At the end of Chapter 11 the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. At the beginning of Chapter 12 Jesus responds.“Beware the yeast of the Pharisees” he says. What exactly was the hypocrisy of the Pharisees? I think it was their outward statement of trusting in God, while on the inside they were ruled by selfish desires. They were actually two people, the one everybody saw, and the one that God saw. This idea seems to set up the next thought in the chapter. There are two realities, one here on earth, and one in heaven. Of the two, the one in heaven is the “greater” reality, and it influences life here, just like our behavior here influences life there. So, if we accept Christ in this life, we will be accepted by Him in the next. If we reject him, then we will be rejected in the next life.
The sin against the Holy Spirit might be viewed differently considering this. A person could reject Jesus, but we cannot reject the One who sent Him. It’s possible to reject Christ for a long time, and later come to the conclusion you were wrong, and respond to the Holy Spirit. I wonder if the unforgivable part is the rejection of the possibility of diety in the first place? If I were to deny that God exists, or that He is active in creation I have dismissed the only pathway to salvation…making it unforgivable. And when you speak, there are two “yous” the one who is speaking audibly here, and the one who is also you, who comes from above, lives above and speaks through you. That is also you. You are two people, and the temporary earthly one will someday pass away, it’s real, but its also temporary. The second “you” is both real and eternal.
This informs my understanding of the next two topics. The rich fool was only worried about this life, not the next. There isn’t anything wrong with amassing wealth, but far better would be to leverage earthly wealth for eternal rewards. Anything gathered on earth is temporary, but it can be used to procure that which cannot pass away. So acquire wealth, and use it wisely. Just remember this: Your relationship with God is far more valuable and important than earthly wealth.
Then, beginning in verse 22 Jesus continues the thought, approaching it from a different perspective. What motivates us to strive after all these earthly things? It could be greed, or it could be worry. Jesus addresses them both in this chapter. Both greed and worry are excluded because they deny the second reality. Greed denies the temporary nature of earthly wealth and worry doubts God’s ability or desire to care for us. If we try to provide for our own needs we may be partially successful: we can provide a home or car, food and clothing..but we cannot provide for eternal things. On the other hand, if we trust God to provide for us eternally, then it stands to reason we can trust him to provide for us here as well. Which “reality” shapes your life? It isn’t easy to accept a reality that we haven’t seen or lived in…but wait…maybe we have lived in it. When the Spirit fills us, we become aware of this eternal reality, and the more we surrender ourselves to Christ, the more we become aware.
Perhaps this whole passage is Jesus calling the disciples to a deeper relationship with the Father. Trusting him for everything.
That would lead us into the next thought: Be ready for the Lord’s coming. If we are deeply engaged and responsive to the Lord, we will be operating in His power and doing His will when he returns. This passage, beginning with verse 35 suggests that the true believer, the one who is going to be accepted by God is the one who has surrendered deeply and is moving in accordance with God’s spirit. The ones who are still controlled by the sinful nature, and the realities of this life will not be received by God, they will be found to be hypocrites, like the Pharisees.
“Keep your wick trimmed and burning” was mentioned in our corporate time of prayer last evening. That can’t be a coincidence. Don’t allow worldly circumstances to distract you from your eternal pursuits. Stay focused on discipleship and seek hard after a relationsip with God.
“Keep your wick trimmed and burning” was mentioned in our corporate time of prayer last evening. That can’t be a coincidence. Don’t allow worldly circumstances to distract you from your eternal pursuits. Stay focused on discipleship and seek hard after a relationsip with God.
Earnestly following my own advice,
PR