Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
No one ever loved himself so much that he counted the hairs on his head. A new mom might count the first few hairs on her baby’s head, but even she would stop after a hundred or so. The average human head has about a hundred thousand hairs, and God’s love for us is so great that they are not only counted, but numbered. Not one will be lost apart from his loving consent.
Luke 12:8-9 I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Believing that Jesus was the Messiah could be very expensive. It often led to family conflict, being barred from synagogue, and financial hardship as people took their business elsewhere. It is no wonder some of Jesus’ followers were tempted to keep their faith a secret.
Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Jewish high court. [He] was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders (John 19:38). But after Jesus was crucified, Joseph threw caution to the wind. He went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body (Mark 15:43) and placed it in his own new tomb (Matthew 27:60). Having acknowledged Jesus on earth, he could be assured that Jesus would acknowledge him before the angels of God in heaven.
More recently, a high school student was sitting in the library, when a crazed student put a gun to her head, and asked if she believed in God. As a Christian, there was only one way she could answer. The next thing she knew, Jesus was introducing her to the angels of God (Cassie Bernall). Whoever acknowledges Jesus Christ will face disapproval on earth. But this amounts to very little compared the approval Christ, and his holy angels.
Luke 12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (Matthew 12:31).
And, Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin (Mark 3:28-29), said Jesus.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the most serious sin there is, and is probably more common than we think. If you commit adultery every day, and just as many murders, you can still be forgiven. But if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit you can never be forgiven, since no one can come to Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. [N]o one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3), wrote Paul. No one comes to the Father except through Christ (John 14:6), and no one comes to Christ apart from the Holy Spirit.
The religious leaders accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:22). They were so settled in their conviction that they refused to believe in Jesus no matter what. Because of their stubborn rejection of Christ, the Spirit no longer drew them to Christ. They committed an eternal sin by becoming eternal rejectors of Jesus Christ.
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by a settled refusal to come to Christ under any circumstance. Those who commit this sin are not distressed by their situation, but simply have no concern about coming to Christ. They are at peace with their sinful selves, and they do not ever want to change—and they never will.
But whoever wants to come to Christ has not blasphemed the Spirit since the desire to come to Christ is proof that God is drawing them. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them (John 6:44), said Jesus. If God is drawing a person to Jesus Christ, they have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and should come to Christ at once by receiving him as Lord (Colossians 2:6).
The desire to come to Christ does not mean a person is saved, of course. It simply means they can be saved if they will come to Jesus. The desire to come to Christ should never be resisted or postponed, but acted on at once. There is too much at risk to put it off a single day. [W]hoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37), he said. But whoever dies apart from Christ will remain a sinner forever.
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Luke 12:16-19 And he told them this parable: The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.
This gentleman farmer was so successful that he ran out of room to store his grain. The only sensible thing was for him to tear down his old barns and build bigger barns. He was so successful that he needed multiple barns to store up all his wealth.
This man was smart, and hard working, and employed a number of people. He was admired, respected and frequently consulted. His wife and children enjoyed status in the community, and many good things that money could buy. Now, at last, this gentleman farmer could retire, and enjoy the fruit of his labor. Who wouldn’t want to be him?
Many of God’s best servants have been financially prosperous. Abraham had 318 trained men in his household (Genesis 14:14). Job was the wealthiest man in the East (Job 1:3). King David amassed a fortune (1 Chronicles 29:1-5). And Joseph was rich because of his position under Pharaoh (Genesis 41:41-43). The blessing of the Lord brings wealth (Proverbs 10:22), says Proverbs. But being wealthy is no guarantee that God is pleased with you.
Luke 12:20 God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?
The farmer’s problem was not his success, but his near-sightedness. He prepared for retirement, but not for eternity. He was wise for a moment, but a fool forever. In all his planning there is no mention of prayer, worship, faith or God. In fact, he may be the most self-centered person in the Bible. What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. . . . This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns . . . I will store my surplus grain. . . . I’ll say to myself, . . . Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, You fool!
If look up fool in the dictionary you will find synonyms like: idiot, imbecile, schmuck, buffoon, sap, blockhead, dimwit, dope, dumbbell, numskull and birdbrain. This man appeared wise to everyone else, but to God he was a fool. And just so no one would miss the point, Jesus said, This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21).
My daughter was six years old when she heard a commercial on the radio, explaining that thirty dollars would feed a hungry child for a month. She went to her savings jar and found that she had sixty dollars, so she asked if she could feed two children for a month. I agreed in the hope that it would become a pattern with her. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21), said Jesus. And at the hour of death, it will be better to hear, Well done (Luke 19:17) than to hear, You fool!
Reflection and Review
Why do some people want to keep their faith private?
What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
Why should we be generous toward God?