Luke 12:1-12 - Bridge Out Ahead!

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If you'll turn with me this morning to Luke chapter 12, Luke 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

We've heard Jesus address the Pharisees and the lawyers in the last couple of weeks.

Pretty strong words for them that also have convicted us in many places.

But as we turn the page to chapter 12 of Luke's gospel, Jesus speaks in the midst of very large crowds directly to his disciples.

To those apparently following him.

And in just the same few verses, Jesus will issue some of the most serious warnings that he ever gives to his disciples.

Right alongside some of the most comforting words he ever speaks.

This is God's holy word, which speaks to his followers truthfully, clearly, and unequivocally still today.

Luke 12 at verse 1.

In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another,

he began to say to his disciples first,

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.

Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light,

and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do.

But I will warn you whom to fear.

Fear him who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

And not one of them is forgotten before God.

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear not.

You are of more value than many sparrows.

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men,

the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.

But the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.

But the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities,

do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself for what you should say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

Pray with me.

Father, this is your word.

And your word is living and active.

It's sharper than a double-edged sword.

It pierces to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

It cuts to our hearts.

So, Father, we ask that it would do that by your Spirit this morning.

Even if it hurts, even if it challenges us,

Father, might it show us our hearts and might it show us our Savior.

Search us, O God.

Know our hearts.

Try us.

Know our anxious thoughts.

See if there's any wicked way in us so that you may point us back to the way everlasting.

We need Him.

We ask it in His name.

Amen.

If you are heading somewhere and you see one of these signs, it's not good.

You know to be careful.

There's danger ahead, right?

Any number of things might happen.

If you continue on the path that you're currently on, you might merely slip and fall.

That wouldn't be too bad.

You might run into a very unfriendly dog.

Perhaps you've done that before.

It's not good.

Could be even worse.

The bridge could be out.

And there's no way to go forward.

You can't stay on the same path.

You could be facing even, one of the signs I hadn't personally seen before, danger of death.

Yes, I'm not sure how, but stay away from that area.

Don't keep going down that path, right?

Jesus this morning is speaking to those of us who are on or considering the path of following Him.

And He's saying, danger, warning, look out.

And it's not just that you might get hurt, but Jesus is warning us of eternal dangers.

He's raising the stakes beyond even these signs.

And He's challenging us to consider seriously some eternal realities that are not merely matters of life and death,

but are matters of eternal life and death.

And let me remind you, these warnings are not for someone else.

They're given to people like you and me.

They're not for someone else.

The audience of these warnings as Jesus speaks here to His disciples would be found in church on a morning like this.

Would be hanging out, looking around, inquiring about Jesus.

Jesus, we dare not treat these clear warnings lightly.

They are tailor-made for us.

People just like us.

So first, Jesus says, warning.

Religious pretense will be exposed.

Look at verse 1.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.

Therefore, whatever you've said in the dark shall be heard in the light.

And what you've whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy.

That thing that the world tells Christians that we're guilty of all the time, right?

Perhaps so much so that you've kind of brushed it off.

You don't really take that accusation seriously anymore.

I'm not a hypocrite, right?

But this time, it's from Jesus.

Jesus says, beware of hypocrisy.

He's been talking to the religious leaders about this danger of having your outward religiosity

not match your inward reality.

Doing lots of good religious things, but not having a genuine reality in your heart.

You remember last week we saw in chapter 11 several examples of this as he talked to the Pharisees.

Verse 39 of chapter 11, I think.

Is that on the next slide?

Verse 39.

There it is.

Now, you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness.

You fools, did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

You see what Jesus has been challenging the leaders on, right?

He does this repeatedly.

The outside looks nice perhaps, but you're ignoring the inside.

Inside.

And now, Jesus says, that two-faced, double-life struggle that they have can seep into all the people around them.

It's a danger for anyone following Jesus.

That leaven, that yeast works its way through the whole loaf of bread.

It starts with the leaders and spreads into all of the followers.

Watch out, Jesus says.

Be on your guard against hypocrisy.

Why?

Because one day everything will be known for what it truly is.

