For 60where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be in Readiness

35“6162Be prepared, and keep your 63lamps lit. 36You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find 64on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that 65he will 66prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. 3867Whether he comes in the 68second watch, or even in the 69third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39“70But 71be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be 72broken into. 4073You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”

41Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or 74to everyone else as well?” 42And 75the Lord said, “76Who then is the faithful and sensible 77steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43Blessed is that 78slave whom his 79master finds so doing when he comes. 44Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will 80cut him in two, and assign 81him a place with the unbelievers. 47And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will 82receive many blows, 48but the one who did not 83know it, and committed acts deserving of 84a beating, will receive only a few blows. 85From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Christ Divides People

49“I 86have come to cast fire upon the earth; and 87how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a 88baptism 89to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 5190Do you think that I came to provide peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 52for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, 91father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54And He was also saying to the crowds, “92Whenever you see a cloud rising 93in the west, you immediately say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55And whenever you feel a 94south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a 95hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56You hypocrites! 96You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to analyze this present time?

57“And 97why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right? 58For 98when you are going with your accuser to appear before the magistrate, on the way, make an effort to 99settle with him, so that he does not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid up 100the very last 101102lepton.”