You're not going to get away with it.

You may fool your friends.

You may fool your business partners.

You may fool your spouse or your kids.

But one day our ultimate commitments, what we truly value and truly live for, will be exposed for all to see.

So hypocrisy is very short-sighted.

It won't get you where you want to go ultimately.

Be warned.

Danger.

Danger.

How would you feel if everything you ever did or said was uncovered?

Exposed?

That makes you feel a little uncomfortable as it does me?

Then you can see at least the seeds of hypocrisy sown in our hearts, right?

Maybe we don't think of ourselves as hypocrites.

I mean, we're not the Pharisees, right?

What should we watch out for as signs that the bridge is out ahead, so to speak, in our lives?

That we're not truly following Jesus?

Here are some examples.

Huntsville hypocrisy to consider in your own heart.

Hypocrisy looks like saying God is sovereign and in control,

but following your own feelings of what is best for your life,

or trusting only your own plans for your life.

Hypocrisy looks like being kind and patient in church and at small group,

but being insufferable and hateful and quick-tempered at home.

Hypocrisy looks like never missing time with God when others are watching,

like right now.

I'm here.

But never making time for God in private.

This leaven of hypocrisy, I don't know where it might show up in your life,

but be honest with yourself.

When that leaven starts to work its way in your heart, it's insidious, it's dangerous,

it's devastating in our hearts.

My girls like to play pretend, to make up stories where they get to play a variety of different roles.

In particular, they like to play mommy and have someone else be the baby.

And one time not too long ago, I was offering to play with one of my girls,

and she wanted to make up a story.

She wanted me to be the baby, and she would pretend to be the mommy, the one who is in charge.

And this was delightful for a couple of minutes,

until what began to happen is she started to kind of believe this story,

that she was really in charge.

And so what that meant was that I could only do what she told me to do.

I couldn't quit playing the game and go do something else when I wanted to,

because I was the baby and she was the mommy and she was in charge.

Sit back down, Daddy.

You see how quickly that happens for us?

Sometimes if we pretend long enough,

we begin to believe there's reality where there's not.

Sometimes the yeast does in our heart what it does to a lump of dough.

What happens to the bread if you've ever baked it?

It begins to expand and to blow up so that it looks bigger,

but inside it's actually not as substantial.

There's nothing there.

And so I play church and pretend to be religious for long enough that I begin to think,

maybe I do know God.

Yeah, maybe there is spiritual reality there.

I think I've got everything I really need.

I've kind of figured this church thing out.

You just kind of go enough times and wear the right stuff

and make sure you don't say the wrong thing.

And yeah, there is reality there.

And Jesus says,

beware of the temptation to think.

The outward religiosity creates inward reality.

Watch out.

Secondly, Jesus says,

warning, warning,

don't fear man more than God.

Verse 4.

Next slide has verse 4.

There we go.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body

and after that have nothing more that they can do.

But I will warn you whom to fear.

Fear him who after he has killed

has authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him.

What are you afraid of?

Does it scare you to think of being exposed?

Your hypocrisy being revealed

so others can know the truth about you?

Do you fear failure?

Criticism as a Christian?

Are you afraid you will suffer physical harm

for your beliefs?

I've dealt with all of those recently

as I consider traveling to India

to preach the gospel in a country

where many are less keen on that taking place

than the place I usually am.

And the fear of other people's negative opinions

is a daily struggle for me.

Perhaps the most consistently frustrating struggle

throughout my life.

But Jesus says don't fear those temporary things.

Rather, there's an appropriate fear of God

we should have.

An awareness of His awesome greatness.

And that before Him,

we deserve not only physical harm,

but eternal damnation

when we see who He is.

The Bible tells us

one of the results of our sinfulness

is that there is no fear of God

before our eyes.

We don't consider the weight of His glory.

We don't bow before Him quickly.

We don't follow His commandments naturally.

And as a result,

there's a danger for all of us

that as we stop fearing God,

we become driven by other things we fear more.

Things like physical harm,

loss of reputation,

status with men,

discomfort,

whatever the things are that you fear.

Jesus says don't let those lesser fears

drive you.

You must fear God.

Have you taken a sober look

at His perfect holiness,

His righteous anger,

His just wrath against sin,

and realized you should rightly tremble before Him

because of His awesome greatness?

Have you glimpsed just a little bit

of His infinite majesty

and seen yourself as finite?

Perfect.

Small.

Vulnerable.

Before Him.

See, most of us don't regularly face

those who are intent to kill us

as Jesus' disciples soon would.

And yet, we too find fear of man

overwhelming our fear of God,

don't we?

Can you imagine

what the temptation would be like for you

if it actually was your very life

that was threatened because of your faith?

You're already being driven by

lesser concerns than that.

What someone might think,

what someone might say,

how you feel about yourself,

and those things are driving us.

When you begin to see your life

driven by fear,

Jesus says,

watch out.

There's one whom you should fear

and with Him consequences are eternal.

Not merely years of pain and embarrassment,

but an eternity of torment and death.

Which consequence is more fearful?

He says.

Finally, Jesus says,

warning.

Warning.

Again, watch out.

Willfully rejecting Jesus

will have eternal consequences.

You see how these three warnings

are connected

as Jesus continues that theme

of what happens eternally

by painting here a picture

of the judgment seat of God.

That's the picture here in verse 8

that Jesus is giving for us.

I tell you,

everyone who acknowledges Me

before men,

the Son of Man also will acknowledge

before the angels of God.

But the one who denies Me

before men will be denied

before the angels of God.

That's the setting here.

God's eternal judgment

before the throne of God.

Whether or not one has embraced Jesus

is the key to what happens

before that throne.

That's what it all hinges on.

And Jesus continues,

verse 10,

everyone who speaks a word

against the Son of Man

will be forgiven.

But the one who blasphemes

against the Holy Spirit

will not be forgiven.

Perhaps no more frightening warning

in the world.

You can't be forgiven.

What's the unpardonable,

the unforgivable sin?

Those words get our attention,

don't they?

They got my attention

when I was a kid.

I remember reading them

and going in tears to my dad,

scared to death

that I had committed

the unforgivable sin,

even though I had no idea

what it would have been

that I would have done.

I just,

I knew there couldn't be

a worse place to find myself.

Dad, what does this mean?

Have I done it?

I don't want to spend a lot of time

on this verse,

but two things to say

about it briefly.

And the first is,

what is it?

This blaspheming

the Holy Spirit?

In the context here,

this unpardonable sin

seems to be persistent,

willful rejection

of Jesus.

The person, Jesus,

that the Holy Spirit

testifies to us

is the Son of God

and the Savior of sinners.

It says we can say something

against Jesus.

We might have a negative word

to say about Him

and be forgiven for that,

but not against

the Holy Spirit

when we willfully

and repeatedly

shut our hearts

to the truth of Jesus

from His Spirit.

We're choosing

to face death

on our own.

Secondly,

have I done it?

Perhaps it makes you feel

as it made me feel

when I was a child.

I'll tell you

what my dad told me.

If you are worried

about it,

you haven't done it.

Because of the nature

of the sin

described here

and elsewhere

in Scripture

as this unforgivable sin,

you can know

that sincere conviction

and concern

not to be stuck

in this sin

is evidence

that you are not

stuck in this sin.

If there's a sensitivity

to God's Spirit

in your heart

bringing conviction

of some sin

upon you,

then keep listening

to Him

and let Him

point you

to the forgiveness

of Jesus.

See, that's the whole point

of this final warning

in these verses

is that eternity

hinges on your

active embrace

of Jesus.

You must be

clinging to Him

or you are standing

on shaky ground.

if you are merely

pretending

religiously

but don't truly

know Jesus.

If you are more afraid

of earthly consequences

than eternal judgment.

If you are denying

Jesus

before men,

then beware

when you stand

before the judge

of all the earth

and your only hope

is that Jesus speaks up

to advocate

for you.

There is a judge.

There is a heaven.

There is a hell.

And the determining

factor for your

eternal destiny

is not what you've done

or who you're

associated with

but whether you

know Jesus.

The judge will either

say,

welcome

my child

or depart

from me.

I never

knew you.

To those of you

here this morning

still wondering

about Jesus

still trying to figure

out what you would

make of Him.

Let me encourage you

fully to entrust

yourself

forever

to Jesus.

If He speaks

on your behalf

before His Father

the judge

that's all that matters.

It's all you need.

I remember

my childhood

best friend

his father

was the head

of the P.E.

department

at Memphis

State University

is what it was

called then.

And so

he and I

could go

and as little

kids

we could go

into the

practice gym

where the Tigers

practiced

college basketball.

It seemed

incredible.

I think it was

just a normal

court.

But we could

go in there

after hours

with all the

lights off

and we could

flip a switch

and go

play basketball

and man

we felt like

we were awesome.

Except every

once in a while

his dad

had gone

to his office

and somebody

would walk

down and stick

his head in

and look at me

like I was

doing something

I shouldn't

be doing.

And I felt

very guilty.

I felt like

I was being

caught somewhere

I wasn't

supposed to be.

And I'd look

for my friend

really fast.

Hey Bill!

Bill!

And he would

come up

Hey!

He's okay!

He's with me!

And they'd

smile and wave

and go off.

And I kind of

hung next to him

and thought

yeah that's right

with him

I can be right here.

I can come

right into this

place where

nobody else

gets to come

where all

these awesome

basketball players

are because

I'm with

him.

If God's

son speaks

on your

behalf

before his

throne

you're good.

You're in.

It's all

that's required

is for you

to be connected

to the son.

In fact

it's the only

thing that

matters.

It's not

what you've

done.

It's not

how you've

failed.

It's not

even how

hypocritical

you've been

that determines

your eternal

destiny at that

point.

It's whether

or not

Jesus

acknowledges

you.

His blood

pays for

your sins.

His

perfection

replaces

your failures

and your

eternity

is secure.

Nothing

else is

enough.

Nothing

else

matters.

Nothing

else

is

needed.

So if

you haven't

embraced

him don't

be content

dabbling

with religion.

Don't be

content

playing around

with church

and showing

up

occasionally.

Be all

in on

Jesus.

Entrust

yourself to

Jesus

forever

as you

do so.

As we

trust in

Jesus

the comfort

offered to

us is

as profound

as the

warnings that

we've been

given this

morning.

It's a

comfort from

the Father,

the Son,

and the

Holy Spirit.

All of

them together

speaking comfort

to us.

First we

see here

your secure

identity

from the

Son.

If you're

headed towards

a dangerous

dog,

if you're

headed towards

a bridge

that's out

ahead,

the danger

of death,

and someone

gives you a

sign to let

you know

that,

that's a

friendly thing

to do.

Right?

Friends

warn us of

danger.

Good friends

say hard

things to

those they

love,

particularly

warning them

of danger

in the path

they're walking

on.

These may be

stern warnings,

but Jesus

speaks them

as a friend

and even

reaffirms

that intention

in this

passage.

The one

place in

all the

Bible where

He addresses

His disciples

directly as

friends.

Verse 4,

I tell you

my friends.

My friends,

Jesus says.

There's a

wealth of

security in

those words

as Jesus

warns those

He loves.

But listen,

if you're

with the

Son,

if by faith

you're a

friend of

Jesus,

the one who

is by nature

a friend of

sinners,

your identity

is secure.

You're safe

in the gym.

Your relationship

with God

is settled.

There's also

comfort from

the Holy Spirit

in this

passage.

At the end,

verse 11,

when they

bring you

before the

synagogues

and the

rulers and

the authorities,

do not be

anxious about

how you

should defend

yourself or

what you

should say,

for the

Holy Spirit

will teach

you in

that very

hour what

you ought

to say.

The Holy

Spirit with

you,

constant help

from the

Spirit,

ever present,

dwelling in

you.

Because yes,

this passage

speaks primarily

of eternal

dangers,

but it doesn't

overlook the

earthly dangers,

the trying

situations we

will face

beyond our

wisdom or

strength to

handle.

Jesus says

be comforted

because the

Spirit will

show us how

we can testify

to Jesus.

He will give

us the words

to speak before

men that will

proclaim our

hope in our

Savior.

What a great

comfort that is

for whatever

the trial we

will face,

for whatever

the situation

we will find

ourselves unsure

of what

faithfulness to

Jesus will

look like.

He gives

us His

Spirit for

constant,

unfailing

help.

But I think

easily my

favorite word

of comfort in

this passage is

the assurance of

our unchanging

value from the

Father Himself.

Look at verse

six.

Are not five

sparrows sold

for two pennies?

And not one

of them is

forgotten before

God?

Why, even the

hairs of your

head are all

numbered.

Fear not,

you are of

more value

than many

sparrows.

The very one

who because of

our natures we

are told rightly

to fear,

because of our

relationship we

are told not

to fear.

Verse five,

fear Him.

Verse six and

seven, fear

not.

The one who

because of what

we're like and

what He's like

should be the one

we would fear

above all others

because He's our

Father,

do not fear.

Have you ever

considered putting

a price tag on

your children?

Don't answer that

if they're sitting

next to you.

How valuable

are they to you?

Your heavenly

Father says you

are precious

to Him.

He cares about

sparrows,

about things

that others

overlook and

devalue and

are worthless

to them.

He's interested

in the minute,

seemingly

insignificant

details of

our lives.

That's how much

He cares.

Some of you

find it more

amazing than

others that He

can count all

the hairs on

your head.

I understand

that.

For many of us

I'm told it's

over a hundred

thousand hairs.

And He knows

every single

one.

The Bible tells

us He counts

our hairs.

It says He counts

our tears.

You may have

cried a lot.

It says He calls

us by name

that He knows

every activity

we're ever

involved in.

His eye is

on the sparrow

and so I know

He watches

me.

It's a great

reminder, a great

comfort.

let not your

heart be troubled.

His tender

word I hear

and resting

on His goodness

I lose my

doubts and

fears.

Though by the

path He leadeth

but one step

I may see

His eye

is on the

sparrow

and I know

He watches

me.

His eye

is on the

sparrow.

I can't

sing that

part.

And I know

He watches

me.

Even though I

only see one

step maybe

I don't actually

know whether

the bridge is

out, whether

there's danger

ahead.

There's someone

watching me

who cares

for me

and it's the

comfort of

that beautiful

song.

It's the

one that

Jesus is

giving us

here speaking

about our

value to

His Father.

That's the

kind of

comfort offered

to every

one of you

this morning

in the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

The warnings

in this passage

are clear that

if we continue

in our hypocrisy,

if we shape

our lives

around the

fear of man

and deny

before others

the authority

of Jesus,

we do so

at our own

peril.

We find

eternal

safety

nowhere else

but in

fully

entrusting

ourselves

to Jesus.

And the

comforts

tell us

that as we

trust our

God,

not just

once but

again today

as you

trust Him,

we're His

children.

We always

have His

presence

and His

help and

we are

treasured

and cared

for by Him

beyond

what we

could

understand.

And it

won't stop.

He treasures

us and

cares for us

forever.

When you

see the

bridge out

ahead,

if you see

that this

morning,

that the

path you're

on won't

get you

to God,

cling to

Jesus.

Find Him

to be the

bridge to

the Father,

the great

Savior we all

need.

let's pray.

Jesus,

thank You

for loving

us enough

to warn

us.

Thank You

for knowing

that when

we see those

warnings for

what they

really are,

we need

Your comfort

too.

And so

where we

need to

be shaken

into seeing

the reality

of our

hearts and

lives,

would You

do that

by Your

Spirit?

And call

us back

to the only

place of

comfort.

Call us

back to

clinging so

tightly to

You that

we couldn't

possibly stand

without You.

Might we

trust You

again today?

Might we

depend upon

You every

moment of

this week?

And might

we then

stand before

our God

confident

because of

our great

Savior.

We ask

it in

His name.

Amen.

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